State Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) on Monday was endorsed in his bid for re-election by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
In a news release, Abbott announced the Landgraf endorsement for re-election to House District 81. Landgraf has been in the Legislature since 2015.
“Representative Landgraf has been a tireless leader in the Texas Legislature. He proudly co-authored legislation that cut taxes for Texans by $3.9 billion and has been unapologetically pro-life. Representative Landgraf has also proudly defended Texans second amendment rights, co-authoring the open-carry bill that I proudly signed into law in 2015. I encourage everyone in the Permian Basin to support Rep. Landgraf for re-election,” Abbott detailed in the release.
“It’s an honor to have the governor in my corner, along with all of my fellow West Texans who are supporting me. I love the Permian Basin and the people who call it home and I’m thankful Governor Abbott is on our team, fighting back against the Biden administration to secure the border and protect energy jobs,” Landgraf said Monday.
Seeking his fifth two-year term, Landgraf is emphasizing Texas-Mexico border security and his West Texas origins as he aims to help end the state’s reliance on the Robin Hood funding system and standardized testing in the schools in next year’s legislative session.
Landgraf said last year’s statewide redistricting deleted Andrews County and added Loving County to the district, which also includes Ector, Winkler and Ward counties, although the winner of the March 1 Republican Primary will keep representing Andrews through the rest of this year.
“I’m very proud of the work I have done representing Odessa and West Texas in general and I will be talking about my record and the work we need to continue doing,” Landgraf said. “We invested $2.9 billion in border security.”
Landgraf is challenged by Odessan Casey Gray, who filed to run for Congress in California in 2016 but didn’t appear on the ballot and then ran against now U.S. Rep. August Pfluger in 2018.
Gray, 39, has previously said he grew up in Odessa and then moved to Bangs before enlisting in the military. He has declined to say what he does for a living other than writing “retired military” in an email response to questions.
Last week it was reported that Gray has legal woes in Wisconsin with an April court date on bail jumping. The prosecutor in the case last week said Gray is accused of twice violating a restraining order and jumping bail on the two cases that were filed as a result of those alleged violations. Online records also indicate Gray is involved in a child custody dispute in that same county.
