NOTE: I want to make it very clear that this is not a primary endorsement of Chris Suprun. There are at least three other Democratic candidates running for #TX-03, and I don’t know enough about any of them to judge. Suprun’s story and situation is , however, fascinating, and he showed courage when it mattered most , which counts for a lot in my view.

Normally, TX-03 wouldn’t be on anyone’s radar as being a flippable seat. The Cook Report rates it as R+13, Trump won it by 14 points, and incumbent Republican Van Taylor won by a solid 10 points last fall. However, with the #Texodus continuing to rack up Republican retirements, anything is possible. Flipping #TX03 is still a huge longshot, but who the heck knows?

From what I can tell, there are four candidates running for the Democratic nomination: Al Robertson, Sean McCaffity, Tanner Do and Chris Suprun.

I know nothing about the first three—they may be fantastic candidates, or they may stink.

I do know something about the fourth name, however...and his name should ring a few bells around here as well:

Why I Will Not Cast My Electoral Vote for Donald Trump By Christopher Suprun Dec. 5, 2016 I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. Since the election, people have asked me to change my vote based on policy disagreements with Donald J. Trump. In some cases, they cite the popular vote difference. I do not think presidents-elect should be disqualified for policy disagreements. I do not think they should be disqualified because they won the Electoral College instead of the popular vote. However, now I am asked to cast a vote on Dec. 19 for someone who shows daily he is not qualified for the office.

Yes, that’s right: Suprun is a former Republican who didn’t just talk the talk about being a “Never Trumper”, he actually took action when it counted most: He refused to vote for Donald Trump in the Electoral College. This was a huge deal at the time—remember the “Hamilton Electors” movement to stop the EC from rubber stamping the biggest electoral error in judgment in the nation’s history? That was him (and, sadly, only a few others).

He actually kind-of/sort-of ran for Congress in 2018 as well, but that was a pretty half-hearted effort. This time around he’s got his ducks in a row and is giving it a real shot.

There’s one bit of controversy about his candidacy both last year and this year, however...and depending on who you believe, either he’s exaggerating his 9/11 first responder claims...or he’s being smeared by Trumpsters, “Chuck Johnson/James O’Keefe”-style.

Given how much Trump and the rest of the GOP hate Suprun to the core for betraying him/them (he and his family received rape/death threats at the time), I’m of a mind to believe Suprun’s story, though of course I’m not in the loop enough to be certain. I’m therefore presenting this diary mostly just to call attention to the #TX-03 race, Suprun’s campaign, and the story surrounding it.

Here’s an article from last year which summarizes the issue:

"I am asked to cast a vote on Dec. 19 (2016) for someone who shows daily he is not qualified for the office," Suprun wrote in the article. "Fifteen years ago, as a firefighter, I was part of the response to the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation." That stance was followed by a report first published by Dallas TV station WFAA and picked up by national news outlets asserted that no records could be found that the 9/11 claim was true. Contacted by the USA Today Network on Friday, Suprun said he was pressed into service after attack at the Pentagon as part of the volunteer fire department in Dale City, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. But he acknowledged that there are not records to prove the claim. "There was never any doubt about my service that day until I opposed Donald Trump," said Suprun, 44. But he said that even though he was off duty on Sept. 11, he reported for work and helped at an aid station near the Pentagon and then later at the Pentagon. The Dale City department said in a Dec. 16, 2016, post on its Facebook Page that Suprun was "an active member in good standing" during the attack at New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard a passenger airline that crashed in Pennsylvania. But the department also noted none firefighters were on duty from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 11. Members of the department did respond after 6 p.m., the post added, but said it had no record of which members were involved or for how long. "Let's put it this way. I'm not sure how to prove I was somewhere doing what I was supposed to be doing because I didn't take a selfie," Suprun said, pointing out the 2001 cellphone technology was primitive by today's standards. On his campaign website, Suprun makes only an indirect mention of any connection to the Sept. 11 attacks through a link to the Times' op-ed. But he does reiterate his antipathy toward Trump.

The accusation that Suprun exaggerated his 9/11 role seems to mainly come from a report by local station WFAA-TV regarding not being able to confirm his role on that day...but a lot of their claims seem specious.

For instance, the article uses the fact that he wasn’t a paid firefighter at the time as “proof” that he couldn’t have been there...but he was apparently a member of the Dale City Volunteer Fire Dept. for awhile before being hired a month later...and the DCVFD noted on a firehouse forum that they did indeed send in some members to help out.

They also posted an open letter in response to the initial controversy stating that yes, Surpun was an active member at the time and yes, volunteer members were indeed sent to the Pentagon to help out the evening of 9/11:

(“The Dale City Volunteer Fire Dept. can confirm Mr. Suprun was an active member in good standing from July 2000 — June 2002...no members of the department were involved in the initial response...however, members of the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department were part of the operation from 1800 hours on September 11, 2001 until released by the Incident Commander.”)

In addition, apparently there was a FOIA request from the FBI, which confirmed that Suprun turned in a disposable camera to them with pictures from the crash site:

So, there you have it.

I know some folks are understandably wary of Republicans-turned-Democrats, especially so recently...and if one of the other primary Dems turns out to be a better candidate, fair enough. If not, however, I think Suprun is a candidate worth keeping an eye on.

With that in mind, here’s his campaign launch video and some links:

Again, one of his primary opponents might be a better candidate for the district, but this is an unusual situation in a tough district, so perhaps it’s worth taking a risk. At worst, it’s an interesting situation.