Move Over Sid Miller, Its Time For Tommy Merritt

The countdown continues and in only a few short weeks, the Republican runoff for the
position of Agriculture Commissioner in Texas will be on its way. This time the battle is
between hardcore conservative Sid Miller and top liberal Republican, Tommy Merritt. Miller
is a former state representative from Stephenville and he attracted many supporters for his
conservative views in the Legislature. Merritt on the other hand is a former state
representative from Longview and a controversial figure. He is well known for standing up
for what he believes in and for spending Rainy Day funds, even if it goes against the
conservative principles of the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT).
Merritt was born in Kilgore. He went to the Christian University in Texas, graduating with a
Bachelor of Business Administration. He also has the iron hands to grow a successful
business and he is the founder of Gregg Industrial Insulators, which employs over 500
people. Today, Merritt is living a happy life with wife, Janet, and his three children and he is
now determined to make a political comeback after losing the Republican nomination to
conservative-Republican candidate David Simpson in March 2010.
A core appeal about Merritt is that he is a liberal man that is determined to do what is best
for the ranchers and farmers of Texas. In fact, in 2009, Merritt partnered with eleven other
Republicans to side with the Democrats in order to nominate pro-abortion Republican Joe
Straus as House Speaker. Merritt has also stood firm against his opponent Miller regarding
the slaughter of horses and he has strongly criticized how animals are treated. In fact, when
both Republican candidates served in the Texas Legislature, Miller introduced bills seeking
to repeal the states ban on the sale of horsemeat for human consumption. Merritt stood
firm and voted against the bill in 2004 stating that Miller clearly has total disrespect for the
animals. Tommy also hasnt been shy to voice his disgust in the rodeo profession and he
views this sport as a way of becoming a world champion by torturing animals.
The added benefit is that many pro-choice and prominent liberal leaders strongly back
Merritt. These include the likes of liberal trial lawyer Steve Mostyn who is well known for
being a top Democratic funder who also contributed extensively to the Obama campaign as
well as Mark McCaig. McCaig is also on Merritts team and has been denounced by the YCT
for his liberal ways. McCaig also recently wrote about Millers devious political campaign
tactics where he highlighted that a staff member of the Miller campaign, Colton Buckley,
recently tweeted that Merritt had sex with a prostitute in the Texas Capitol garage. As a
result of this, Buckley lost his job and Miller apologized to Merritt and his family at a debate
in Kerrville a few weeks ago. With all these dirty political tactics Miller likes to play, it seems
he is trying to throw the position of Agriculture Commissioner to the Democrats.

The bottom line is Merritt has the agricultural experience and the knowledge to fill the shoes
of Agriculture Commissioner plus the added bonus is that he is not stuck in the conservative
ways that Texas has known for years. It is time for the State to give Merritt the opportunity
to prove his worth and to bring positive change to the farmers and ranchers in Texas. So
come the 27
th
of May, your vote should be for Merritt in the Republican runoff.