Below are my thoughts on a variety of issues that I believe are hurting most Texans and contributing to the decline of our country, as well as my ideas of how we can improve. They are all in varying degrees of development and as this campaign progresses, I will continue to fine-tune and supplement them, adding more details and filling in the holes.

They are bold and, without question, very ambitious. In reading them, I ask that you keep in mind two things.

First, they are all achievable. All of them. The solutions presented here all exist, all are within our financial wherewithal and in fact would, in most cases, would benefit us economically. The only question is whether our public servants are going to have not only the desire, but the fire, the political bravery, to prioritize us- you- over special interests, corporations, the NRA, their country club buddies, Jeff Bezos and all the rest that are getting rich in this incredibly unsustainable and inequitable system.

That’s why we must elect a new Democratic guard, people who represent us because they are us. We can do all of this if we can take back the presidency and Senate, and hold onto the House. We can make enormous strides in the achievement of our “more perfect union”. I am convinced. Or else I wouldn’t be running.

Second, not only is this possible, it is absolutely necessary. Instead of focusing on what 2020 looks like, try to imagine 2100. A lot of us will still be around. What do you imagine? If you are like me, Last Man on Earth may come to mind, or a dystopian hellscape. Never has our country or the human race been more in peril. There will not be any country that we can escape to. This is it. I truly believe this and this fear too is why I run.

U.S. healthcare, and particularly in Texas, is the exception to the rule that “you get what you pay for”. Not only is it expensive, it’s not particularly good. We have the financial wherewithal to ensure that every American has full access to treatment. We just need to prioritize it.

I vow to fight for every Texan to have the same access to medical treatment that was afforded my daughter when her life hung in the balance- quality, universal healthcare.

I am not going to blow smoke and act like I have all the answers on how we get there, because not only is that impossible, it’s not particularly smart. This is complicated stuff, and we need leaders who are going to make informed, strategic choices with the goal of providing healthcare for all Americans, with no more funny business of co-insurance, co-pays, deductibles, lifetime limits, out-of-network, pre-existing conditions, and every other way we have been getting fleeced.

I promise you that I know firsthand why access to healthcare is a life-or-death issue, and that I will work like hell and figure out the best way to get it done.

Read more about American healthcare here.

Americans overwhelming support changing our gun laws to reduce gun violence, and yet Republicans stop research on gun violence, stop any measures to reduce access to guns and offer nothing more than their thoughts and prayers. They not only refuse to lead on this public health crisis, but refuse to follow and respond to the will of the people.

Instead, they have made a deal to help the companies that make guns, that rely on people’s unfettered access to guns in order to prop up corporate profits, with the trade-off that people die.

Make no mistake; Republicans have no other plan on how to curb gun violence. They are fine with this trade-off that ensures their reelection. And Democrats who refuse to fight with every fiber of their being are complicit.

This blood pact stops now.

We must go beyond background checks, closing gun sale loopholes, and banning military-grade weapons like the AK-47 and bump stocks and update our solutions to reflect today’s society. I propose that gunowners carry liability insurance similar to what is required for drivers. Credit card companies should be required to track suspicious gun purchases, similar to what they currently do to track fraudulent activity. And we should harness technological advances and create fingerprint recognition software to reduce the risk of accidental shootings.

The majority of these deaths are preventable with existing, easy-to-implement solutions. It’s a matter of Congress prioritizing our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness over NRA profits.

Read more about my plan to end the GOP-NRA Blood Pact here.

Wild Pigs- The Nightmare That Is Not Keeping You Up at Night (Yet)

Feral hogs, or as we say in Texas, wild pigs, have the potential of bringing the U.S. agricultural export market to a halt, a catastrophic event that would ripple throughout the American economy and cost trillions of dollars and jobs.

Wild pigs are an invasive species to the United States, originally introduced by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, as a sort of living larder. These enormous mammals eat almost anything, and converted grass and acorns to edible pork for the marauding explorers.  But the population of wild pigs exploded in the 1970s when hunters realized the recreational and commercial value of hunting wild pigs and began bringing more to Texas.

Texas is now home to the largest population of the fastest-reproducing large mammal on earth; 3 million wild pigs currently roam Texas. With the ability of 1 sow to produce 14 piglets a year and 7 of those piglets to also reproduce their own litter of 7 piglets within the same year, the population is exploding.

Just to maintain this population of 3 million in Texas, we would have to double how many pigs we kill every year.  To get a sense of how overwhelming this problem really is, watch this video “Insane Feral Hog Eradication”.

Further, in addition to being incredibly fertile, wild pigs are incredibly smart. Pigs teach each other how to avoid traps, and have even used rocks to test for electric fencing. And at up to 400 pounds, wild pigs are a scourge on the crops and incomes of farmers. They have begun invading suburban and even urban areas, and present a serious danger to humans.

