Between Law and Party
Let me preface all of this by saying that like most white kids growing up in my part of Texas in the 1970s and 1980s, I was raised Republican. My dad is a business owner and a Marine who served three tours of duty in Vietnam. Fiscal conservatism and strong national security positions were and are important issues to my family. As I grew older and became interested (and then involved) in criminal justice, I found that I identified more with the pro-Death Penalty and high sentences that were typical of the Republican platform. In Harris County, the vast majority of my friends who seek elected office run as Republicans – from the District Attorney to Judge to Justice of the Peace. Quite frankly, it is my personal (if biased) belief that the Republicans generally field the best criminal justice candidates in Harris County. If a candidate wants to get elected to a countywide office, they are well advised to run as a Republican. With the exception of 2008, the Republicans gen