Patricia Harless
Patricia Harless (b. November 13, 1963) is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 126 from 2007 to 2017.
Harless did not seek re-election to the Texas House of Representatives in 2016.
Biography
Harless earned her B.S. in business management from LeTourneau University. She is the chief financial officer and owner of Fred Fincher Motors.
Harless is a member of The Lone Star College System Board, patrons chair and young women's chair of the Texas Federation of Republican Women, and member of Northwest Forest Republican Women.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Harless served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Calendars |
| • State Affairs |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Harless served on the following committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Environmental Regulation, Chair |
| • State Affairs |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harless served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Licensing & Administrative Procedures |
| • Redistricting |
| • State Affairs |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Harless served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:
| Texas committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Redistricting |
| • State Affairs |
| • Technology, Economic Development & Workforce |
Issues
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
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.[2] Incumbent Patricia Harless (R) did not seek re-election.
Kevin Roberts defeated Joy Dawson-Thomas and Eric Moquin in the Texas House of Representatives District 126 general election.[3]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 126 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Kevin Roberts |
58.00% | 35,528 | |
| Democratic | Joy Dawson-Thomas | 39.17% | 23,991 | |
| Libertarian | Eric Moquin | 2.83% | 1,735 | |
| Total Votes | 61,254 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State | ||||
Joy Dawson-Thomas defeated Cris Hernandez in the Texas House of Representatives District 126 Democratic Primary.[4][5]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 126 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Joy Dawson-Thomas |
60.74% | 3,366 | |
| Democratic | Cris Hernandez | 39.26% | 2,176 | |
| Total Votes | 5,542 | |||
Kevin Roberts ran unopposed in the Texas House of Representatives District 126 Republican Primary.[4][5]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 126 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Kevin Roberts (unopposed) | |
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. Incumbent Patricia Harless was unopposed in the Republican primary. Harless defeated Cris Hernandez (L) in the general election.[6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patricia Harless Incumbent |
86.3% | 23,899 | |
| Libertarian | Cris Hernandez | 13.7% | 3,791 | |
| Total Votes | 27,690 | |||
2012
Harless ran in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 126. Harless ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election. She was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9]
2010
Harless won re-election in District 126. She was unopposed in the March 2 Republican primary and defeated Democrat Casey McKinney in the November 2 general election.[9]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 126 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Patricia Harless (R)
|
25,534 | 68.14% | ||
| Casey McKinney (D) | 11,983 | 31.85% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Harless won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from the 126th District, receiving 32,748 votes ahead of Democrat Chad Khan (21,179) and Libertarian Oscar Palma, Jr. (1,204).[9] She raised $195,253 for her campaign; Khan raised $38,139.[10]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 126 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Patricia Harless (R)
|
32,748 | 59.40% | ||
| Chad Khan (D) | 21,179 | 38.41% | ||
| Oscar J. Palma, Jr. (L) | 1,204 | 2.18% | ||
2006
In November 2006, Harless won election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas' 117th District, defeating Chad Khan (D) and Oscar Palma, Jr. (L).[9]
Harless raised $529,914 for his campaign while Khan raised $235,447 and Palma raised $0.[11]
| Texas House of Representatives, District 117 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Patricia Harless (R)
|
18,112 | |||
| Chad Khan (D) | 9,114 | |||
| Oscar Palma, Jr (L) | 736 | |||
Campaign themes
2014
Harless' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[12]
Economy
- Excerpt: "Balance the budget without raising taxes; Create stricter spending limits to slow the growth of government; Encourage free market principles; Additional property tax reductions & appraisal reforms"
Immigration Reform
- Excerpt: "Protect our borders and support a strong military; Penalties for employers that knowingly hire illegal aliens; Empower state and local police to enforce immigration laws"
Education
- Excerpt: "Public school excellence & fair teacher pay; Reduce the administrative burden on Texas schools; Equality in funding for our public schools"
Other
- Excerpt: "Protect senior citizens’ tax exemptions; Improve traffic flow and keep free roads free; Support Pro-life, Pro-gun owner, Pro-private property rights; Require Texas photo ID to vote"
2012
Harless' website highlighted the following campaign themes:
- Education - supports "local control of our public schools and our children’s education and rewarding good teachers," "reducing the administrative burden on Texas Schools," "a parent’s right to opt out of a school if a child is in a failing education system," "teacher pay raises without raising taxes," and "Oppose unfunded state mandates on our public schools."
- Immigration - supports "Call upon the Governor to declare a state of emergency," "Work with law enforcement to deport illegal immigrants from the United States immediately," "Work with Texas’ Congressmen to fight for the passage of strong federal illegal immigration legislation."
She is pro life and defines marriage as "the union between one man and one woman."
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.
2017
In 2017, the Texas State Legislature was in its 85th legislative session from January 10 through May 29. A special session was held from July 18 to August 15.
- Legislators are scored on their votes for or against the organization's position and principles.
- Legislators are scored based by the organization on their votes on bills relating to "core budget and free enterprise issues."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental and public health issues.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to LGBT issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills relating to taxes and property rights.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to businesses, taxpayers, and families.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Texas State Legislature was in its 84th legislative session from January 13 through June 1.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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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]. |
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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.[13] Two additional called sessions were held from July 1 through July 30 and July 30 through August 5.[14]
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Texas State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Texas State Legislature was in its 82nd legislative session from January 11 through May 30. A special session was called for May 31 through June 29.[14]
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Harless and her husband, Sam, have one child.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Patricia + Harless + Texas + House"
See also
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas House of Representatives
- Texas House of Representatives Committees
- Texas Joint Committees
- Texas state legislative districts
External links
- Patricia Harless' campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Official Campaign Contributions
- Follow The Money, Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006
- Freedom Speaks profile (Archive)
- Texas State Directory profile
- Texas Political Almanac HD 126 page
- Texas Tribune profile & bio
- Vote-TX.org profile
- State Surge profile
- Texas Conservative Coalition profile
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Texas Secretary of State, "2016 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History results," accessed August 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
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Texas Secretary of State, "1992 - Current Election History," accessed February 17, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2006 Candidate funds," accessed May 24, 2014
- ↑ patriciaharless.com, "Issues," accessed February 14, 2014
- ↑ kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Legislative reference Library of Texas, "Texas Legislative Sessions and Years," accessed June 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Texas House District 126 2007–2017 |
Succeeded by Kevin Roberts (R) |
