Tommy Merritt
Republican | Texas
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Tommy Merritt
Party
Republican
Election Year
2014
Election
Primary
Race
Agriculture Commissioner
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Kilgore College, Kilgore, TX, n/a, 1968
Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth, TX, BBA, 1970
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Junior Achievement, Boy Scouts
Newgate Mission
Janet Herrington Merritt Rangerette Scholarship, Kilgore High Bulldog Booster Club
Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas Farm Bureau, First Baptist Church (Longview & Kilgore)
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
State Representative, District 7, 1997-2011
Sabine River Authority, 1990-1996
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
State Representative, District 7, 2012
Race
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2012
|47%
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
2012
|0%
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (1)
Texas Conservative Review
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (12)
Rick Hardcastle
former Chair of the Ag Comm.
Gary Polland (Texas Conservative Review)
Terry Lowry (What's Up Radio/Link Letter)
Con. Ralph Hall
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (7)
Chuck Hopson
Doug Miller
Joe Straus
John Cornyn
Ralph Hall
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (18)
Barry 'Kip' Averitt
David Dewhurst
David M. Sibley, Sr.
Kenneth "Kim" Brimer
Kevin Eltife
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (2)
Delwin Jones
Texas Parent PAC
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (10)
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
Association of Texas Professional Educators
Conservative Voters of Texas
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
1. Free enterprise and the right to private property turn mankind's natural self interest into the fairest and most productive economic system there is, and are the key to national prosperity.
Strongly Agree
2. Election of judges by the people for a definite term of office is the best way to select judges.
Strongly Agree
3. More restrictive gun control laws are needed now to protect public safety.
Strongly Disagree
4. Efforts to bring Islamic law (shariah) to America do not pose a threat to our country and its Constitution.
Strongly Disagree
5. Government should enforce laws designed to protect the border and to prevent illegal entry of persons into the country.
Strongly Agree
6. People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
7. Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
8. Marriage is a union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
9. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) should be repealed by Congress.
Strongly Agree
10. There should be a strict constitutional spending limit for state and local governments that would tie the rate of spending to the rate of population growth plus the rate of inflation.
Strongly Agree
11. Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
12. Free market competition for education dollars, rather than a government monopoly, would create a better education for all students.
Strongly Agree
13. Where minor children are involved, divorce laws should be reformed to include mutual consent of both parents and an increased waiting period, unless there is fault or abuse.
Strongly Agree
14. The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings.
Strongly Disagree
15. Religious freedom is our most foundational freedom and deserves added protection in our state and federal constitutions.
Strongly Agree
16. The founders established pure democracy in the Constitution because they believed that it is the best form of government to ensure the safety and equitable treatment of all citizens.
Strongly Disagree
17. Based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, please arrange the following entities, starting with the highest source of authority, and continue the list in descending order of authority, skipping any that do not apply: Academia, Congress, Constitution, God, Industry, Media, Professional Sports, Supreme Court, Voters.
God; Voters; the U.S. Constitution; the U.S. Supreme Court; Congress
18. Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
My value and belief system is based upon my Christian faith, the Bible, and the hard work ethic instilled in me by my parents as a child.
