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'''David Lee Watts''' (born 1967) is a business consultant and [[conservative]] activist from Upshur County in east [[Texas]], who is a [[Republican Party|Republican]] candidate in the primary election scheduled for March 1, 2016, for the District 7 seat in the Texas House of Representatives, which encompasses Gregg and Upshur counties. He faces competition from former Longview Mayor Jay Dean.<ref name=longnj>{{cite web|url=http://www.news-journal.com/news/2015/jul/03/republican-candidate-david-watts-joins-race-to-rep/|title=Republican candidate David Watts joins race to represent Gregg, Upshur counties|date=July 3, 2015|author=Glenn Evans|publisher=''Longview News-Journal''|accessdate=November 28, 2015}}</ref>

'''David Lee Watts''' (born 1967) is a business consultant and [[conservative]] activist from Upshur County in east [[Texas]], who ran unsuccessfully as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] candidate in the primary election held on March 1, 2016, for the District 7 seat in the Texas House of Representatives, which encompasses Gregg and Upshur counties. He was defeated by the [[Moderate Republican]] Jay Dean, the former mayor of Longview, Texas.<ref name=longnj>{{cite web|url=http://www.news-journal.com/news/2015/jul/03/republican-candidate-david-watts-joins-race-to-rep/|title=Republican candidate David Watts joins race to represent Gregg, Upshur counties|date=July 3, 2015|author=Glenn Evans|publisher=''Longview News-Journal''|accessdate=November 28, 2015}}</ref>

 

 

==Background==

==Background==

He favors using state military personnel to guard the lengthy border with [[Mexico]], considering the lack of consistent federal involvement in such patrols. Like [[Governor]] [[Greg Abbott]], he opposes the admission of [[Syria]]n [[refugee]]s into Texas for fear of [[terrorist]] threats. "We must fully fund law enforcement efforts on the border and provide them with the tools to get the job done," said Watts on his [[Facebook]] page. He opposes sanctuary cities in Texas, which harbor [[illegal immigrant]]s; departing Senator Eltife, a moderate Republican, helped to kill a measure to ban sanctuary cities in the 2015 legislative session. Watts opposes the legalization of [[marijuana]].<ref name=facebook>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/WattsForTexas|title=Watts for Texas|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=November 28, 2015}}</ref>

He favors using state military personnel to guard the lengthy border with [[Mexico]], considering the lack of consistent federal involvement in such patrols. Like [[Governor]] [[Greg Abbott]], he opposes the admission of [[Syria]]n [[refugee]]s into Texas for fear of [[terrorist]] threats. "We must fully fund law enforcement efforts on the border and provide them with the tools to get the job done," said Watts on his [[Facebook]] page. He opposes sanctuary cities in Texas, which harbor [[illegal immigrant]]s; departing Senator Eltife, a moderate Republican, helped to kill a measure to ban sanctuary cities in the 2015 legislative session. Watts opposes the legalization of [[marijuana]].<ref name=facebook>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/WattsForTexas|title=Watts for Texas|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=November 28, 2015}}</ref>

Watts' opponent, Jay Dean, is a Moderate Republican who formerly served as the mayor of Longview in Gregg County. Dean has in the past contributed to Texas House speaker [[Joe Straus]], a Moderate Republican from [[San Antonio]] who often joins with Democrats to block conservative measures in the legislature. On June 4, 2014, Dean declined to issue a proclamation but instead wrote a welcoming letter to an [[LGBT]] gathering in Longview, an issue that Watts has used against him in the campaign. Watts said that as a state representative he would "not bend to the LGBT agenda and will work relentlessly to protect our liberty and way of life."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wattsfortexas.org/?utm_campaign=lgbt1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=davidwattsjr|publisher=wattsfortexas.org|title=Jay Dean: Supporting the LGBT Community|accessdate=January 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://meredith.worldnow.com/story/25730756/longview-mayor-pflag-group-reach-agreement-over-gay-pride-celebration|title=Longview mayor, PFLAG group reach agreement over gay pride celebration|date=August 8, 2014|author=Stephanie Frazier|publisher=KLTV|accessdate=January 26, 2016}}</ref> Watts carries the endorsements of two high profile Texas Republicans, Agriculture Commissioner Sidney Miller and U.S. Representative John Ratcliffe of the Fourth Congressional District in the [[Dallas]] [[suburb]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wattsfortexas.org|title=David Watts|publisher=wattsfortexas.org|accessdate=January 12, 2016}}</ref> Watts has also been endorsed by State Senator Bob Hall and four Republican state representatives, Jonathan Stickland and Matt Krause, both of Tarrant County, Matt Schaefer of Tyler, and Molly White of Belton in Bell County.

Watts' opponent, Jay Dean, formerly served as the mayor of Longview in Gregg County. Dean has in the past contributed to Texas House speaker [[Joe Straus]], a Moderate Republican from [[San Antonio]] who often joins with Democrats to block conservative measures in the legislature, particularly through the House Calendars Committee. On June 4, 2014, Dean declined to issue a proclamation but instead wrote a welcoming letter to an [[LGBT]] gathering in Longview, an issue that Watts used against him in the campaign. Watts said that as a state representative he would "not bend to the LGBT agenda and will work relentlessly to protect our liberty and way of life."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wattsfortexas.org/?utm_campaign=lgbt1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=davidwattsjr|publisher=wattsfortexas.org|title=Jay Dean: Supporting the LGBT Community|accessdate=January 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://meredith.worldnow.com/story/25730756/longview-mayor-pflag-group-reach-agreement-over-gay-pride-celebration|title=Longview mayor, PFLAG group reach agreement over gay pride celebration|date=August 8, 2014|author=Stephanie Frazier|publisher=KLTV|accessdate=January 26, 2016}}</ref> Watts carried the endorsements of two high profile Texas Republicans, Agriculture Commissioner Sidney Miller and U.S. Representative John Ratcliffe of the Fourth Congressional District in the [[Dallas]] [[suburb]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wattsfortexas.org|title=David Watts|publisher=wattsfortexas.org|accessdate=January 12, 2016}}</ref> Watts was also endorsed by State Senator Bob Hall and four Republican state representatives, Jonathan Stickland and Matt Krause, both of Tarrant County, Matt Schaefer of Tyler, and Molly White of Belton in Bell County.

==References==

==References==

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