Three candidates vie for Texas' U.S. House District 31 in Democratic primary

• Rick Von Pfeil
• Brian Walbridge
• Stuart Whitlow

The Bosque Democratic Club on Sunday, February 18, hosted a forum for voters to listen to the three candidates running in the upcoming Democratic primary for the Texas' 31st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Thecandidateseachgave 15-minute presentations at the Clifton Civic Center about themselves and their stances on issues before a question-and-answer period with the audience.

Born and based in Taylor, Texas, Rick Von Pfeil is a business consultant and a graduate of Baylor University.

Brian Walbridge of Leander is a business compliance officer and a graduate of Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Stuart Whitlow of Round Rock is a retired lawyer with 35-years experience and a graduate of Southwestern (BA), Vanderbilt (Masters of Divinity), and University of Texas' LBJ School and UT Law School.

Von Pfeil said he was running to fix Congress, citing three specific areas: imposing term limits, stopping gerrymandering of districts, and bringing back bipartisanship.

Walbridge said he was running because he was fed up with Congress, focusing on improving healthcare for families, fighting for reproductive rights, and raising the minimum wage.

Whitlow said he was running for his children's future. He has two sons, aged 21 and 19. He said he would fight to protect the rights of all Texans once in Washington.

Addressing questions from the audience, the candidates discussed reforms to campaign finance laws, congressional procedures, housing and mortgage markets, the healthcare system, guest worker visa programs, and clean energy infrastructure.

The incumbent in Texas' 31st Congressional District is John Carter, a Republican based in Round Rock.

The first day of voting in the partisan primary elections is Tuesday, February 20. The final day to vote is Tuesday, March 5.

About District 31

Texas’s 31st congressional district of the United States House of Representatives covers a strip of Central Texas from the northern Austin suburbs up to Temple and Gatesville.

The district includes Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Hamilton, and Williamson counties, and 44 independent school districts, an area with an estimated total population of 766,987, according to the Texas Legislative Council.