STATE REP. CHUCK HOPSONWEATHERS PRIMARY BATTLE
Pharmacist Legislator Captures 61% of GOP Vote
State Rep. Chuck Hopson, the state’s only pharmacist in the Texas Legislature, beat back two opponents after switching parties with over 61 percent of the vote. The win was significant for the GOP after state leaders tried to help Hopson in his legislative battle after he agreed to become a Republican late last year.
As a Democrat, Hopson had the most Republican House district in the state represented by a Democrat. He switched parties after declaring that the national Democratic Party had become too liberal for his tastes and he received support from some of the top GOP state officials. But conservatives, who had grown tired of waiting for Hopson to switch from Democrat to Republican, had already recruited Jacksonville dentist Michael Banks before Hopson decided to switch parties and in an area with growing Tea Party influence. Hopson also drew a challenger from that group. Hopson, who barely scraped by in the 2008 election, had the endorsement of top Republicans like U.S Sen. John Cornyn and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. He won his first round as a Republican with a lot bigger margin than he won as a Democrat in the general election, capturing 9,580 votes to 2,690 votes for Banks and 1,162 for Cain.
Hopson is serving his 5th term and represents Cherokee, Houston, Panola, and Rusk Counties and is chairman of the powerful General Investigating and Ethics Committee, as well as a member of the Public Health Committee and the Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee. An independent pharmacist from Jacksonville, Hopson has owned and operated May Drug since 1973. Chuck is an active member of the Texas Pharmacy Association and is a past President of the Texas Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the Central East Texas Pharmacy Association.
In a twist of irony, Hopson will face off against another pharmacist in the November election. Richard Hackney of Bullard will be seeking Hopson’s seat, pitting two pharmacists against each other for a state legislative seat for the first time in recent history.
The narrow margin of Texas Pharmacist Chuck Hopson’s victory is another example of how one election can make a difference in independent pharmacy’s ability to get its message to the decision makers of the future. We must be ready and able to work with both political parties and with a variety of different lawmakers to ensure that our voice will be heard. Today we must decide if we want to be participants, or spectators in the legislativeand regulatory arenas. Participants have a say in their destiny. Spectators watch from the sidelines and read tomorrow’s newspaper to find out what happened. We must be proactive, and not reactive.
In the past, many of you have shown a commitment to the future of pharmacy by supporting the Texas Pharmacy Survival Fund, which has been instrumental in protecting the interests of independent pharmacy. Today pharmacies continue to reap the rewards from the work of the Survival Fund as it expands its grassroots efforts to educate legislators, opinion makers and the general public on issues important to independent pharmacy. We need your help again. In January we will face another legislative session and we cannot afford to wait two months to begin getting out pharmacy’s message to new legislators and legislative leaders. There is much work to be done and pharmacy needs your help to ensure that we maintain our momentum. Our voices must be heard in Austin. Please make a contribution to the future of independent pharmacy through the Pharmacy Survival Fund. The stakes have never been so high.
Respectfully,
The TrueCare Legislative Council
