Voters in state House District 64 may find candidate Jason Jordan knocking on their doors sometime before Nov. 4.

Jason Jordan

Suzanna Hupp

Jordan received a phone call last week from former District 54 Rep. Suzanna Hupp, R-Lampasas, asking him to drop out of the race.

But he said Friday that not only would he keep campaigning for a seat in Austin, but he would take his campaign door to door.

Myra Crownover

“I got the call on Friday [Aug. 1] from Ms. Hupp. It just really made me think how screwed up a lot of things were,” said Jordan, who is trying to unseat Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton.

Hupp placed calls to Jordan and at least one other Libertarian candidate in a district where the race would be close. Concern exists because Democrats need to win only five seats to take control of the state House. Hupp has said Libertarians may take votes away from Republicans.

Hupp could not be reached for comment, but she was quoted in the Austin American-Statesman this week acknowledging making the phone calls.

Reaction has been positive with warm welcomes at every knock, Jordan said.

Jordan doesn’t worry about the effects of Hupp’s phone calls on his chances to win the election.

“I am doing it because I think it is right, not to win or lose — because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

Dianne Edmondson,  the chairwoman of the Denton County Republican Party, said Hupp was on target pointing out that Libertarians would bleed votes from Republicans and not Democrats.

Republicans and Libertarians share a great percentage of the same beliefs, and having a Republican in office will give Libertarians a voice with that person, Edmondson said.

“Republicans and Libertarians alike will have no voice with a Democrat,” she said. “We have to get people to understand that while they may not agree on 100 percent of things, if they can agree on 75 and agree with the Democrats on 5 percent, if that, what is the better choice? I think it’s pretty clear.”

No one is 100 percent happy with every Republican in office, Edmondson said. But, she said, it doesn’t mean the solution is to replace them with Democrats, especially not conservative Republicans such as Crownover.

Crownover was attending the Southern Governor’s Association meeting in Virginia on Friday and was not available for comment. She did have a statement relayed through Kevin Cruiser, her chief of staff.

“Rep. Crownover has spoken to Mr. Jordan personally several times and has no intention of asking him to drop out of the race,” Cruiser said. “She is happy to have Mr. Jordan in the race and is excited about a healthy and positive campaign focused on the issues important to the citizens of Denton County.”

John McClelland

Democratic candidate John McClelland said Republicans have every right to be worried about the close House races.

“But I don’t think it was the best thing for them to do to make phone calls to ask someone to drop off the ballot,” he said. “They may have been able to handle all of that a little bit differently.”

Trying to get candidates off the ballot doesn’t leave a choice for voters, McClelland said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com.