Hegar is currently in a runoff for the Democratic nomination against State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas), slated for May 26 barring any postponements.
“We know that she understands the need to end the senseless gun violence,” Brady PAC executive director Brian Lemek told The Texan, noting that she’s “a gun violence survivor, she’s a mother, she’s a gun owner.”
“And we know that she’s gonna enact gun safety measures,” said Lemek. “We think also that she’s the one to beat Cornyn.”
Lemek criticized Cornyn for “his record on guns” and “his NRA support.”
Even though West has spoken out in favor of policies such as red flag laws and expanded background checks, Lemek said that they were concerned about his voting record on firearm-related bills.
“He’s voted multiple times to expand the places where people can carry guns that includes schools,” said Lemek. “What benefit is there for people to carry guns in churches or for people to carry guns in our school premises? So that’s a concern that we have — he voted for those two measures and we find that irresponsible.”
Asked if they were concerned about the criticism that Hegar received for not supporting the so-called “mandatory buybacks” advocated by Beto O’Rourke, Lemek said they shared the same position as Hegar.
While he commended O’Rourke for doing “a lot for politics in Texas up and down the ballot,” he said confiscation is “one particular area where we don’t agree.”
“The reality is this: there’s hundreds of millions of guns out there… If you’re currently the owner of an assault weapon, so be it. You own that weapon now. Both the law and the way that we look at this is, we’re not trying to take any weapons. We’re not trying to take firearms away from anybody. That’s not who we are.”
“We just believe there are certain people that shouldn’t have certain types of guns. And there’s certain people that we all can agree shouldn’t have firearms at all.”
The Brady PAC’s endorsement of Hegar will come with financial support.
Lemek said that they would be “doing a lot of joint fundraising with her,” maximize their federal contribution to her campaign, and be putting their “full weight” behind her candidacy — though what exactly that looks like is undetermined at this point.
“We’re really encouraged by her candidacy. We have great confidence that she can win and we want to see that seat flip in Texas.”
The Brady PAC has also endorsed Wendy Davis in her challenge against Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21), Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX-32), and former Vice President Joe Biden.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
