Texas House of Representatives District 57 candidate surveys, 2022
From Ballotpedia
This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Texas House of Representatives District 57 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 57
Richard Hayes defeated Darren Hamilton in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 57 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Richard Hayes (R) | 65.3 | 39,924 |
 | Darren Hamilton (L)  | 34.7 | 21,227 | |
| Total votes: 61,151 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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.
| Collapse all
Darren Hamilton (L)
Immigration - What we really should be discussing is "comprehensive immigration reform". If Americans want immigrants to enter the United States through legal channels, then the immigration laws (and their reforms) should address making those legal channels fair, reasonable, and more accessible to potential immigrants. The point that I am trying to make here is that we should be talking to each other about how to accomplish this. Libertarians like me believe that most American families came to the United States from somewhere else, whether long ago or relatively recently, and as long as they have no credible plan for, a history of, or perform acts of violence within our country, they should be welcome to immigrate to the United States.
Repeal of Prohibition Laws - Prohibition is the act of forbidding something, especially by law. It's basically the government telling people what they cannot do and claiming that these laws are in place "for the public good", but they're not. Laws covering censorship, abortion elimination, and recreational cannabis are just a few existing prohibitions that should be heavily scrutinized. We should not be trying to control someone else's personal choices or decisions, especially through law.
Education and School Choice - Education is one of the most expensive government services and should be expected to provide some of the best returns on our investment. Unfortunately, the discussions on improving education typically revolve around throwing more money at a system that was designed well before the current information age. Parents, teachers, AND students should be able to determine for themselves the best course for their education, not the government.
Repeal of Prohibition Laws - Prohibition is the act of forbidding something, especially by law. It's basically the government telling people what they cannot do and claiming that these laws are in place "for the public good", but they're not. Laws covering censorship, abortion elimination, and recreational cannabis are just a few existing prohibitions that should be heavily scrutinized. We should not be trying to control someone else's personal choices or decisions, especially through law.
Education and School Choice - Education is one of the most expensive government services and should be expected to provide some of the best returns on our investment. Unfortunately, the discussions on improving education typically revolve around throwing more money at a system that was designed well before the current information age. Parents, teachers, AND students should be able to determine for themselves the best course for their education, not the government.
Darren Hamilton (L)
I am passionate about returning a sense of personal responsibility and accountability to public offices. I believe that each person is unique - an individual with individual thoughts and dreams, and individual needs. As such, I believe that each person is best suited to decide for themselves what to do for themselves and their families, not big government. As long as they are not hurting anyone else, my job as a Texas Representative is to remove the obstacles that have been put in the way of Texas's citizens living and working in a way that best achieves their hopes and dreams. Nothing will change unless someone stands up and says something.
Darren Hamilton (L)
I am a big fan of James Madison because he was a big believer in personal liberties. Before the Revolution, he believed that an established religion was detrimental not only for restricting freedom of religion, but also that it encouraged closed-mindedness and unquestioning obedience to the authority of the state. His stance was that people should be free to consider the possibilities and continually question whether the existing system was working for the people. During his tenure with the Second Continental Congress, he worked to make himself an expert on financial issues, becoming a master of parliamentary coalition building. He was instrumental in creating the Virginia Plan which became the outline for the Constitution. He was also highly instrumental in arguing (through what became known as "The Federalist Papers") for the ratification of the Constitution by the states.
The primary reason that I would like to follow his example is that throughout all of his public life, he saw the issues that existed, and through coalition building and cooperation, he was able to arrive at solutions that made the country a better place.
Darren Hamilton (L)
Unfortunately, there is no single work that has been instrumental in shaping my political philosophy, but a partial list of works that I would cite include "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, "A Book of Five Rings" by Myamoto Musashi, and the collective writings of Neil Peart.
Darren Hamilton (L)
Asking a bibliophile to choose a favorite book is like asking a parent to choose a favorite child; there is never a single one, and all of them have their own individual appeal. As an autistic, I find immense satisfaction in re-reading the collective works of multiple authors. A short list of these authors include Piers Anthony (primarily the "Xanth" and "Incarnations" series), Orson Scott Card (the Ender's and Mither Mages series, and "Pastwatch"), David Eddings (primarily "The Belgariad" and "The Mallorean"), CS Lewis (primarily "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Screwtape Letters"), Anne McCaffrey ("The Dragonriders" collective), Neil Peart (if you know, you also understand why), Rick Riordan and JK Rowling (never underestimate the quality of teenage literature), JRR Tolkein ("The Lord of the Rings" and associated works), and Mark Twain (as a satirist, his work is unparalleled).
