Republicans make the pitch they’re the most like Trump in Texas’ 24th Congressional District primary – The Dallas Morning News

GRAPEVINE As the Republican congressional candidate forum came to a close, David Fegan stood and proudly asserted that he was the only candidate to profess his admiration for President Donald Trump on his campaign signs.

Desi Maes, one of his opponents, shot up to correct the record. His campaign material also yells out unwavering support for the commander in chief.

As in so many other Republican primaries, one of the central issues in Texas 24th Congressional District is who is the most Trumpian. The forum, held in early February on the third floor of a furniture store in this Dallas suburb, was only one of the venues where the candidates touted their Trump credentials.

On the trail, Beth Van Duyne, the former mayor of Irving and presumptive front-runner, points out she was a Trump appointee, serving as a regional administrator in the federal housing department. She earned Trumps endorsement Wednesday.

Jeron Liverman, evokes Trumps pro-business platform and promises to cut federal taxes.

And then there is Sunny Chaparala, a naturalized American who was born in India. Shes unapologetically politically incorrect, self-funds her campaign and uses Facebook to engage directly with supporters much like Trump uses Twitter.

The five-way primary to replace Kenny Marchant, a retiring eight-term GOP lawmaker, is the first battle in what is expected to be a hard-fought election to keep the seat in the Republican column. Each candidate hopes to win the seat outright or at least make it to a May runoff if no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

Once reliably red, the gerrymandered seat representing more than a dozen cities in Denton, Tarrant and Dallas counties is so competitive that the election is expected to attract national attention and money from both parties and a bevy of outside groups.

[Read more about the candidates in The Dallas Morning News voter guide here.]

When Van Duyne filed her paperwork to run in the primary, she listed her occupation as single mom/consultant.

If you ask her opponents, shes a career politician.

Van Duyne first entered politics in 2004 when she won a seat on the Irving City Council, ousting incumbent Herbert Gears. She beat Gears again in 2011 when she won the mayoral race.

On the campaign trail she touts a record of cutting taxes, lowering the citys crime rate and attracting major business to the Dallas suburb.

As mayor, Van Duyne also had a knack for making national headlines. In 2015, she raised concerns about the legality of an Islamic tribunal and accused the organization of circumventing American courts and settling disputes according to the Islamic law of Shariah.

In 2016, she went to work for the Trump administration at the housing department, where she saw the belly of the beast of bureaucracy. She resigned her position last year to run for Congress.

Her opponents, especially Maes, suggest Van Duyne has lived off the government too long and is too entrenched in the establishment, a claim Van Duyne rebuts with jokes.

People can be very naive walking into politics. You wouldnt hire a CEO with no business experience, she said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. Ive been a public servant. You dont make a living being the mayor of Irving.

Like most of her Republican opponents, Van Duyne is running hard on immigration. However, she said she also wants to work on lowering health care costs and securing funding for infrastructure.

And she isnt afraid to talk about gun violence. Her pledge is to fight social justice warriors who, in Van Duynes opinion, too often plead down violent offenders from felonies to misdemeanors a move that would allow criminals to continue to buy firearms.

Maes wants you to know he doesnt have to run for Congress. But he worries that too many career politicians in Washington are up to no good and no one in the race can keep them in check.

If I felt there was a true conservative in the race right now, I wouldnt be here right now, he said. I would be out there by my pool having an iced tea.

It wasnt always the lap of luxury for Maes. He grew up sleeping in a truck trailer, working construction with his father in Midland. Despite his fathers wishes, he enrolled himself in school. Maes would later be the sole provider for his family after his father deserted him, his mother and his siblings.

He enlisted in the Army and went on to become a Green Beret. After retiring from the military, Maes became a top executive at Dell Inc. and Brinks Home Security.

Maes has almost a singular focus: immigration. He has pledged to build Trumps wall and close loopholes in the immigration system, which includes cracking down on people and companies who abuse visas.

We don't track our visas coming in, he said. We need to make sure we're tracking that. Companies right now already have enough visa authorizations.

Business leaders have for several years complained that they dont have enough workers. When asked about this in an interview, Maes sidestepped.

We got to make sure that when we have jobs, that were requiring visas, that were reaching out and making sure we dont have qualified Americans first, he said.

Chaparalas disposition is generally well sunny. At forums, she leaves the crowd in stitches with one-liners. She makes her opponents blush.

We know who Miss Congeniality is, a moderator said at the Grapevine forum.

But nothing outrages the real estate agent more than The Squad, a group of four first-term Democratic congresswomen of color, including Minnesotas Ilhan Omar.

Chaparala, like Omar, is a naturalized American. But Chaparala sees Omar, her Democratic colleagues and the policies they support as a threat to America.

I hate socialism, she said. And right now, the country is going toward socialism.

Chaparalas admiration for American capitalism and limited government is greatly influenced by the dysfunction she experienced in India, specifically around the death of her mother and the estate she left her children. She worries a leftward shift to create a bigger government like the one in India would impose undue burdens on citizens and lead to more corruption.

In fact, if Chaparala is elected, she plans to sponsor zero legislation, saying that any new law would be an infringement on God-given rights.

However, she also pledged to be a reliable vote for Trumps agenda, especially on immigration. She said a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants already in the country is not an option.

It just feels that it's unfair to me and my family, she said.

Fegan sees his lack of experience as a virtue.

I might be young, the 25-year-old said in an interview. But I havent been tainted by the establishment.

If elected, Fegan could be the youngest member of Congress in 2021, and one of the youngest elected in modern history.

Fegan said he can help recruit a new crop of conservatives and reverse the number of young people who have a favorable impression of socialism.

Unlike many of his opponents, Fegan wants to expand the number of legal immigrants allowed in the country each year as part of a reform package.

Legal immigrants are one of the best things ever, he said. Theyre passionate, they worked hard to become a citizen. And then want to give back as much as they can, and its just inspirational to see them come over here they actually have freedom. They dont have to fear for their life, and they can work and build the economy with us.

Fegan told the crowd in Grapevine that hes already working on legislation to limit abortion access and protect gun rights.

Liverman considers himself the peoples candidate. Unlike his opponents who paid a filing fee to run in the primary, Liverman gathered enough signatures on a petition to get on the ballot.

I was vetted by people who would or would not grant me their signature, he said. These other candidates that are running, all they did was write a check. They vetted themselves and wrote a check. And I dont think that that is justice to the voter.

Liverman holds most of the traditional conservative positions: lower taxes, smaller government, pro-Second Amendment. However, he said at the forum that he would support the federal government decriminalizing marijuana and he declined to denounce socialism wholly, citing Social Security.

Livermans run for Congress is inspired by his daughter.

I don't want to stand back and sit in the background and not try to at least implement some change that I think would be better for her generation, he said.

And Liverman hopes to return civility and respect to Congress.

Nobody talks to each other, he said. You know if you want other people to treat you the way that you want to be treated, you got to be able to respect people.

When pressed for a Democrat he respected or could work with, Liverman couldnt name one.

Unlike many of his other opponents, Fegan wants to expand the number of legal immigrants allowed in the country each year as part of immigration reform.

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Republicans make the pitch they're the most like Trump in Texas' 24th Congressional District primary - The Dallas Morning News