Tom Watson (Texas congressional candidate)

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

Tom Watson

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Military

Personal

Religion

Episcopalian

Contact

Campaign website

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Tom Watson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 19th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

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

Elections

2020

See also: Texas' 19th Congressional District election, 2020

Texas' 19th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

Texas' 19th Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 19

Incumbent Jodey Arrington defeated Tom Watson and Joe Burnes in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 19 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jodey Arrington (R)	74.8	198,198
		Tom Watson (D)	22.9	60,583
		Joe Burnes (L)	2.4	6,271

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 265,052
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 19

Tom Watson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 19 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Watson	100.0	19,993

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,993
= 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 19

Incumbent Jodey Arrington defeated Vance Boyd in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 19 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jodey Arrington	89.4	71,234
		Vance Boyd	10.6	8,410

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 79,644
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kezia Tunnell (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 19

Joe Burnes advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Texas District 19 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Joe Burnes (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

Tom Watson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Watson's 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.

Tom Watson is a lifelong Texan and veteran of the Vietnam War who has a deep desire to serve his community.

He has been married for 51 years to his wife, Amanda, who is an ordained priest in the Epsicopal Church. Since 2005, Tom has practiced law with his daughter and son-in-law in Abilene.

Tom believes our local leaders should be loyal to their voters and constituents rather than a political party. He feels our current civil servants are more interested in maintaining their personal power and influence rather than helping West Texans who voted them into office.

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?

• We must end the trade wars and ensure our farmers and ranchers have access to international markets.
• West Texas should lead the US in renewable energy. We must invest in infrastructure and increase wind and solar energy production in our district.
• The minimum wage must be increased so all Americans can afford to pay rent and raise families while working full-time.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I grew up on a small, cotton farm in Texas and understand what our farmers and ranchers go through everyday. As a lawyer in Abilene, I see the struggles of many of my neighbors as they try to get adequate healthcare for their families and education for their children.

I am personally passionate about improving lives in our rural communities.

Our neighbors should not be told to move to larger cities to receive the care and schooling they deserve. Rather, we should build stronger infrastructure and encourage coordination between larger municipalities and smaller, rural towns in order to have thriving communities where all West Texans can prosper.

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

I care about all members of my community. I am running for office to serve all West Texans, not only the ones who donate to my campaign or even vote for me, but every person living in my district.

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

Above all, public servants need to serve all members of their community, not a select few.

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

I believe it is important that representatives understand sacrifice and leadership. My opponent has never been in a situation where he has had to forgo his own paycheck in order to take care of his employees who rely on him. I know what it means to put others before myself and to recognize my areas of privilege. While serving in Congress, I will put the interests of the voters before the interests of my party and donors.

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.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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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)