Despite the incredible economic costs already born by farmers and ranchers due to these resilient beasts, it could get much worse in the event that these animals contract a disease, such as African swine fever.  Such an event would shut down our agricultural export market and cost our country trillions of dollars in losses.

Solutions are hard to come by, and there have been proposals from the likes of Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller and seconded by research economists at the USDA National Wildlife Research Center, advocating for the use of a poison called warfarin, which carries with it its own risks of poisoning other animals and potentially our food supply.

So far, there is no good solution, but as your Senator, researching and strategizing an answer to this exponentially increasing problem will be a high priority.

Also, the less time I have to fundraise, the more time I can problem-solve. Please considering supporting our campaign with a donation.

By clicking to donate below, you are helping me spend more time on problem-solving and less time fundraising.

And if you have your own thoughts about how we can tackle this issue, please share them with me at annie@runannierun.com. I’d love to hear from you.

I remember my first day of Criminal Law class in law school. My professor started the lecture by asking us what the purpose of the criminal justice system is, and the arguments seemed to group around three main objectives.

First is the practical argument. If we don’t have laws and the ability to enforce those laws, than society will devolve into chaos. Further, by punishing people for their bad acts, it is an example to other potential bad actors and deters other crimes/criminals.

Second, there is a moral/ethical purpose. If someone does something that hurts another person or undermines the social contract, then it seems right that there should be consequences.

Finally, there is an argument that centers on rehabilitation, or restorative justice. The criminal justice system is seen less as a tool of retribution, but rather offers the space and tools for people to repent and improve, with the goal of reintegrating into society.

By all measurements, our criminal justice system is broken. Laws do not ensure equal protection and are unevenly applied, sending a message that certain crimes are or, if committed by certain people, acceptable. Yet other, less morally bankrupt crimes, result in disproportionate prison time.

The race and socioeconomic status of the accused are far more determinative of punishment than the actual crime.

Finally, our criminal justice system not only does not offer the opportunity for rehabilitation, it insidiously and systematically erects steep barriers to reentry and reintegration, making prosperity after prison practically impossible.

Fairness, due process, equal protection and rehabilitation must be the overriding goals of our justice system. All people must be afforded the same access to justice regardless of socioeconomic status, race, religion, country of origin or sexual orientation.

Read more about my plan to overhaul the criminal justice system here.

The right to trial by jury in civil matters is enshrined in the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is also guaranteed by the Texas Bill of Rights which states that the “right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.”

And yet the reality on the ground is much different. As an attorney, I have a distinct advantage to waging a legal battle, yet when I was threatened by my own civic association (even less understood than an HOA) to remove a fence that protects my 3 young children from armed burglaries (2), cars driving up onto the lawn and hitting the house (it happened to our next door neighbor) and most significantly, protecting my daughter who is considered a disabled person under the Americans with Disabilities Act, I knew that our courts were not where I was going to get justice. Even handling my own legal costs, it would have been too expensive, and likely would have taken enormous amounts of time and energy away from my family, my businesses and my non-profit. (Spoiler: I won. No one messes with Mama.)

Like our criminal justice system, our civil justice system has been used as a tool by corporations and the well-heeled to exploit the most vulnerable.

At the state level, tort reform and limitations on class action lawsuits have decimated individuals’ ability to hold big, deliberately bad actors accountable.

Money certainly cannot replace all that is lost when a woman loses her ability to have children due to undisclosed complications known by a drug manufacturer but not communicated to her prescribing doctor or herself. But it can help her pay the costs associated with her additional medical treatment, marriage counseling and adoption costs. Further, there should be some attempt to compensate the profound sense of grief and loss inflicted upon her by the intentional omission of known complications. And if it isn’t just one woman, but a thousand, then certainly there should be an easy way for them to aggregate their experiences, in the name of both justice and efficiency.

I want to explore more the relationship between every individual’s Seventh Amendment right and understand how this constitutional right can be used to force change at the state level.

And if you have your own thoughts about how we can tackle this issue, please share them with me at annie@runannierun.com.

I’d love to hear from you.

My husband is a naturalized U.S. citizen. His father, a Cuban refugee, endured two years in a work camp under Fidel Castro so that he could emigrate to Spain, where he immediately applied for a U.S. visa and waited for years before it was approved.

As an attorney, I have won asylum for families fleeing from horrific abuse and probable death, seeking refuge in our country, a beacon of hope with the promise of justice.

America’s diversity is what makes her uniquely great. It is our competitive advantage. The beauty of American immigration has been our practice of casting a wide net, ensuring diversity of ideas, skill sets and perspectives.

