Todd Kent
Todd Kent (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 17th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.
Kent completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Todd Kent was born in Amarillo, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Utah State University in 1982, a master's degree in public policy from Regent University in 1990, and a Ph.D in political science from Texas A&M University in 2005. Kent’s career experience includes working as a college professor and as a political and business consultant.[1]
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 | |
| 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 | |
| Total votes: 23,550 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed 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 | |
| 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. | ||||
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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 | |
| 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. | ||||
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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 | |
| 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 | |
| David Saucedo | 1.4 | 975 | ||
| Jeffrey Oppenheim (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.7 | 483 | ||
 | Ahmad Adnan | 0.7 | 477 | |
| 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) |
| ||||
| = 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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Campaign themes
2020
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released 2020 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Todd Kent completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kent's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My professional experience has spanned the academic, political consulting and nonprofit arenas.
As a dean of two American universities, I have brought diverse groups together to advance the success of university campuses. I have balanced multi-million dollar budgets.
Throughout my life, I have been electing Republicans to office. I organized George H.W. Bush's 1988 campaign for President in 30 counties in Texas, including all of the counties in this Congressional district. I served as a campaign consultant for Republican State Board of Education candidates and key elected officials throughout the state.
In the nonprofit arena, I founded Worldview Academy, a Christian leadership organization that reaches over 2500 teens each year across the United States.
My expertise and my experience make me the most prepared person to represent your interests and values in Congress.- This CD 17 race is not about electing someone who will simply vote Republican; it is about electing someone who can be a leader among the 435 members of the House. • We need to elect someone who can persuade others, change minds, and create winning coalitions. I am the person in this race who has experience leading and working in the highest levels of large institutions.
- Health care costs in this country are too high. The number one thing we can do to help individuals and families in this country is to get Health Care costs under control. The average annual premium for family health insurance is almost $20,000 and together with high deductibles, co-pays, and other expenses, families are feeling the financial pain. We need legislation that reduces government intervention and regulation. The more government tries to intervene, the less competition in the health marketplace. As your Congressman, I will work to make health care more affordable.
- As of December 2019, the Total Outstanding Public Debt is over 23 trillion dollars. Just like when a family gets into debt, when a nation's debt gets too large, it is not sustainable. We all should be troubled that our growing national debt will create problems for future generations. In 2018, the US took in 3.5 trillion and spent 4.1 trillion. Our tax receipts are sufficient to run this country. We need leaders willing to make hard choices about our government spending.
1) Foreign Affairs. I have lived and worked in two of the hottest spots in the world-the Middle East and South Korea. What I have learned from interacting with the people and the leaders is that relationships matter. We need to be good partners with our allies throughout the world to promote our interests.
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
Kent’s campaign website stated the following:
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Excess Federal Regulations Americans are paying a significant portion of their income to cover the costs of government regulations. According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual report on regulation, every US household pays over $14,000 annually to cover government regulations. The report calls this a “hidden tax” that amounts to “20 percent of the average pre-tax household budget.” I will fight costly regulations that needlessly drain a family’s finances. Protect Small Farms I believe more needs to be done to support the small farms across this district and in Texas. The most recent farm bill has been called a reverse “Robin Hood” program by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Large corporations receive the great share of subsidies, while the small farmer receives little help. According to the Congressional Research Service, “almost all of the farm program support (94 percent) goes to just six commodities (corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, rice, and peanuts),” which only account for 28% of all agricultural production. As your Congressman, I will fight for farmers in our district. Rural Healthcare Rural healthcare is important to Central Texas. Over 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 and hundreds more are in danger of closing across the country. Dr. Nancy Dickey, president of the Rural and Community Health Institute at Texas A&M, summarizes the problem. “The distance that ambulances have to travel to patients after a hospital closes, as well as the limited number of ambulances in rural counties, means that residents there may have to wait for care after a car accident, heart attack or other health emergency.” Congress needs to create the necessary legislation that will allow failing hospitals to transform themselves into more sustainable operations that can continue to serve their communities. I will work to make this