Changes

Kuempel's father, Edmund Kuempel, had held the seat in the heavily [[Republican Party|GOP]] district since the retirement in 1983 of previous Representative Bennie Bock, a Republican, and had won reelection to the House in 2010 without opposition.  However, two days after his 2010 re-election, Edmund Kuempel died on November 4. The vacant seat compelled a [[special election]] on December 14, 2010, to fill the position.

Kuempel's father, Edmund Kuempel, had held the seat in the heavily [[Republican Party|GOP]] district since the retirement in 1983 of previous Representative Bennie Bock, a Republican, and had won reelection to the House in 2010 without opposition.  However, two days after his 2010 re-election, Edmund Kuempel died on November 4. The vacant seat compelled a [[special election]] on December 14, 2010, to fill the position.

Kuempel was the only candidate in the field openly committed to the retention of [[Moderate Republican]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio] as the Texas House Speaker. Edmund Kuempel had also been a Straus backer in 2009, when Straus deposed the more [[conservative]] former Speaker [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=8702|title=Paul Burka, "Huge Lead for John Kuempel"|publisher=''Texas Monthly''|date= December 14, 2010|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref> Kuempel also secured the backing of [[Houston Astros]] baseball great [[Nolan Ryan]], who relocated into District 44.<ref>"Ryan endorses Kuempel," ''The Dallas Morning News,'' December 2, 2010.</ref>

Kuempel was the only candidate in the field openly committed to the retention of [[Moderate Republican]] [[Joe Straus]] of [[San Antonio] as the Texas House Speaker. Edmund Kuempel had also been a Straus backer in 2009, when Straus deposed the more [[conservative]] former Speaker [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=8702|title=Paul Burka, "Huge Lead for John Kuempel"|publisher=''Texas Monthly''|date= December 14, 2010|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref> Kuempel also secured the backing of [[Houston Astros]] baseball great Nolan Ryan, who relocated into District 44.<ref>"Ryan endorses Kuempel," ''The Dallas Morning News,'' December 2, 2010.</ref>

Kuempel and eight other opponents faced off in a special election, which Kuempel won with 66 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gonzalesinquirer.com/news/article_0bc14b34-099b-11e0-9623-001cc4c002e0.html|author=Daniel Elizondo|title=Kuempel elected to succeed father in District 44

Kuempel and eight other opponents faced off in a special election, which Kuempel won with 66 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gonzalesinquirer.com/news/article_0bc14b34-099b-11e0-9623-001cc4c002e0.html|author=Daniel Elizondo|title=Kuempel elected to succeed father in District 44|publisher=''Gonzales (Texas) Inquirer''|date=December 15, 2010|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref> The second place candidate, with 10 percent of the ballots, was another Republican, Gary Inmon, a school board member from Schertz, a city in three counties north of the San Antonio metropolitan district. Others in the field were two candidates defeated earlier by the Democrat Henry Roberto Cuellar of [[Laredo]], the still serving representative of Texas's 28th congressional district, Ron Avery (born 1947), a retired architect from Seguin who ran in 2006, and Jim Fish (born 1957), a small business owner from Cibolo, who ran for Congress in 2008. Avery and Fish filed as Republicans for the special legislative election, but Avery had previously been a [[Constitution Party]] candidate for Congress. Still another candidate, Robin Walker, had lost in the regular Republican primary held on March 2, 2010, to the elder Kuempel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2010/12/14/john_kuempel_wins_late_fathers.html|title=John Kuempel wins late father's seat|date=December 14, 2010|publisher=''The Austin American-Statesman''|accessdate=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

|publisher=''Gonzales (Texas) Inquirer''|date=December 15, 2010|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref> The second place candidate, with 10 percent of the ballots, was another Republican, Gary Inmon, a school board member from Schertz, a city in three counties north of the San Antonio metropolitan district. Others in the field were two candidates defeated earlier by the Democrat [[Henry Cuellar]] of [[Texas's 28th congressional district|District 28]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]], Ron Avery (born 1947), a retired architect from Seguin who ran in 2006, and Jim Fish (born 1957), a small business owner from Cibolo, who ran for Congress in 2008. Avery and Fish filed as Republicans for the special legislative election, but Avery had previously been a [[Constitution Party]] candidate for Congress. Still another candidate, Robin Walker, had lost in the regular Republican primary held on March 2, 2010, to the elder Kuempel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2010/12/14/john_kuempel_wins_late_fathers.html|title=John Kuempel wins late father's seat|date=December 14, 2010|publisher=''The Austin American-Statesman''|accessdate=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

At the time of Kuempel's House election, two [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] representatives, Aaron Pena of Edinburg and [[Allan Ritter]] of Nederland, switched affiliation to the Republican Party. Their defections increased the Republican total to one hundred members, thus giving the GOP a supermajority in the Texas House at least on paper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ramparts360.com/uncategorized/two-democrats-defections-give-republicans-supermajority-in-texas-house/|title=Two Democrats' defections give Republicans supermajority in Texas House, December 14, 2010|publisher=ramparts360.com|accessdate=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

At the time of Kuempel's House election, two [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] representatives, Aaron Pena of Edinburg and [[Allan Ritter]] of Nederland, switched affiliation to the Republican Party. Their defections increased the Republican total to one hundred members, thus giving the GOP a supermajority in the Texas House at least on paper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ramparts360.com/uncategorized/two-democrats-defections-give-republicans-supermajority-in-texas-house/|title=Two Democrats' defections give Republicans supermajority in Texas House, December 14, 2010|publisher=ramparts360.com|accessdate=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

Kuempel's victory brought the number of Republicans in the Texas House to a record 101 members in January 2011, with Democrats]] holding the remaining 49 of the 150 total seats in the body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/john-kuempel-coasts-to-victory.html|title=John Kuempel coasts to victory in special Texas House election|date=December 2010|publisher=trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref>

Kuempel's victory brought the number of Republicans in the Texas House to a record 101 members in January 2011, with Democrats holding the remaining 49 of the 150 total seats in the body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/john-kuempel-coasts-to-victory.html|title=John Kuempel coasts to victory in special Texas House election|date=December 2010|publisher=trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com|accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref>

==Campaign issues==

==Campaign issues==