By Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief

Will Josh Winegarner ever own up to his record?

Last week, I published an offer to congressional candidate Josh Winegarner to allow him the opportunity to submit an opinion piece explain his lobbying record and his support from political action committees based outside of Texas’ 13th Congressional District. The main reason I did so was due to the fact that Mr. Winegarner is claiming stories about his lobbying record and out-of-district PACs supporting his campaign are “fake news” even though every story is completely and totally documented.

At the deadline for his submission, no article had been submitted by Mr. Winegarner. Yet, he continued his parade of “fake news” statements over the weekend.

As I have mentioned in the past, Josh Winegarner’s negative campaigning is no surprise and his politico spin is also not a shock in this election. What is surprising though is that while Winegarner tries to present himself as transparent about living locally, he has not been transparent whatsoever about his record as a lobbyist, in the eyes of this writer.

Even while disclosures were filed with the U.S. Senate in 2017 showing he lobbied one way, he claims to support issues a different way. He says one thing and he does another. He calls for voters to elect “one of our own,” but pulls in support from South Texas Congressman Will Hurd’s PAC without ever blinking an eye.

While plenty could be said of the hypocrisy of the Winegarner campaign, perhaps the biggest issue in this campaign should be Winegarner’s refusal to own up to his record. Winegarner has yet to have given a solid answer on his lobbying record and why he now claims to hold positions contrary to his record.

These issues are by no means fake news. For the lobbying record information, you can check here, and for the PAC information, you can look here.

No matter what happens in this election, it seems Josh Winegarner’s campaign will continue to scream “fake news” each time a story is published which is not flattering to his candidacy. This is disappointing, but there is a solution. If Josh Winegarner wants to be taken seriously, he should openly explain why he lobbied the way he did on those various issues. Instead of running away from his record and into the arms of his high-dollar PAC friends, he should be open and honest with the voters of Texas’ 13th Congressional District.

Voters deserve better than a candidate who will not adequately explain his record but wants us to give him our votes. Winegarner can fix this, but he first must leave the spin at home and answer the questions on his record.

Early voting begins on June 29. Hopefully by then, Josh Winegarner will be willing to explain his record instead of yelling “fake news.” I won’t hold my breath, though.