Posted on 05/27/2014 7:36:59 PM PDT by Din Maker
U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, at 91 the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House, was ousted Tuesday in the Texas Republican runoff by a candidate barely half his age.
Backed by powerful national groups with strong tea party ties, 48-year-old former U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe was able to paint Hall as too cozy with the GOP establishment after 34 years in office. He forced the incumbent into his first runoff in 17 terms in the House then won that on Tuesday.
Hall first ran for political office in 1950 and won his seat when Jimmy Carter was president. He was a Democrat until switching parties in 2004.
No Democrat is running in the district that stretches from suburban Dallas east to Louisiana and north to Oklahoma — meaning Ratcliffe will be headed to Washington after the November general election.
Even before the final results were in, Hall called the race "not one of my best ones, that's for sure."
In Texas' March primary, Hall won 45 percent of the vote compared to Ratcliffe's nearly 29 percent — but since no one won a majority in a six-way race, Hall was forced into the first runoff his congressional career.
Ratcliffe was backed by the Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Fund, but Hall bristled at the notion that he's not conservative enough. He won endorsements from tea party favorite Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota and leading Christian conservative voice and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Neville Govender, also casting his ballot Tuesday in Heath, said he had never bothered to vote in a congressional election until this year because he knew Hall would win in a rout.
"I just believe in what he stands for, his energy," Govender said of Ratcliffe. "I believe we need change."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Even though he acquiesced to raising the debt ceiling and Obama’s version of the USA PATRIOT Act (although he did try to walk some of the latter back)?
Then there’s stuff like continuing to fund the FAA, Head Start program, SNAP/WIC, growing the DOJ (the Violence against Women Act created a separate office within that department as well as authorized special funding for investigating/targeting such crimes), FDA appropriations, a number of others.
He leaned conservative a lot but did have some RINO tendencies.
It’s definitely time for him to hang up his spurs. By all accounts a good and decent man, I wish him well.
“Hall was born in Fate, Texas in 1923. While working at a local store aged 12, he claims to have sold cigarettes to Bonnie and Clyde.”
Bachmann endorsed the wrong man, the tea parties and Palin opposed him from the beginning.
Bachmann’s judgment has always been bad, that is why she faded away and never got anywhere except her congressional seat.
“Then there’s stuff like continuing to fund the FAA, Head Start program, SNAP/WIC, growing the DOJ (the Violence against Women Act created a separate office within that department as well as authorized special funding for investigating/targeting such crimes), FDA appropriations, a number of other” Are you kidding me? This stuff sucks!! Get the hell out of here!!
No 91 year old should be in congress. If the voters hadn’t retired him God would have before too long. This just shows it is an addiction. We must have term limits!
He first ran for office in 1950 and was elected when Carter was president. Did he make a career out of RUNNING for office?
Exactly. He did a good job.
I am a little sad reading these posts.
Maybe I am wrong but I think a lot of folks commenting are not from Texas.
Ralph Hall was an excellent, patriotic, conservative, who represented this area of Texas well.
I do think his replacement is fine and MIGHT do a better job than Hall. I would say Hall is much more conservative than Cornyn and probably most reps from Texas.
Texas is an extraordinarily conservative state. The term RINO in Texas is being misapplied in this case.
I was glad to see Dewhurst get beat tonight and I do think that makes an important statement.
I think Hall did not run a strong campaign but I don’t think he deserves to be run down on this thread.
LOL
Aged out? He should have been termed out, no matter his party. Volunteers for the office, then go home to work, not permanently occupy the office.
Absolutely, the last time Hall being defeated would have something to celebrate by jumping up and down like some people are doing on this thread, would have been in 2002, the last time he ran as a rat. He’s been a good conservative since he switched. This was not about “the Tea Party” versus a “RINO”.
But the voters have spoken, they were concerned about his age I’m sure, the only real reason to vote against him. An eye will have to be kept on the new guy to make sure he’s really a conservative (Paul might have endorsed Hall, presumably out of personal friendship, but the Paulbot infested Tea Party Express endorsed Ratcliffe).
In district 23 Biracial (Black/White) ex-CIA agent Will Hurd beats former Rep. Quico Canseco by a wide 19 point margin. I’d say this decreases the of winning this Hispanic seat but maybe not, Canseco clearly did not run a good campaign to get blown out like that. And he did lose in 2012 even as Romney carried the district. I don’t know.
In District 36, safe GOP seat, dentist Brian Babin beat Ben Streusand. Both appeared to be conservative.
Great news! 91 years old! These guys are too much!
While I understand the advantages of seniority to the Congressional District, there comes a point where TOO MUCH seniority is absurd. Fifty years well surpasses that point.
Hall was endorsed by Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul; losers all.
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I agree! Have any of the people Huckabee has endorsed won in this election year’s primaries? ...I hope not, because he doesn’t endorse Conservatives.
I thought Dan Patrick was endorsed by Huckabee. It probably did not help.
Whole passel of these old fools need ousting on either side
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