Thomas Pauken - Gubernatorial Campaign

Gubernatorial Campaign

Pauken announced his gubernatorial candidacy on March 21, 2013. His decision to seek the governorship, he indicated, is not predicated on what other candidates may also enter the field, meaning Governor Perry, a potential candidate for reelection to a fourth full term, and Attorney General Greg Abbott, now in his third term in that position. Pauken said that he wants to end "crony capitalism" and repair long-term problems of public education.

"We just need a different style of leadership and a different approach to addressing the issues," Pauken said.He vowed to run a common-sense issues campaign, not one based on "consultant-driven sound bites".

Pauken supports term limits for state officials. and opposes the "Robin Hood" transfer of money from property-rich school districts to those with fewer resources. He claims that the state should make up the difference in funding between the wealthier and the poorer districts in a "revenue-neutral" fashion by replacing a portion of property taxes with consumption taxes or by expanding the sales tax. He supports expanded vocational education, greater local control of schools, and reduced emphasis on standardized testing.

Pauken said that when he ran for state GOP chairman in 1994, "We didn’t have much money and we had (political operative) Karl Rove against me and (U.S. Senator) Phil Gramm — the entire establishment — against us. And we won.

In 1998, the last time that Pauken sought elected office, he finished with 29.7 percent in a three-candidate field for the office of Texas attorney general. The winner of the primary runoff election was John Cornyn, the state's current senior U.S. senator and a candidate for reelection to a third term in 2014. Coincidentally, the Democrat that Cornyn defeated in the general election held on November 3, 1998, was former Attorney General Jim Mattox,the same candidate who had defeated Pauken for the Dallas-based congressional seat in 1978 and 1980.