Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) clinched the Republican nomination last month to represent Texas State House District 2, defeating incumbent Dan Flynn (R-Van) in what was the pair’s third showdown.
Slaton will face Democrat Bill Brannon in November.
Flynn has served as the representative for House District 2 since 2003.
Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City)
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It seems that his popularity waned after his involvement in the censure of the University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall Jr., for questioning what turned out to be corrupt admissions practices at the university.
At the time, Flynn was the co-chair of the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations.
In 2017, Empower Texans said that Flynn had once been a “conservative champion” who had “sold out to [former] Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) and became one of his attack dogs in 2013. Since then, he has been an errand boy for the speaker, most notably leading an effort to attack whistle-blowing UT Regent Wallace Hall.”
Hall had been appointed to the UT Board of Regents in 2011. The 2014 investigation led to a 6-1 vote to censure him, and in 2015, the Travis County Grand Jury declined to pursue criminal charges after a six-month investigation. Hall was later vindicated when the UT Student Body voted to request that the university apologize to him for failing to support his efforts. Hall was later awarded the National Trustee of the Year in 2019 by the American Council on Trustees and Alumni.
In their third meeting, Flynn and Slaton moved to a runoff on July 14 after Flynn did not capture a minimum of half of the district’s votes in the March 3 primary. Flynn received 722 votes in the runoff, compared to Slaton’s 1,316.
This was a change from the Republican primary in March when Flynn garnered 12,246 votes to Slaton's 9,889 votes, KSST radio reported.
In his campaign, Slaton called out Flynn for compromising his principles and at the top of his list was an accusation that Flynn led the coverup of corruption and a secret admissions program at the University of Texas. Slaton also alleged that Flynn expanded crony capitalism in voting.
The Herald-Banner reported that Slaton won Hunt County in the runoff with 60.54% of the votes, although he came in second in that county in March. Slaton told the newspaper in July that “his initial [goal] in the next session would be to fight for real property-tax relief.”
Slaton is a lifelong Texan who served as a youth and family minister for 13 years before attending the University of North Texas and earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting, and works at the family-owned Slaton Financial Services. Flynn is a U.S. Army veteran and a former member of the Texas State Guard, where he was promoted to Brigadier General by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
