Socialism Sounds Nice Until It Hits Texas

I am Cheryl Bean, and I am running to represent House District 94. Our district covers parts of Arlington, Hurst, and east Fort Worth.

Written By Cheryl Bean (candidate for Texas House District 94)

For years this seat was held by a Republican. Now it is open, and the choice in November is clear.

I believe in hard work, safe communities, strong schools, and an economy that lets families get ahead. My opponent and many other Democrat candidates are being pulled toward ideas from the Democratic Socialists of America, the DSA.

Those ideas may sound generous on a poster. In real life they are a danger to Texas.

The DSA is a national group that wants the government, not private owners, to control major parts of the economy—big companies, housing, energy, and health care.

Its platform calls for taking over the largest corporations, abolishing the U.S. Senate, replacing the president and Supreme Court with officials chosen by Congress, getting rid of prisons and immigration enforcement, and cutting the military.

It has also made opposition to Israel's right to exist a membership rule. The group has grown fast, and its members have won elections in other states. Texas already has local chapters. Even when a candidate says "I am not a socialist," the policies on the table—higher taxes, weaker borders, government-run industries—often come from the same playbook.

I have said this race is about the direction of our community. If we hand Austin and Washington more control over our jobs, our power plants, and our schools, District 94 will feel it. My opponent may deny the socialist label, but she has publicly embraced the ideas being normalized around her party: hostility to immigration enforcement, donations and ties to national progressives, and a platform that treats private business as the problem.

Prices go up or down based on the availability of houses, energy, and medical services. Prices tell builders and companies what people need. When politicians own the big firms or set the rules for favors, those signals break.

In the most recent example of socialist takeover, Venezuela took over its oil industry, pushed out skilled workers for political reasons, and ended up with shortages and a crashed economy despite huge reserves. People are literally starving and living in fear of their government.

Texas cannot afford that experiment. Oil and gas jobs, refineries, and the electric grid support families from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast.

We all remember the 2021 winter storm. Putting politicians in charge of who runs the plants and pipelines would mean more politics and less reliability. "Free" health care and shorter workweeks sound nice until the tax bill arrives and services and supplies are NOT available.

National single-payer plan cost tens of trillions. That money will not come only from billionaires. It will come from working households in Arlington and Hurst... in the form of HUGE taxes.

The political danger is just as real. Our Constitution splits power so no one branch can take over. The DSA wants to scrap the Senate and make the president and judges answer to Congress alone. History shows that once the state controls jobs and housing, criticizing the people in charge gets expensive.

Some DSA statements have praised dictators and excused regimes that jail their own people. After the October 7 attacks, some chapters failed to draw a clear line against terrorism aimed at civilians.

On the border, the stakes are local. The DSA platform supports abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ending most deportations. Texas shares a long border with Mexico. We have spent state money on barriers and law enforcement because federal control has been uneven. Calling enforcement itself un-American leaves less room to talk about illegal crossings, fentanyl, and the pressure on our cities. I believe in law and order and secure borders. Our district deserves a representative who will say that plainly.

Texas families argue every day about property taxes, school funding, and keeping the lights on. We can build more housing, fund public schools, and keep energy competitive without the government owning major industries or tearing up the Constitution. I am running because District 94 should stay a place where work pays, schools serve kids, and the law means something.