Influence and the ability to make things happen separate Ronny Jackson from the other 14 people seeking the Republican nomination in the 13th Texas Congressional District race, according to the candidate.
Jackson, who retired as a Navy Rear Admiral in December, told the Enterprise Tuesday morning that his experience as a White House physician and as a senior advisor to President Donald Trump make him the best candidate to succeed Clarendon’s Mac Thornberry in Congress.
“Mac Thornberry has a huge voice in Washington,” Jackson said. “The day he leaves, that voice for the 13th District is zero, and we’ll have a freshman congressman with no influence. I’m the exception. I have influence. I just left the White House. I know every cabinet secretary and have all their home and cell numbers. If I call, they are going to answer, and I’ll be the only freshman congressman who can walk into the Oval Office and get the president to stop what he’s doing and listen to me.”
Jackson was born and raised in Levelland as the son of an electrician and a homemaker. He worked sacking groceries and in the oil field to put himself through South Plains College. While at Texas A&M University in Galveston, he got a job at the University of Texas medical branch there working in pathology, which spurred his interest in a career in medicine.
Utilizing a military program to help him pay for his medical degree, Jackson ended up as a deep sea diver with the Navy and was assigned as a physician to various diving units before becoming board certified as an emergency room doctor and then getting stationed in Iraq. In 2006, he was nominated for and received a position as the junior physician out of six doctors to serve in the White House under President George W. Bush.
“I’m still close to President and Laura Bush to this day, and in fact, he was the very first person to contribute to my campaign,” Jackson said.
What was originally supposed to be a three-year assignment turned into an almost 14-year career on the White House medical team under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump with increasing levels of responsibility and influence, culminating as a senior advisor in the Trump administration.
“I became very close to President Trump and spent a lot of time with him at the beginning and end of every day,” Jackson said, noting that the two discussed many different issues, particularly health care and veterans’ issues.
The president even nominated Jackson to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, but he then got a dose of politics that left a bad taste in his mouth.
“There were a lot of false accusations leaked to the press that the liberal press just ran with,” he said. “It was distracting for the veterans, and veterans shouldn’t be a political football, so I withdrew my nomination.”
At that point, Jackson said he was just really ready to retire and leave the “sewer” that is Washington, DC, and get back to Texas. But as he thought about it and as Thornberry announced his retirement from Congress, Jackson realized he still had something to offer in a way of service to his country.
“I think have an opportunity for the district,” Jackson said. “Trump is going to be re-elected, and I feel like I have an obligation to continue to serve. We have a lot of vulnerable industries in the district that the Democrats may target – agriculture, oil and gas, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, Sheppard Air Force Base. Those things need to be protected.”
Jackson admits that he’s not originally from the 13th District. But he says he grew up just 40 miles from the district line and spent most of his life in the district, playing sports, hunting, and having family in the Panhandle. When he got ready to pick his own place to live after 26 years of the military choosing for him, he chose Amarillo.
“Oil and cotton were what surrounded us when I was growing up,” he said. “I understand the issues here. I’m always going to be three things: a veteran, a physician, and a small town boy from Texas.”
Jackson said on the issues there isn’t much difference between the 15 people running for the Republican nomination. The question for the voters, he said, is what do the candidates bring to the table?
“Do you just want someone from Amarillo? Or do you want someone who is still from this area and can make things happen?” he said.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.