The fight to replace outgoing Rep. Mike Krusee as the Republican candidate for Williamson County (state House District 52) has gone negative – over who is more gun-friendly. County Attorney Dee Hobbs accused insurance agent Bryan Daniel of “maliciously misrepresenting” his rating from the Texas State Rifle Association, after Daniel sent out a mailer saying the TSRA ranked Hobbs “hostile to Second Amendment rights.” Hobbs says this is based on inaccurate information because he had not returned the TSRA’s candidate questionnaire before the March 4 primary. “We have a hard and fast rule: If they don’t return, they get a question mark, which means possibly hostile to the Second Amendment,” said TSRA Executive Director James Dark. When Hobbs returned the form on March 19, his rating was amended to “A,” the highest score available to a nonincumbent. But Daniel sent out a second mailer on March 31, repeating the claim about Hobbs’ rating. In a press release, Hobbs called this “a bold faced lie, and even though [Daniel] has been corrected, he is still using the TSRA organization’s name to slander me.”

This article appears in April 4 • 2008.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.