The system has been broken for decades. Our elected officials lack the moral spine and political courage to fix it and have been content to rely on illegal immigration by economic necessity, while demonizing illegal immigrants.

We must create a system of legal immigration that honors both our American values and our economic needs, realizing that a diverse population is the key to future American success.

And if I am elected, on November 4, 2020, I will relocate down to the border and figure out how we reunite the tens of thousands of families from whom we have kidnapped and caged their children, entering the Senate with a concrete plan on my first day in office.

Read more on my perspective and plan for immigration here.

I agree that human life is precious and deserves extra consideration. But the beginnings of human life are not of equal value to the mother’s life or that of a fully-formed human being.

Women’s ability to access safe abortions is a human right. Attempts to legislate and regulate women’s bodies are a violation of our most sacred privacy, and a tool by which majority-male government bodies attempt to diminish women’s worth and power.

I will fight with all of my being for a woman’s autonomy and her right to control her own body. I will empower her in whatever her decision is, whether it be abortion or motherhood, and will fight to ensure that her children are provided with the most fundamental of necessities, including healthcare, a quality education, shelter, food, and clothing.

Read more about my position on abortion here.

Quality education accessible to every child is the cornerstone of American success, past and future. However, the global nature of our economy and the acceleration of automation and Artificial Intelligence against the backdrop of an unstable environment make our kids’ ability to live happy, productive, self-sufficient lives as adults even more challenging.

We must increase and equitably fund our public schools, expand PK programs, stimulate and reward innovation in education, update curriculum to reflect the changing economy, eliminate childhood poverty and make college and trade schools financially accessible to all.

Read more on my Five Priorities for Public Education here.

The Supreme Court requires that Republicans at least pretend that it’s not about race. But if Republicans’ hands aren’t on the Bible, they will tell their racist truth.

My plan to adequately address election stealing is multi-prong and includes the following:

• Win back the presidency and control both chambers of Congress.
• Pass laws that override recent Supreme Court decisions and make voting:
  • Easy by making election day a paid national holiday, require early voting for all federal elections, permit mail-in or secure online voting, and create federal voter ID card that satisfies all state ID requirements
  • Fair by banning partisan gerrymandering
  • Secure by updating security measures for voting to ensure election fraud and foreign interference is kept to a minimum
• Reform campaign finance so that more Americans are encouraged to run, candidates and elected officials don’t waste time fundraising and all candidates have an even playing field
• Investigate and solicit recommendations on improving the accuracy of the census
• Regulate social media platforms like Facebook and make them liable for any paid content that provably false and/or harmful, and require that they more actively regulate unpaid content that is provably false and/or harmful
• Investigate how to eliminate or override the effects of the electoral college
• Launch impeachment inquiries regarding Justices Cavanaugh and Thomas for lying under oath during their confirmation proceedings and Justice Gorsuch for improper appointment.

Read more on Election Stealing here.

The very existence of our country- the maintenance of its borders and the principles on which it was founded- hinges upon the existence of a military.  Without our servicemen and women, the freedoms that we possess as Americans would be under constant attack and would result in a very different day-to-day existence. Our troops are prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives in order to protect the ideals of our democracy and the lives of their fellow citizens.

A lot of lip service is paid to military service but the “Support Our Troops” kneejerk refrain has begun to ring hollow.

Enlisted soldiers are underpaid. They earn as little as $19,660, despite oftentimes being the sole breadwinners for their family. 

After serving years in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers are returning home with serious health issues as a result of burn pits.  And yet no real effort has been made to help current vets suffering or curb the practice so servicemen and women currently serving in the Middle East are safe.

Veterans are up to 68% more likely to be unemployed, compared to the national unemployment rate.  

And most strikingly, we lose more soldiers off the battlefield than on. Our vets are dying by suicide at a rate of 17 a day. This is an epidemic that every patriot should be alarmed by.

We need to stop the hollow declarations of patriotism and start treating our troops right.  They have served us. Now we must serve them.

Read more on how we can serve our service(wo)men here.

I believe that the single most impactful issue suffocating Texans today is the inequitable distribution of wealth in our country. The three richest men in the United States own as much wealth as the bottom 50% of Americans. This is outrageous and has very real consequences.

Unlike so many of our other issues, the solutions are relatively simple and straight-forward. We need people in office who believe that it is morally bankrupt to allow children to go hungry and people to live in tents under overpasses, and rather than multiply the misery by passing the largest wealth redistribution in the history of the United States by giving the richest 1% an additional tax cut, we need to tax the uber-wealthy and corporations.