a priority in the next Congress. Regain a Republican majority Regain a Republican majority in the House of Representatives by electing proven leaders who can expand the party and affect policy change In the last election cycle, Republicans lost 41 seats and the majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats now control the policy agenda. The problem is worse than you might think. According to Pew Research, on generic Congressional ballot polls, Democrats lead Republicans in every demographic except for voters 65+. According to Gallup polls, 70% of voters disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. As Republicans, we must regain our relevance by demonstrating leadership with innovative ideas and creative solutions. We have to move forward in a way that can win over younger voters with the ideas of individual liberty and limited government without alienating them. We must win back the trust of Americans by addressing the fundamental issues affecting our country. As Republicans, we are losing our political future by not adequately addressing contentious issues such as the environment, immigration, and health care. I am a leader that has successfully built organizations both in the US and internationally. I can broaden our Republican base and build coalitions that can change the course of our party’s future. I have worked in higher education and politics, the very institutions that we badly need to reach if we are going to regain a majority. I can successfully engage voters, build the party, and articulate a message that educates and unifies. Healthcare Stop the rising cost of health care. Obamacare promised lower costs and affordable health insurance premiums. The truth is that costs continue to rise and are not slowing down. As Republicans, we cannot hide from the growing problem or we will be stuck with the massive-government approaches offered by the Democrats. There are no easy answers, but we must take the lead in crafting innovative policy solutions. The average annual premium for family health insurance is almost $20,000 and, together with high deductibles, copays, and other expenses, families are feeling a serious financial burden. We need legislation that reduces government intervention and regulation. The more government tries to intervene, the less competition in the health marketplace. For that reason, the solution to the problem is not Democratic Presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders’ $20 trillion “Medicare for all” plan. This government program would eliminate your freedom to choose your own healthcare and lead to a reduction in quality. Federal Debt Stop unsustainable spending. As of December 2019, the Total Outstanding Public Debt is over 23 trillion dollars. Just like when a family gets into debt, when a nation’s debt gets too large, it is not sustainable. We all should be troubled that our growing national debt will create problems for future generations. Sadly, both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of overspending. We need leaders in Congress with the courage to stop our decline into financial insecurity. The growing debt increases the amount of interest that must be paid out to creditors, reduces the ability of the government to deal with financial crises, and threatens the long-term viability of programs that support our seniors such as Social Security and Medicare. Immigration We have to control our borders. It is a critical national security problem when we do not know who is entering our country. We need to use all measures—human, technological and a wall-- to secure our borders to prevent unlawful entrance into the US. I oppose sanctuary cities and their efforts to resist the work of federal immigration officials. We must modernize and simplify the process for those who apply for legal immigration. I believe the most important criteria for legal immigration is the aspiration to become an American. We must limit legal immigration to applicants who desire to assimilate into this country and contribute to what makes America great. Future of Jobs Safeguarding the future of work. In America today, more people are working and the unemployment rate has reached historic lows. This is great news for families. Even with this great news, Republicans must continue to strengthen the economic prospects for our nations’ families by addressing critical issues affecting workers in our communities. Although the size of paychecks has continued to rise over the past four decades, the purchasing power of workers’ earnings has not kept up. Workers are making more, but they are not able to buy more. One reason is the rising cost of employer-provided healthcare which keeps employers from raising employee wages. Also, the world of work is changing and will create disruptions in our communities on a grand scale. Recent innovations in artificial intelligence and automation (robotics) are going to change employment, not only across the country, but in Texas. According to Oxford Economics’ June 2019 report, Texas is one of the five most vulnerable states for job loss from automation. Republicans must act now to avoid an employment crisis that harms Central Texans. 2nd Amendment I am a supporter of the 2nd Amendment and the individual’s right to own a weapon. A reduction in the number of guns will not curb gun violence. I would vigorously oppose government gun confiscation legislation. Reducing gun violence can only happen by expanding mental health programs and strengthening family structures. 100% Pro-Life If we believe that God is the Creator of life, we absolutely cannot compromise on this issue. We need to encourage alternatives like adoption, and we need to find ways to support women in crisis pregnancies. My wife and I have supported pro-life causes for years. She has worked as a counselor at a Crisis Pregnancy Center and served on their board. Christian Leader My faith is foundational to my beliefs about life and government. I have served as a leader in my local church, worked on the staff of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and co-founded a nationwide Christian leadership camp called Worldview Academy. [2] |
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| —Todd Kent[3] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ ’’Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 20, 2020’’
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Todd Kent 2020 campaign website, "Key Issues," accessed February 5, 2020
