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Bennett Ratliff
Bennett Ratliff was a 2016 Republican candidate for District 115 of the Texas House of Representatives.
Ratliff is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 115 from 2013 to 2015.
Biography
Ratliff earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Ratliff served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Public Education |
Campaign themes
2014
Ratliff's website highlighted the following stances:[2]
- Balanced State & Federal Government Budgets
- Pro-Life & Pro-Family Values
- Local Control of Public Schools
- Better Traffic Mobility
- Less Government Regulation
2012
Ratliff's website highlighted the following campaign themes:
Bennett Favors
- "Balanced State & Federal Government Budgets"
- "Pro-Life & Pro-Family Values"
- "Local Control of Public Schools"
- "Better Traffic Mobility"
- "Less Government Regulation"
Bennett Opposes
- "ObamaCare"
- "Higher Taxes"
- "Abusive Eminent Domain"
- "Unfunded Mandates"
- "Foreign Ownership of Texas Roads"
Elections
2016
Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[3]
Incumbent Matt Rinaldi defeated Dorotha M. Ocker in the Texas House of Representatives District 115 general election.[4]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 115 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Matt Rinaldi Incumbent |
50.89% | 29,987 | |
| Democratic | Dorotha M. Ocker | 49.11% | 28,939 | |
| Total Votes | 58,926 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Dorotha M. Ocker ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 115 Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 115 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Dorotha M. Ocker (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Matt Rinaldi defeated Bennett Ratliff in the Texas House of Representatives District 115 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 115 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Matt Rinaldi Incumbent |
53.45% | 8,804 | |
| Republican | Bennett Ratliff | 46.55% | 7,668 | |
| Total Votes | 16,472 | |||
Primary
- Main article: Notable Texas primaries, 2016
The 2016 Republican primary was the third match between the two candidates; Ratliff beat Rinaldi in the 2012 primary, but lost the seat to him in 2014 by 92 votes.[7]
Rinaldi received the following endorsements:[8]
- National Association for Gun Rights
- National Rifle Association, Political Victory Fund
- Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
- Texas Home School Coalition
- Texas Right to Life
- Texas State Rifle Association
- Texas Values
- Young Conservatives of Texas
Ratliff received the following endorsements:[9]
- Texas Alliance for Life
- Texans for Life
- Dallas Morning News
2014
Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013. Matt Rinaldi defeated incumbent Bennett Ratliff in the Republican primary. Paul Stafford was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Rinaldi defeated Stafford and Kim Kelley (L) in the general election.[10][11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Matt Rinaldi |
57.1% | 16,999 | |
| Democratic | Paul Stafford | 39.5% | 11,767 | |
| Libertarian | Kim Kelley | 3.4% | 999 | |
| Total Votes | 29,765 | |||
2012
Ratliff won election in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 115. Ratliff advanced to the July 31 primary runoff where he defeated Steve Nguyen. Ratliff defeated Mary Clare Fabishak (D) and Preston Poulter (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bennett Ratliff |
57.6% | 41,784 | |
| Democratic | Mary Clare Fabishak | 40.1% | 29,082 | |
| Libertarian | Preston Poulter | 2.4% | 1,711 | |
| Total Votes | 72,577 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Steve Nguyen (advanced to runoff) |
35% | 3,081 |
| Bennett Ratliff (advanced to runoff) |
30.1% | 2,644 |
| Matt Rinaldi | 26.6% | 2,338 |
| Andy Olivo | 5.1% | 452 |
| Lib Grimmett | 3.2% | 278 |
| Total Votes | 8,793 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Texas State Legislature was in its 83rd legislative session from January 8 through May 27. Thirty minutes after the regular session ended, Governor Rick Perry called legislators back for a special session starting that evening.[14] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[15]
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Ratliff and his wife, Beccy, have three children.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bennett Ratliff Texas House. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas House of Representatives
- Texas House of Representatives Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Bennett Ratliff on Facebook
- Bennett Ratliff on Twitter
- Campaign Contributions: 2012
- Report Card from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 bennettratliff.com, "About Bennett," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ bennettratliff.com, "Issues," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "A Rinaldi vs. Ratliff Rematch for Texas House Seat," June 8, 2015
- ↑ Matt Rinaldi, "Endorsements," accessed February 22, 2016
- ↑ Bennett Ratliff, "Endorsements," accessed February 22, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current ELECTION HISTORY," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ The Libertarian Party of Texas, "2014 Texas Representative Candidate List," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Green Party of Texas, "Greens Release Candidate List," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Jackson (R) |
Texas House District 115 2013–2015 |
Succeeded by Matt Rinaldi (R) |
