Texas House of Representatives District 48 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Texas, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Texas House of Representatives District 48 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 48

Incumbent Donna Howard defeated Daniel McCarthy in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 48 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donna Howard (D)	79.6	64,039
		Daniel McCarthy (L)	20.4	16,439

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 80,478
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

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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?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

People help people; government helps itself to more power.

Prosperity and liberty go hand-in-hand

Vote *for* the things you want, not against the things you don't.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Limited scope of government: we don't need them to tell us how to run our businesses or our lives.

End the Drug War in Texas. Release non-violent drug offenders and expunge their records.

Remove restrictions on businesses including blue laws, gambling prohibitions and other mandates.

Overhaul the property tax system of school funding + more school choice

Reassess farm subsidies - why are we paying for fallow fields when we could just remove the barriers to growing hemp? Hemp is a sustainable source of biofuels, textiles, food, medicine, et c, uses no fertilizer or pesticide and yet farmers are afraid to grow it because they might run afoul of the .3% THC laws.

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

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Mark Twain. Besides being the "father of American literature" he was also an anti-imperialist, and a great supporter of equality for all men and women, and of science. Also, he was a man of his word - "He eventually paid all his creditors in full, even though his bankruptcy relieved him of having to do so."

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Anatomy of the State by Murray Rothbard

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Integrity

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Unwavering confidence in the common man.

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

Daniel McCarthy (L)

See to it that the will of the electorate be done. Return the power to the people.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

I remember coverage of the OKC Murrah building bombing. Also I remember the 1996 presidential race between Dole, Perot and Clinton. I was concerned about the national debt even back then.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Lifegaurd, every summer while in High School.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

The executive branch should oversee execution of the law, not the making of it.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Texas has an opportunity to lead the nation, as more and more thinkers and doers move here to unburden themselves from less free locales. The general tendency to govern more, tax more and diminish our allure is going to have to be avoided.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

No

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Absolutely. As a Libertarian I can find common ground with both parties, and in doing so will be able to get better legislation passed than either one independently.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Whatever shady process they use now, we probably should do the opposite. People are entitled to fair and accurate representation, whether or not I agree with their politics.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Ways and Means, Judiciary and Jurisprudence, Industry, Insurance

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

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Not in every way, no.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Perhaps, mostly interested in Texas for now. Eventually would like to see many more representatives added to the US house, which is one of the worst per-capita in the world.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Daniel McCarthy (L)

How is the elephant like the donkey? They're both jokes.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

Better that than a unilateral move by the executive, perhaps. I don't like emergency powers.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Daniel McCarthy (L)

No.

See also

More about these elections:

• Texas House of Representatives elections, 2022

Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races:

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