Pat Fallon

In 2009, Fallon launched a grassroots campaign which netted him 57 percent of the vote to defeat three opponents for an at-large seat on the Frisco City Council. In the Denton County portion of Frisco, which consists of about one-third of the voters in House District 106, Fallon polled 65 percent of the vote.[5] In his first year on the city council, Fallon voted against a tax rate increase. In 2010, he voted against a city budget that would have increased the municipal debt.[7] In May 2011, his council colleagues selected him to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.[5]

In 2012 Pat began a long practice of allegedly not living in the district he represents. Specifically, a D Magazine article in 2012 asked "Is Pat Fallon a Perjurer?" describing this habit of falsifying his residency. That same year, Fallon won the Republican nomination in the reconfigured District 106, in which incumbent Republican Rodney Anderson of Grand Prairie did not run. Instead, Anderson waited two years unseated incumbent Republican Linda Harper-Brown in the 2014 primary election in neighboring District 105.[8] Fallon won the general election on November 6, 2012, 41,785 (83.2 percent) against Libertarian Party nominee Rodney Caston's 8,455 votes (16.8 percent). Fallon faced no Democratic Party opponent in the election.[9]

Fallon was the co-author of a 2013 Texas law which allows students and employees of independent school districts to say, "Merry Christmas", rather than the secular "Happy Holidays."[10]

Fallon ran unopposed for the Republican nomination in 2014 and defeated Democrat Lisa Osterholt and Libertarian Rodney Caston in the general election, winning 24,419 votes, almost 70 percent of the popular vote.[11][12] In the 2016 Republican primary, Fallon defeated challenger Trent Trubenbach with 16,106 votes (82.9 percent) to Tubenbach's 3,327 votes (17.1 percent).[13] He went on to win the general election with 80.8 percent of the vote.[14]

In July 2017, Fallon announced that he would challenge incumbent state Senator Craig Estes for the Republican nomination in Senate District 30.[15] Fallon defeated Estes and Nocona businessman Craig Carter in the primary on March 6, 2018, with 53,881 votes (62 percent). In the ensuing general election on November 6, Fallon defeated the Bridgeport Democrat Kevin Lopez. With 233,949 votes (73.9 percent), Fallon overwhelmed Lopez, who drew 82,449 votes (26.1 percent).[16]Fallon served on the House committees on Human Services and Technology.[1]

Fallon defended his "Merry Christmas" law in an appearance on David Barton's WallBuilders Live radio program. Fallon told co-host Rick Green, a former member of the Texas House from Hays County in suburban Austin, that those offended by public schools hosting Christmas parties should examine their own hearts to evaluate their attitudes. Both Fallon and Green said that no citizen has a constitutional right "not to be offended" Fallon vowed to make T-shirts with a Christmas theme for pupils to wear on the day before the holiday break.[17]

A pro-life legislator, Fallon supported in 2013 the ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the measure passed the House, 96-49. He co-sponsored companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers,[18] a measure which opponents claim will cause some abortion clinics in the state to close their doors. These issues brought forth an unsuccessful filibuster in the Texas State Senate by Wendy R. Davis of Fort Worth who in 2014 was the Democratic nominee for governor opposite the Republican Greg Abbott, the choice of Fallon.[19] The Texas Right to Life Committee rated Fallon 100 percent favorable.[20]

Fallon opposed the bill to establish a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure passed the House, 73-58. He co-sponsored legislation to provide marshals for school security as a separate law-enforcement entity. He co-sponsored the successful bill to extend the franchise tax exemption to certain small businesses. He voted to require testing for narcotics of those individuals receiving unemployment compensation.[18]

Fallon co-sponsored the measure to forbid the state from engaging in the enforcement of federal regulations of firearms. He co-sponsored legislation to allow college and university officials to carry concealed weapons on campus and in vehicles in the name of security. He voted to reduce the time required to obtain a concealed-carry permit. Fallon voted for term limits for certain state officials. To protect election integrity, Fallon supported legislation to forbid an individual from turning in multiple ballots.[18]

In 2018, Fallon was criticized[21] for his remarks about fellow Texas Congresswoman, Rep. Mary González, an openly pansexual woman, while delivering a speech to the local Wichita County Republican Women's group. The El Paso Times quoted Fallon:

"You can’t be gay anymore. It’s like the whole alphabet soup now — lesbian, transgender, bisexual, questioning. There’s something called pansexual."

Fallon later apologized,[22] characterizing his remarks as "It was an innocent little comment about mocking the labeling, not a person."

In 2015 Fallon was named one of "The 3 Worst North Texas Legislators" by D Magazine. It stated that "Fallon has a lawyerlike relationship with the truth" and was "vindictive, and he’ll say anything to get what he wants ".

This is in contrast to Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party and a Fallon supporter,[23] which rated Fallon 95 percent. The Young Conservatives of Texas scored him 92 percent. The Texas League of Conservation Voters rated him 25 percent; Environment Texas, 28 percent. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility rated Fallon 98 percent; the Texas Association of Business, 80 percent. The National Rifle Association rated him 92 percent.[20]

In May 2020, Fallon launched a campaign for Texas's 4th congressional district to replace former U.S. Representative John Ratcliffe, who was successfully nominated to serve as the Director of National Intelligence. On August 8, 2020, Fallon was selected to replace Ratcliffe on the November ballot by the 16 county Republican Party chairs in the district, winning the nomination with 82 votes to his nearest opponent's 34.[24] Fallon faced Democrat Russell Foster in the November general election. However, according to The Texas Tribune, the district was so heavily Republican that the county Republican chairs effectively chose Ratcliffe's successor when they chose Fallon to replace Ratcliffe as the Republican nominee.[25]

As expected, Fallon won the general election in a landslide, taking 75 percent of the vote to Foster's 22 percent. When he takes office, he will be only the sixth person to represent this district since its creation in 1903.

On January 6th, 2021, the same day as the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Fallon, along with 147 of his fellow congressional Republicans, voted to block certification of the results for Joe Biden's 2020 victory, as part of the Trump led effort to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.[26]

• Committee on Armed Services[27]