Do You Vote on Character or Politics?

I have struggled to write this column -- not because I don't believe strongly in the subject, but because it's a delicate one, and the last thing I want to sound is preachy. 

Isn't there an old saying that you don't talk about religion or politics at a cocktail party? Well, here I go mixing both, and I hope you'll hear me out. 
I came of age politically during the Ronald Reagan years, when the Republican Party openly held to the idea that character counts. Becoming a Republican when I was old enough to vote made sense to me because the leaders of the party reflected the same values I learned sitting on the front pew of my small-town church each Sunday. 

I am not a faith writer. I write about politics. 

But my politics have always been informed by my faith -- not in a theological sense, but in the everyday understanding of right and wrong, honesty and stewardship. Because of that, candidates must earn my vote first on character, and only then on political alignment. That's where things get tricky in today's political environment. 

So let's start by clearly separating two things that often get confused: politics and character. 

Politics includes votes, policy positions, legislative decisions, campaign strategy, and political priorities. Character is something different. Character shows up in how someone uses power, whether they tell the truth, and whether they respect the trust placed in them. When you disagree with a vote, that's a political disagreement. When an elected official uses their office to protect themselves or consolidate power, that's a character question. 
The danger in treating politics and character as interchangeable is real. When we treat policy disagreements as moral failures, we divide unnecessarily. And when we treat ethical misconduct as "just politics," we lower our standards. In doing so, we end up holding the wrong things sacred -- and excusing the wrong things entirely. 

Think about how this plays out in everyday life. Would you do business with a banker you didn't trust? Would you hire someone to handle sensitive decisions if they didn't share your basic values? Most of us wouldn't. Trust matters. 

During my early political years at the University of Texas, a mentor named Tex Moten taught me a simple but lasting lesson: you can disagree without being disagreeable. That idea helped me separate politics from character. I don't hate people who disagree with me, and I don't automatically admire those who agree with me. Over time, I learned to evaluate character first and political alignment second. 
That's why I admired Ronald Reagan and why I worked for the Bush family. They were people of strong character, and I believed they would try to do the right thing, even when I disagreed with them politically. 

On Tuesday, many Texans will head to the polls in the primary elections, and in several races, voters are being asked -- whether they realize it or not -- to make a judgment about character. 

Using a character-first approach, I cannot in good conscience vote for Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate. His long history of controversy, corruption allegations, and testimony during his impeachment trial indicating that public office resources were used to cover up personal misconduct cross a line for me. 

I also will not vote for Governor Greg Abbott in the governor's race. This is a decision I do not take lightly, having supported him for nearly 30 years in public life. But I believe power has changed his leadership approach. His efforts to target rural Republicans who disagreed with him on vouchers -- funded by an out-of-state donor and carried out by misrepresenting their voting records -- crossed a line. Lying to voters to advance or protect political power is a breach of trust. 

Politics is about decisions. 
Character is about trust. 

Votes can be debated. 
Integrity cannot. 

Standards matter -- especially when power is involved. 

We can argue policy without excusing misconduct. 

For me, it's character first. As someone who learned life's lessons in a small-town church, I believe leadership comes with higher expectations, not lower ones. And I can't separate that belief from what I expect of the people who seek my vote.