Further, we need to be honest about what it takes to live within dignity in the United States, and pass a minimum wage that ensures that one paycheck affords people a lifestyle that is hand-to-mouth, but allows them to set aside savings, take time off and vacations and actually enjoy their families, their homes and the lives that they have worked so hard to build for themselves.

Finally, we need to invest in social programs that help people become self-sufficient again, rather than punishing them for having failed in the first place, oftentimes the result of things beyond their control.

I want you to know that I believe the single most impactful issue suffocating Texans today is the inequitable distribution of wealth in our country. The three richest men in the United States own as much wealth as the bottom 50% of Americans. This is outrageous and has very real consequences.

If you have your own thoughts about how we can tackle this issue, please share them with me at anniefortexans@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

The arguments for the legalization of marijuana are as varied and nuanced as the number of strains sold at the Bloom Room in San Francisco. The reasons to legalize range from medical applications to economic arguments to social justice reform.

Furthermore, more than half of all Americans support the legalization of marijuana. There is no compelling reason to criminalize marijuana and literally billions of reasons to legalize it, the most persuasive being that that is how democracy is supposed to work- without a compelling reason otherwise, lawmakers are meant to represent the will of the majority. I will fight to legalize marijuana. That said, we do need to be smart about how we regulate marijuana in order to protect consumers.

Read more about marijuana legalization here.

Americans face the dual crises of climate change and increasing economic inequality, and, for far too long, we’ve allowed the forces driving both crises to create a wedge between the need for economic security and a safe living environment. This is a false choice; we know that we can and must have both.

We need to plan for a sustainable, 22nd-century economy, one that sustains both our planet and our people, and takes the opportunity to update our neglected infrastructure to lead the world on the new economy.

In Texas, we need to be especially thoughtful regarding how we utilize the knowledge and experience of workers in industries that will be necessarily phased out to provide them an even brighter future. All of this is purely hypothetical unless lawmakers understand the urgency of the moment and act decisively.

All people deserve respect and to be treated fairly and equally, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, legal status, (non)religious beliefs, abilities, or any other way our glorious diversity is used to justify discrimination and the denial of human rights.

Also, with gender, I would like to make clear that I reject the phrase “gender identity” because gender is already a social construct, and by differentiating it from gender, it is both redundant, but more importantly, a subtle but insidious designation of “other” that just reinforces the marginalization of transfolk.

For more Mamá on LGBT+ issues, click here.

We have a $22,030,000,000,000 problem. As a finance attorney, I relish the idea of sitting down with our loan agreements and renegotiating the terms. As a mother of 3 on a budget, I know that what goes out is just as important as what comes in. I want to take a hard look at military spending. We need to prioritize our troops over outdated technology and vanity projects like border walls that do nothing to protect us from the real threat to national security. Finally, corporations and the rich need to pay their fair share.

I want you to know that I find it unacceptable to have any judicial nominee serve on the highest court in our country if it can be proven that he lied under oath about something material. Sexual harassment and assault allegations meet that threshold.

However, I have not had the bandwidth to fully reflect on and development a strategy to confront this issue.

If you would like to know when it is uploaded, please stay in touch.

Also, the less time I have to fundraise, the more time I can problem-solve. Please considering supporting our campaign with a donation.

By clicking to donate below, you are helping me spend more time on problem-solving and less time fundraising.

And if you have your own thoughts about how we can tackle this issue, please share them with me at anniefortexans@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

As a candidate, I am not allowed to accept a single dollar from a foreign national. And I think most Americans would agree that that makes sense. Why should someone be allowed to influence candidates through money if they don’t even have the right to vote?

What this President has done is even more insidious. He tried to strongarm a foreign country using his public office to damage a political opponent, with the objective of winning reelection. I consider this treason because he subrogated our national interests for his own personal gain.

At a minimum I would have voted to remove him. And as an attorney, I would have then examined every legal tool available to hold him civilly and criminally accountable.

I want you to know that I believe that Fox News has created a false alternative reality that is responsible for the ugliest trends in our country, including attacks on foreigners, minorities and women. We have precedent for limiting free speech when it results in harm and no media organization should be allowed to disseminate false information without consequences.

I want you to know that I recognize how America’s national security is truly under attack by foreign governments and actors who are hell-bent on destroying our economy and our infrastructure, and ultimately taking American lives.

Instead of spending billions on an ineffective wall that keeps no one out, we need to focus on where the real threats are coming from and develop and deploy new technologies to protect everything from American values to American elections to American lives.

I want you to know that I am already thinking about the variety of ways in which companies profit specifically by targeting the people who can least afford it, from payday lenders charging exorbitant fees, to banks auto-enrolling accountholders into expensive overdraft protection, to hospitals that offer no preview of cost and then sue patients when they can’t afford their co-payments.