Republican Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has made endorsements in several key Nov. 3 midterm races that straddle party lines \u2014 but she has not made a decision in the race for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n
‘Not a place for culture wars and bigotry’<\/p>\n
State Rep. Jon Rosenthal of Houston, the Democratic candidate vying for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission<\/a>, announced Sunday that Parker has endorsed him.<\/p>\n The Texas Railroad Commission \u2014 which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry, not railroads \u2014 has become a political lightning rod<\/a> after former Tarrant County GOP chair Bo French won the Republican nomination for the seat.<\/p>\n French received backlash in September for a series of social media posts<\/a> targeting a diverse group of students cheering for the Longhorns at a Texas football game.<\/p>\n “The Texas Railroad Commission is not a place for culture wars and bigotry,” Parker said in a statement endorsing Rosenthal, according to a post on his Facebook.<\/a> “It is the foundation of the Texas economy, and we cannot afford to hand it to the wrong leader. Vote for Jon Rosenthal.”<\/p>\n Parker undecided in Senate race<\/p>\n Parker told the Dallas Morning News and KXAS Channel 5<\/a> in a joint interview that she remains undecided in the Senate race between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico of Round Rock.<\/p>\n “I will ultimately vote in that election,” Parker told the outlets. “I just haven’t voted yet and I don’t know yet.”<\/p>\n Parker endorsed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn<\/a> in the Republican primary and told the outlets that she considered him a better model for a senator.<\/p>\n ‘Not the time for activist leadership’<\/p>\n Parker has also endorsed Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare to keep his position.<\/p>\n Parker was one of a handful of Republicans who endorsed former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price when she ran for Tarrant County judge, and she has spoken about division within the Republican Party.<\/p>\n “We just eat our own,” she told the Texas Tribune in 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n