Darren Hamilton (L)
Some years ago, I received an official diagnosis of having Asperger's Syndrome. The biggest disadvantage that comes with this form of autism (at least for me) has been my inability - or ambivalence - to pick up on social cues that most neurotypical people seem to take for granted. One humorous anecdote about this is that when it was first suggested to me (by someone very close) that I had Asperger's Syndrome, like a true autistic, I went to the library to look up the official diagnosis. I furiously wrote down, word for word, all of the diagnostic markers - one of which is writing down information for later use - in an effort to present evidence that I did not, in fact, have Asperger's Syndrome, not realizing that by doing this, I was actually proving her point.
I think it's important for people to understand Asperger's (and autism in general). Even though the DSM no longer includes Asperger's as a separate diagnosis, it's still a useful way to identify people with low social skills but a generally high intelligence - along with higher than normal rates of manic-depression and suicide. Unfortunately, most non-autistic people tend to perceive things in a strictly binary context making it difficult to understand something in shades of gray - especially something as complex as autism.
It's easy to see that a person in a wheelchair has a physical impairment and may require help and support. As a neurological condition, the indicators of autism are generally behavioral in nature, and so are often invisible to the rest of the world. We are not stupid - most of us have higher levels of intelligence than most neurotypical people - but because we don't always "fit in" socially, we are often teased, bullied, or otherwise vilified for our behaviors. We don't often have many friends even though we want to, and those who care about us - family, and those we consider 'family' - are often concerned that we are not taken advantage of for our 'gifts'.
Darren Hamilton (L)
As a statistician and analyst, I work with computer systems and computer security on a regular basis and, without hesitation, I believe that the most pernicious threat to American interests is cyber-warfare. The sheer volume of information available for anyone (especially foreign agents) with the skills to get them makes this a paramount domestic policy issue. In Texas, the Legislature should ensure that funding for cyber-security projects is not starved, and should encourage the expansion of more advanced cyber-security systems including research into and development of quantum computing and of limited artificial intelligence. The advancement of these projects will, I believe, do more to address additional domestic threats, such as human slavery and sex trafficking, than any increase in enforcement could hope to accomplish.
Energy independence without the reliance on fossil fuels is also a worthy goal for Texas, and the advancements of energy technologies over the past 150 years has been nothing short of remarkable. But I believe that the time has come to bring nuclear fusion technology to Texas. This process requires no fossil fuels, leaves behind no radioactive waste, and is a far safer alternative than the more common nuclear fission reactors. It is also capable of generating more power than wind, solar, and geothermal combined. While there is still a great deal of research needed to produce a longer sustaining fusion reaction, researchers are getting closer to sustainably harnessing the sun's power for the energy needs of the 21st century (and beyond).
Darren Hamilton (L)
I favor an independent, non-partisan redistricting commission. I have always opposed the idea of partisan agents proposing or enacting the establishment of district boundaries, whether at the state or national level. With the political landscape of Texas, and indeed the rest of the country, shifting toward voters who (at about 42% nationally) do not identify with either of the "Old Parties", the process of drawing political boundaries should be placed in the hands of those who view the voters as real people with real concerns, and not as pawns in an obscure political game.
Darren Hamilton (L)
Compromise is absolutely necessary for policymaking, and anyone who believes otherwise probably has a pretty craven way of looking at politics. It is the epitome of foolishness to believe that a single person, or political party, has all of the answers necessary for every political issue that comes down the line. While virtually all Americans agree that destructive partisan divisiveness is a huge problem (according to a 2021 poll), an overwhelming majority (71%, from the same poll) agree that there is more common ground among the American people than is commonly acknowledged by either of the "Old Parties" or by the media. Compromise, as a general idea, allows people like me, who view compromise as beneficial, to take the best parts of each partisan solution and put together something that will work for everyone. The reality of partisan politics is that everybody talks but few actually say anything substantial, and still nothing ever seems to get done. I believe that if the citizens of Texas really want to get anything done, then they deserve a representative who is not going to get stuck in the stalemate of partisan politics.
See also
More about these elections:
Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races:
