Helen Kerwin: Fascist Granny For The Texas House

Behind the charming smile are extremist views that threaten Texas' diversity.

May 09, 2024

I initially was going to title this article “Helen Kerwin: Nazi Grandma,” but then I thought perhaps that would be a bridge too far. However, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a Nazi is “an evil person who wants to use power to control and harm other people, especially because of their race, religion, etc.”

After listening to a one-hour interview between Helen Kerwin and a podcast from Johnson County, there is little room to guess whether Kerwin is indeed a person who wants to use power to control and harm other people, mainly because of their race. I urge anyone with even a little curiosity to listen to it for themselves. Afterward, you can decide for yourself if Helen Kerwin fits the bill of a Nazi. Meanwhile, I’m going to break down her positions, her lies, and what Democrats in rural Texas can do to stop her.

Kerwin is running on the “Contract on Texas.”

Tim Dunn cooked up the Contract on Texas and is being pushed by the fascist-aligned members of the House (Harrison, Tinderholt, Toth, etc.). It’s a manifesto to remove political power from Democrats in Texas.

Far-Right Republicans Re-Write The "Southern Manifesto," Call It A Contract

Michelle H. Davis

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Here’s why that’s a problem:

The majority of Black voters in Texas are Democrats.
The majority of Hispanic voters in Texas are Democrats.
The majority of Asian voters in Texas are Democrats.

If the far-right faction of the Texas House succeeds, they will have removed entirely political power from all non-white people in Texas. It sounds racist because it is. Yet, five House Republicans and twenty Republican candidates signed onto it. This is the 2024 Republican Party. They’ve moved from “color blindness” to “whites only.”

Even worse, if she were elected, one-third of her constituents would be non-Anglo.

If Kerwin is running to remove political power from Black and brown people in Texas, would she be accountable to all of her constituents, even the non-white ones? That’s a rhetorical question; obviously, she wouldn’t be.

Helen Kerwin hails from California.

Texas is full of transplants. Transplants are always welcome with open arms. People move here for job opportunities or to be close to family. They bring their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, enriching the cultural fabric of our state. Transplants contribute to Texas’s economic growth and vitality, bringing their skills and talents to various industries. They embrace the Texan spirit, immersing themselves in the local community, forming connections, and actively participating in the vibrant Texan way of life. Their presence strengthens our shared values of resilience, hospitality, and opportunity. As a welcoming home to transplants, Texas continues to evolve and thrive with the contributions of these individuals who call it their new home. Texas loves transplants. ❤️

But people like Kerwin never have the best interests of the Texans in mind and give transplants a bad name. They are opportunistic interlopers who seek personal gain and manipulate the political landscape for their advantage. She did not come to Texas to embrace its culture. Instead, they use their presence to further their agendas, often at the state’s and its people’s expense.

This is why Kerwin’s run for office is so infuriating. Not only is she running on the extremely racist position of taking all political power away from the Black and brown citizens of Texas who have been here for generations, but she came from California to do it.

Helen Kerwin would probably say she’s been in Texas since the 1970s, so she’s a real Texan now.

There are millions of Tejanos whose families span hundreds of years. Now, little Granny Fascist from California wants to tell that group of people that they no longer can have political power in Texas. It’s wrong, and it’s racist.

The funny thing about all of these out-of-state Republicans is they are almost always pushing white supremacy in the Texas Legislature.

Take New Yorker, Steve Toth, for example:

During this interview, Kerwin told a lot of lies.

It was all based on the “Contract on Texas,” aka the Fascist Manifesto. She blamed Democrats for every Conservative priority that didn’t get passed and failed to mention that some of the bills did get passed and were thrown out by federal courts or that the bills didn’t get passed because of Republican rule-breaking.

Kerwin repeatedly used inflammatory and discriminatory language. She called undocumented migrants “illegal.” She said that gender-affirming care was “genital mutilation.”

Helen Kerwin said her number one priority is border security, and in this interview, complained that the National Guard could only carry pepper spray at the border, insinuating that they should be able to shoot asylum seekers. Of course, that is Greg Abbott’s position, and she is Abbott’s hand-picked candidate.

Her stance on the border is interesting because she lives in Glen Rose, Somervell County, nearly 500 miles away from the Mexico border.

She spoke a lot about militarizing border communities, which she lives nowhere near and is not a part of. Moreover, when you look at Glen Rose, it’s a primarily white town, not reflective of Texas.

Now, most of us Texans, who have been around for generations, know that when there is an all-white or mostly-white rural town, that town has some dark history. A quick Google search uncovers that Glen Rose was at least once a Sundown Town. Since Helen Kerwin moved there in the mid-1970s, it was probably still a Sundown Town when she moved there.

She spoke more about some of the legislation she would support if elected, including banning Chinese Americans from purchasing land in Texas, book bans, bans on drag as an artistic form of expression, and taking away the rights of LGBTQ Texans. It should also be noted that Kerwin is 100% pro-voucher. She refers to them as “education savings accounts,” but they are no different from vouchers.

To put this all in context, Helen Kerwin moved from California to a Sundown Town in Texas in the 1970s. The town is mostly still white, and now that she’s retired, she’d like to spend her twilight years taking away political power from Black and brown people, militarizing brown communities, burning books, banning art, and targeting the rights of already marginalized communities.

A Nazi is “an evil person who wants to use power to control and harm other people, especially because of their race, religion, etc.”

Kerwin is also a possible criminal.

The last part of the interview focuses on how Kerwin has filed an LP for her property but also filed a Homestead extension. In the state of Texas, this is not legal. The law is in place to prevent businesses and corporations from filing Homestead exemptions on their business property.

Kerwin explains this, saying the city used some of her easement and that the tax assessor in Somervell County said it was okay. But is it? I’m not a tax attorney. However, I have read some of the local chatter on social media regarding this issue, and many people seem to think Kerwin is breaking the law.

Helen Kerwin is especially dangerous.

She presents herself as a well-meaning, lovely old lady who is soft-spoken and just finished baking a batch of cookies. This is probably her appeal to the far-right faction of Republicans because she seems non-threatening. Still, she’s absolutely terrifying when you pull back the facade and look at her policies.

According to her website, she’s been endorsed by all of the worst people in Texas.

Texas House District 58 is a +53.9 Trump district. Unfortunately, there isn’t a Democrat on the ballot this year, but even if there was, +53.9 is nearly impossible to swing. While we should still have Democrats on the ballot to push districts left, sometimes people don’t want to get involved if they know it’s a losing race. (That’s a topic for another day.)

Helen Kerwin faces a runoff race between her and Republican incumbent Dewayne Burns on May 28.

Now, if you’re a Democrat and voted in the Democratic primary, thank you, but also, you can’t swing this election. However, if you’re a rural Democrat who voted in the Republican primary, because many of you do, this month, you can stop Helen Kerwin from making it to Austin. You can also vote in the runoff if you missed the primary election (stop doing that).

Dewayne Burns votes along Republican lines. He’s a Conservative who shares many of the same positions as Kerwin. But he voted against vouchers, and he isn’t against Democratic committee chairs.

The committee chair issues are part of the larger scheme by Tim Dunn and crew to remove political power from Black and brown people in Texas.

Vouchers will destroy rural school systems.

There are enough Democrats in HD58 to swing this runoff. My advice to them would be to do it.

We’re mostly in this situation because of the racial gerrymandering in Texas.

Rural Republicans are given too much power, while urban and suburban Democrats are given too little. We can change this when we flip the legislature. But even the more reason that everyone in Texas needs to do their part and vote.

HD58 may be a wash for Democrats this year, but many other races around Texas can be flipped this year. Remember: vote early, vote often, just vote.