North Texas Daily

Bryce Goodman announced in a Facebook post on April 5 he is running as an independent for TX-26. Goodman is running against Democratic candidate Linsey Fagan to unseat Republican incumbent Michael Burgess.

“I believe in putting people before party and civil service before myself,” Goodman said. “That’s what’s missing right now. Not just in the 16-year incumbent Michael Burgess we have in Washington but the entire ballot.”

Burgess, who used to work in medicine, has been in office since 2003. Fagan beat Will Fisher in the Texas primaries with a little over 50 percent of the vote. Now she faces another opponent who wants to give voters an additional choice on the ballot.

Goodman is the first person to run as an independent in TX-26 since Burgess took office.

“I beat five men in the primary,” Fagan said. “I’m the last one standing, so what’s another one.”

In summer 2017, Goodman said he looked at the TX-26 candidates and their platforms to see what he liked and did not like. He thought about running but shelved the idea, he said. He became involved in activism, participating in events surrounding the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals and the Confederate monument.  

Friends encouraged him to run as a Democrat, which led him to look into campaign meetings for Democratic candidates. He said the party establishment was not the same as their public face.

“A lot of them are just seeking approval and trying to win no matter what,” Goodman said.

He decided to run as an independent.

Goodman said he wants to win, but for him, the most important aspect of running is making his policies known.

“I don’t have to win if my ideas get heard and people actually try to make them work,” Goodman said. “That would make a better America and I don’t have to be at the forefront for that to happen.”

Goodman, a gun owner himself, said there is misinformation on both sides of the gun debate. He used the gun show loophole as an example saying the same rules apply at a gun show as on the street.

He is in favor of enhanced background checks and suggested getting guns vetted through the local police.

“Responsible gun owners can use and own firearms safely if they are properly vetted and have the right background checks,” Goodman said. “I think a local system of background checks is a much more powerful way of doing that and preventing things such as homicide, suicide or domestic violence.”

The independent candidate does not like a privatized military, is pro-marijuana reform and wants to bring in ideas from other countries.

“There is nothing wrong or weak about taking a tour of the world and seeing what legislation works in other countries and trying to enact it here,” Goodman said. “Not every country has it right, but countries individually have ideas that are worth something.”

Goodman said his campaign will illustrate how difficult it is for an independent candidate to run. To run, Republican and Democratic candidates have to get 500 signatures in a year or pay the filing fee. Independent candidates have to get 500 signatures in 75 days and cannot pay to get in.

“We should all have the same exact ability to pay our way in,” Goodman said. “They say they’re not against competition but still change the rules for independents.”

The Denton County Democratic party chair, Angie Cadena, posted on Facebook to say Goodman cannot run since he attended the Democratic Party convention. In response, Goodman said he did not participate in the convention and attended for educational purposes.

“He has been involved in a lot of the Democratic conventions and groups, so I think he is running in a little bit of a rebellion,” Fagan said.

Goodman said every Republican has encouraged him to run while Democrats try to stifle him from running.

“[Democrats] are supposed to be the people’s party of choice and freedom, but if they are that threatened by someone else who is trying to help people, then that concerns me about what their true intentions are,” Goodman said.

Along with his campaign, Goodman is looking for a job. After graduating from UNT with a Bachelor’s in marketing and business administration, he worked at Motivity Capital, a private equity firm. He had various jobs following that and started a food cart company.

He is currently unemployed and interviewing for mortgage and financial advising companies.

“I think there are serious things wrong in this country and sometimes a little bit of poverty in your life can teach you much more than sitting there and watching TV,” Goodman said.

Political science freshman and incoming vice president for the UNT Democrats Shane Warren said there is no reason for Goodman to run.

“If you can’t either have a significant policy contrast or stand a much better shot at winning then it’s a fruitless run,” Warren said.

Fagan said she supports democracy and people should vote for Goodman if they agree with his platform.  

“People have the right to run however they want to run,” Fagan said. “I think that he certainly seems to be a Democrat but if he wants to run independently then he has the right to do that.”

The general election is November 6.

Featured Image: Courtesy Bryce Goodman/Facebook