Jack Ryan Gallagher
Republican | Texas
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Jack Ryan Gallagher
Party
Republican
Election Year
2026
Election
Republican Primary
Race
State Representative 70
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Law, 2022-2025
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Economics & Political Science, 2016-2020
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
None
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Strongly Agree
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Strongly Agree
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Strongly Agree
ECONOMY
What is your position on the minimum wage?
A higher minimum wage leads to a higher cost for the employer. The employer can decide to pass the cost to consumers in higher prices or invest in technologies that replace low-skill labor. This is inefficient and undesirable for all parties.
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
1. Municipal bond reform. Too often municipalities will pass tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in a bond, with only a fraction going where voters actually want. This operates like the federal omnibus bills filled with pork. 2. Audit fraud. As witnessed in Minnesota, large bureaucratic systems funded by tax dollars can receive a mere rubber-stamped approval from administrators. 3. Scrutinize contract procurement. Government contracts are often uncompetitive and improperly negotiated.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
“Separation of church and state” comes from a Jefferson letter assuring Baptists the government would not interfere with faith. The Establishment Clause bars promotion of religion while the Free Exercise Clause bars suppression, and both apply to states via the 14th Amendment. The Constitution clearly permits a Christian nation of many denominations, and states retain police powers to legislate morality. Morality and theology cannot truly be severed, and I favor Christianity over atheism.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
C) Government involvement in healthcare, especially under Obamacare, has driven up costs. Healthcare is a bureaucratic nightmare, where hospitals are employing more administrators and lawyers than doctors. Healthcare works best when markets set prices, and more sludge appears with more government involvement. Some social safety net should remain with Medicare and Medicaid for seniors, the disabled, and the truly vulnerable, but broad taxpayer-funded expansion has made care worse.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Disagree
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Agree
I believe the United States is the only global hegemon. The United States has superior capabilities on all fronts, and our society breeds innovation while China's society largely can only breed duplication. Nevertheless, China does have a sphere of influence and is not an enemy that should be dismissed or ignored.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes. The U.S. relationship with Israel strengthens American national security by providing a reliable ally in a volatile region. The Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS, and other terror groups in the region wish to wreak havoc on America if provided the opportunity. A relationship with Israel helps us develop counterterrorism information, cyber defense capability, and safer shipping lanes with less risk to actual Americans.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
I do not think they are constitutional. Immigration is one of the only things the federal government should do. Congress should specifically pass an amendment that disallows these sanctuary cities and leaves no wiggle room for judges to interfere with what should largely be uncontroversial executive action.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Agree
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Agree
VALUES
Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's health and educational well-being.
Strongly Agree
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Strongly Agree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
I support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian. The Sermon on the Mount is the best summary of spiritual values. More concisely, Jesus later says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and quickly follows that up with the second greatest which is to love your neighbor as yourself. Christians are to be so full of God's love that it overflows onto the people around us. The application of this is in the Great Commission where Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I want God to use me for His Glory, and I want others to experience the peace, hope, and love that I have in Christ.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Strongly Disagree
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Natural gas- we have the infrastructure, the supply, and can most easily ramp production. Nuclear can support that effort too, but energy policy should not pit one source against another. It should maximize output and keep prices low for consumers.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?
In almost all cases, punishment should be the goal which compliments public safety and deterrence. Victims deserve justice and rule of law needs legitimacy. A small number of repeat offenders that breach our social contract should not decrease the quality of life for the law-abiding citizens forced to deal with their negative externalities. The goal can be more focused on rehabilitation with drug use and homeless loitering (often caused by mental health issues or drugs).
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Strongly Agree
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Strongly Agree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The framing of the question largely misunderstands the 2nd Amendment. This is a protection from tyrannical government. The majority of gun deaths are suicide, so the biggest focus should be combatting mental health problems. (See answer on spiritual values.) As far as homicides are concerned, the majority are committed by repeat offenders, so removing those criminals from the population would help alleviate gun murders. And to prevent the case of an accident, training should be encouraged.
