Laurie Godfrey McReynolds

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Laurie Godfrey McReynolds

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Arlington, Texas

Religion

Christianity

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Laurie Godfrey McReynolds (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 17th Congressional District. She lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.

Godfrey McReynolds completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Laurie Godfrey McReynolds was born in Arlington, Texas. She studied at McLennan County College and Tarleton State University. Godfrey McReynolds’ career experience includes working as a business owner.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas' 17th Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 17th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 17th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 17

Pete Sessions defeated Rick Kennedy and Ted Brown in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 17 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pete Sessions (R)	55.9	171,390
		Rick Kennedy (D)	40.9	125,565
		Ted Brown (L)	3.2	9,918

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 306,873
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 17

Rick Kennedy defeated David Jaramillo in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 17 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rick Kennedy	57.3	13,496
		David Jaramillo	42.7	10,054

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,550 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 17

Pete Sessions defeated Renee Swann in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Texas District 17 on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pete Sessions	53.5	18,524
		Renee Swann	46.5	16,096

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,620 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 17

Rick Kennedy and David Jaramillo advanced to a runoff. They defeated William Foster III in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 17 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rick Kennedy	47.9	22,148
✔		David Jaramillo	35.0	16,170
		William Foster III	17.1	7,887

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,205
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 17

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 17 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pete Sessions	31.6	21,667
✔		Renee Swann	19.0	13,047
		George Hindman	18.1	12,405
		Elianor Vessali	9.2	6,283
	Submit photo	Scott Bland	7.2	4,947
		Trent Sutton	5.2	3,593
		Todd Kent	3.5	2,367
		Kristen Alamo Rowin	1.7	1,183
		Laurie Godfrey McReynolds	1.6	1,105
	Submit photo	David Saucedo	1.4	975
	Submit photo	Jeffrey Oppenheim (Unofficially withdrew)	0.7	483
		Ahmad Adnan	0.7	477

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 68,532
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 17

Ted Brown advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 17 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Ted Brown (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Laurie Godfrey McReynolds completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Godfrey McReynolds' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Laurie is a conservative, a Christian, a businesswoman, and leader in her community. A native Texan, she has resided in Waco for over 35 years.

In 1984, at the age of 23, she began her dry cleaning and laundry business. She has been very successful since then, expanding to multiple locations across the state and providing jobs for hundreds of Texans. As recognition of her business acumen and dedication to the Lone Star State, she was appointed by Texas Representative Tom Craddick to the Small Business Compliance Assistance Panel in 2007.

At the age of 45, Laurie decided to go back to school, participating in the Tarleton State University program at McLennan County College culminating in a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences. At the age of 50, Laurie further developed her skillset by earning her real estate license.

She is an avid supporter of President Trump committed to Keeping America Great. Unfortunately, too many politicians in Washington are in it for themselves. This is what inspired her to run for Congress. She believes that the concerns of the people of Texas's 17th Congressional District have been ignored for too long. When Laurie is in Congress, she'll put Texas First.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• When I'm in Congress, I will fight every day to help President Trump to Keep America Great.
• Our government is in desperate need of fiscally responsible principles. As a businesswoman, I will ensure that Washington stops wasting taxpayer money and fight to reduce the deficit and our national debt.
• I am proudly pro-life. Life begins at conception and ends at natural death. In Congress, I will work to defund Planned Parenthood and end all forms of abortion. You can count on me to never compromise on this issue.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I believe that fiscally responsible, pro-taxpayer principles are sorely lacking in the federal government.

In Congress, I will aggressively pursue tax reform, which means cutting taxes for the middle class, simplifying the tax code, and reducing the tax burden on small businesses. As a small businesswoman, I understand how excessive taxes hurt small businesses and middle-class Americans. I will be a champion for average, everyday people keeping more of what they earn.

I also understand that taking on debt to spend more than what you can afford to is unsustainable. I will fight to rein in spending and introduce fiscally responsible practices to our government.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to President Donald Trump, who inspired me to run for the House. President Trump was able to transfer his success in business to our government, ushering in the greatest era of economic prosperity in American history.

I have extensive experience in business, having started my own at the young age of 23. I believe that I have the ability to translate this experience to Congress to better represent the people of Texas's 17th Congressional District. Unfortunately, the needs of the people of my district have been ignored by politicians for too long.

In Congress, I intend to emulate President Trump by bringing my business principles - fiscal responsibility, deal-making, and common sense - to the table.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

It is important for a representative to faithfully represent their constituents and to be sure that corrupt politicians in Washington do not bankrupt our the future of our great nation. This is a big part of why I chose to run for Congress - to ensure that younger generations are not saddled with an uncontrollable deficit and national debt that they can never recover from.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy of responsible, principled leadership for the people of my district. I want others to see that it is possible for someone who isn't a career politician to be elected to office and fight for the principles held dearly by conservative Texans in Washington.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that it is best for people to be represented by a leader in their community. For far too long, we've been electing career politicians instead. Unsurprisingly, they can't get anything done and represent nothing but their own interests and those of Washington elites at the expense of the people they're supposed to represent. When I'm in Congress, I'll put the people of my district and of Texas first.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

It is imperative that we introduce term limits to Congress. The American people are being done a disservice by career politicians. Term limits would go a long way towards rectifying this issue, restricting politicians from how long they can hold their seats and ensuring that new, uncorrupted people with fresh ideas will always be in our government.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

When I'm in Congress, I would like to model myself after Chip Roy. He is perhaps Texas' greatest representative, consistently fighting for fiscal responsibility, reducing regulations, the 2nd Amendment, and the pro-life cause.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

McReynolds’ campaign website stated the following:

“	EDUCATION As Thomas Jefferson said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” In Congress, I will push legislation that supports education while minimizing the involvement of the federal government. I will ensure that control is returned to local school districts and voucher programs are expanded. ABORTION I am proudly pro-life. Life begins at conception and ends at natural death. In Congress, I will work to defund Planned Parenthood and end all forms of abortion. You can count on me to never compromise on this issue. REPEAL OBAMACARE As a result of this disastrous legislation, healthcare premiums and deductibles have spiraled out of control, small businesses and their employees have suffered, and the hope of financial security has been put out of reach of too many families. Congress must repeal ObamaCare and replace it with free market solutions that provide Americans access to and control over affordable healthcare that works for them. TAXES In Congress I will aggressively pursue tax reform, which means cutting taxes for the middle class, simplifying the tax code, and reducing the tax burden on small businesses. As a small businesswoman, I understand how excessive taxes hurt small businesses and middle-class Americans. I will be a champion for average, everyday people keeping more of what they earn. GOVERNMENT SPENDING As a small businesswoman, I understand that taking on debt to spend more than what you can afford to is unsustainable. As your representative, I will fight to rein in spending and introduce fiscally responsible practices to our government. 2ND AMENDMENT I will fight to defend our second amendment freedoms against encroachments by elitists in Washington. Gun ownership is an essential part of what it means to be a Texan, and that will not be infringed upon as long as I’m in Congress. IMMIGRATION When I’m in Congress, I will support President Trump’s efforts to secure our border and I will reject all proposals that give amnesty to illegal aliens.	”
—Laurie Godfrey McReynolds

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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Footnotes

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Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)