Fort Worth Republican John O’Shea wants to be the next person to represent Texas’ 12th Congressional District.
O’Shea has been campaigning for the seat since April, six months before U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, decided to retire after nearly three decades. He faces three opponents in the March 5 GOP primary.
O’Shea made his campaign official when he filed for his spot on the ballot on Dec. 11, according to a tweet from his campaign. As of 7 p.m. Dec. 11, the Texas Secretary of State’s website did not list O’Shea’s filing.
After Granger’s announcement, O’Shea told the Fort Worth Report the congresswoman was not ready for a legitimate campaign fight.
“Now anybody getting ready to file with just weeks remaining in the filing period and a couple of months before the primary, God, you know, it looks to me like they didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to challenge Kay Granger, and now they see it’s an open seat,” O’Shea previously said. “They’re political opportunists.”
Among O’Shea’s top issues include putting America first, securing the border and pushing for stricter abortion laws.
O’Shea faces state Rep. Craig Goldman, retiree Anne Henley and electrical engineer Shellie Gardner.
The winner will face either Trey Hunt or Sebastian Gehrig as the Democratic nominee.
The 12th Congressional District covers western Tarrant County and much of Parker County. In 2020, President Donald Trump won the district by 18 percentage points.
U.S. House members earn an annual salary of $174,000 and serve two-year terms.
Jacob Sanchez is an enterprise journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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