Last Thursday, longtime Texas State Representative John Frullo announced his retirement.
Frullo has held Texas’ 84th House of Representatives seat since 2011. His district represents most of Lubbock, including Texas Tech University and downtown. Frullo’s retirement is one of 19 other retirements in next year’s 2022 State House races.
During his tenure, Frullo has garnered a reputation from some organizations as being a less qualified conservative. According to the Young Conservatives of Texas legislative ratings, Frullo has a lifetime average of 61, far below other Republican State Representatives like Jonathan Strickland and Matt Krause, who carry 98 and 88 scores respectively.
Frullo’s now open seat marks a key opportunity for a district to elect a strong, grassroots conservative candidate. The city has a proven track record of grassroots and anti-establishment races recently. In May, voters successfully passed the Sanctuary City Ordinance, which had zero support amongst city officials.
No candidates have declared for the open seat. The district itself is a solid Republican house seat, with Frullo winning his most recent election by 23 points. Now, the date to remember is March 1st, 2022, the first round of primaries in what can be expected to be an interesting year in Lubbock politics.