Three Democratic candidates stump in Sulphur Springs

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  The Democratic candidates who attended the Texas Voters of Tomorrow's town hall meeting Wednesday included (left) Simon Cardell, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas District 4 seat, against incumbent Pat Fallon; Kristen Washington, candidate for the Texas House of Representatives District 2 against Brent Money; and George King, candidate who faces incumbent Pam Little on the November ballot for State Board of Education District 12 seat. Staff photo by Tammy Vinson

  The Democratic candidates who attended the Texas Voters of Tomorrow's town hall meeting Wednesday included (left) Simon Cardell, candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas District 4 seat, against incumbent Pat Fallon; Kristen Washington, candidate for the Texas House of Representatives District 2 against Brent Money; and George King, candidate who faces incumbent Pam Little on the November ballot for State Board of Education District 12 seat. Staff photo by Tammy Vinson
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  A community member poses a question to the three Democratic candidates stmping in Sulphur Springs during the Boters of Tomorrow forum Wednesday July 24, at the HW Grays Building in Pacific Park. Staff photo by Tammy Vinson

  A community member poses a question to the three Democratic candidates stmping in Sulphur Springs during the Boters of Tomorrow forum Wednesday July 24, at the HW Grays Building in Pacific Park. Staff photo by Tammy Vinson

Three Democratic candidates participated in a town hall organized by the Texas chapter of Voters of Tomorrow, a political organization that engages and represents young Americans in politics and government. Approximately 25 people attended the meeting, held at the Grays Building in Pacific Park in Sulphur Springs, to hear Democratic candidates voice their views and give community members a chance to present questions to the candidates.

Hopkins County Democratic Party Chair Tommy Long thanked Voters of Tomorrow for “hosting the town hall, and for the excitement [the organization’s members] bring to our election process… It’s very important, What happens politically affects lots of things.”

U.S. Representative Colin Allred, who is currently running against incumbent Ted Cruz for a seat in the U.S. Senate, was invited to participate in the event but did not attend.

Long introduced each of the candidates participating in this event — Kristen Washington, who will face Republican candidate Brent Money in November for the Texas House District 2 seat in the state House of Representatives; George King, who is running against incumbent Pam Little for a seat on the State Board of Education, and Simon Cardell, who will face off against incumbent Pat Fallon for the U.S. House of Representatives Texas District 4 seat.

Kristen

Washington

In introducing Washington, Long said, “The main thing that makes me proud of her is she’s a great supporter of public education.” A Greenville native, Washington is a single mother of two teenage boys. She has worked in the retail, medical billing and pharmacy field, and was first elected to the Greenville City Council in 2020. A firm believer in community service, Washington has volunteered multiple times with the First United Methodist Church’s The Dinner Bell feeding ministry. She was asked by the Hunt County Democratic Party to run for the Texas House District 4 seat.

“Public education is the pillar of our communities,” Washington said in touching on her top four priorities: public education — she is staunchly against school vouchers; public health care and Telehealth; infrastructure, particularly roads; and bringing businesses back to Hopkins, Hunt and Van Zandt Counties.

George King

“At least he knows about public education,” Long joked in his introduction of King, who is a candidate for the District 12 seat on the State Board of Education.

King, who retired just last year, is a former classroom teacher and campus principal whose 40 years in public education will aid him in his plans to: focus on providing safe and inclusive learning environments for all students; create dynamic career and technical education programming; prioritize raising math and reading performance, dropout prevention and career and military readiness, preserve local control of public education; and listen and represent the needs and values of constituents.

Speaking about the state of public education, King said, “If you think about the attempt to privatize public education, we’re at risk of losing that great American institution. I’m particularly inspired to run in order to take political ideology out of our curriculum. We instead need to work on creating inclusivity, because that is the key to student success. If kids feel like they belong, they can perform.”

Simon Cardell

Long said of Cardell, “We’re proud that he stepped up and is taking that on, and he’s doing a good job. We’re excited about him being our congressional candidate.”

At 24 (almost 25), Cardell is the youngest of the three candidates.

He worked in Washington, D.C. as a Capitol Hill intern for a Republican congressman. However, within three months, Cardell quickly became disgusted seeing elected officials prioritizing their own interests, and those of their wealthy donors, over the needs of the people. Cardell’s issues of particular interest include infrastructure and safety nets; border security; protecting citizens’ privacy and freedom during medical interventions; tax reforms; campaign finance reform; fighting inflation and improving supply chains; balancing the federal budget and paying off the national debt; combatting corruption; and prohibiting foreign ownership of American land, homes and property.

“I believe our country is in pretty desperate times right now,” Cardell said. “I felt stepping up and running for office to serve and help solve these problems my generation has to face [was] something I had to do. I feel like someone had to step up [to] unite us, bring us together, solve problems for the community, to get us through these tough times.”

The General Election will be held Nov. 5, 2024.