Candidates debate ahead of GOP committee vote

The City of Atlanta’s mayor Travis Ransom appeared alongside 13 other Republican candidates on Saturday in a town hall-style forum in Sulphur Springs to discuss the issues facing congressional district four.

There are 19 candidates competing for the Republican nomination, to be decided Aug. 8. Ransom spoke as a member of a panel of four, facing off against Aaron Harris (R-Richland Hills), Jim Pruitt (R-Rockwall) and Jason Ross (R-Rockwall).

Other four-panel members included Rodney Adams (R-), Dr. John Cooper (R-Sulphur Springs), Bob Worthen (R-Texarkana), Christopher Schell (R-Dallas), Casey Campbell (R-Rockwall), Trace Johannesen (R-Rockwall), Zach Rateliff (R-Texarkana), Joe Vrasic (R-Mount Pleasant), Tim McCord (R-Rockwall) and Steve Gorman (R-Grayson County).

Not present were Pat Fallon (R-Frisco), Floyd McLendon (R-Dallas), Robert West (R-Cooper), T.C. Manning (R-Houston) and David Bridges (deceased).

Ransom stressed his “lifetime of service” to Northeast Texas as both a civil servant and a military member. Ransom has served as both mayor of Atlanta and command sergeant major in the Army, he said.

“I make your concerns my own concerns and help you navigate the frustration of bureaucracy,” Ransom stated. “I give back to the community I call home, and I choose to live here in Northeast Texas… because we get a lot of things right.”

Ransom stated he believes he has an advantage over many of the other candidates because he represents congressional district four’s rural inhabitants.

“Representatives from Northeast Texas get it, and I think that’s what I can bring to Washington if I am selected,” he said. “Northeast Texans need a rural representative that understands their issues.”

Ransom also took into account Cass County’s trending younger population, which he specified is often a concern for the GOP.

“We’ve got to stop bad-mouthing Millennials,” Ransom urged. “I lead them in the army, I lead them in the military and I’ve seen Millennials do some amazing things… we have to engage younger voters. You’ll never engage them if you bad-mouth them.”

One of the strengths Ransom said he’s seen in rural Northeast Texas, and in Cass County especially, is the ability to have cohesiveness within the Republican party.

“When I was a kid… there weren’t enough Republicans to meet in a phone booth,” Ransom noted. “We’ve put up signs, we’ve supported every Republican candidate who’s come through [Cass County].”

According to Ransom, this will make Cass a strong piece of CD4 in the future, whether or not he is elected as its congress member.

“You can’t redistrict us into Arkansas or Louisiana, so we’re not going anywhere,” Ransom noted.

However, said Ransom, he feels because of his military service and strong conservative conviction, he is exactly the candidate CD4 needs to take up the mantle in Congressman John Ratcliffe’s absence.

“When you take an oath as a soldier, you take an oath to defend the constitution from threats foreign and domestic. I think that’s the most important promise I’ve ever made,” he said.