Keith Self’s ‘Not in November’ Warning | TX-03 Opinion

By TX3DNews Editorial Staff

McKINNEY, Texas — Two days before early voting began, U.S. Rep. Keith Self sent his constituents a warning.

“The Red-Green Alliance is a marriage of convenience: communists and radical Islamists working in tandem to undermine the United States Constitution, American culture, and the rule of law,” He wrote in his Oct. 17 congressional newsletter.

The congressman ended his opening message with a declaration: “Texas will not back down. Not in November, not in 2028, not ever.”

November? With his name on the ballot Nov. 3, Self should explain exactly who he is warning voters about.

Who is the enemy?

The newsletter describes an alliance threatening American institutions but identifies no person, organization or activity in McKinney, Plano, Allen or elsewhere in the district.

The Republican congressman faces Democratic challenger Evan Hunt, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and combat aviator. The newsletter never mentions him.

Is he referring to Hunt? Democrats? Muslim constituents? Or an ideological movement with no demonstrated connection to the congressional race?

If none of those voters are his intended targets, he should say so. If he believes some are involved in the alliance he describes, he should explain why.

Instead, voters are left to interpret a warning delivered just as they begin casting ballots.

The story Self chose

Eight days earlier, Self complained on NewsNation that Republicans weren’t explaining their economic accomplishments to voters.

“We’re not telling our story,” he said, pointing to inflation, border security and tax benefits.

Yet when Self had the opportunity to tell that story directly to his constituents, his lead message wasn’t about grocery prices, healthcare costs or the economy.

He warned them about communists and radical Islamists.

“Red-Green Alliance” isn’t a term Self invented. Conservative commentators have used it to describe cooperation between certain left-wing movements and Islamist political groups.

Self also invokes the “1,400-year history of political Islam,” describing a movement that has relied on “infiltration and intimidation.”

What does that history establish about the people he represents today?

Self can criticize political movements he believes threaten constitutional principles. But when a congressman urges constituents to “recognize this alliance and confront the tactics its adherents use,” identifying the supposed threat shouldn’t be too much to ask.

This wasn’t a campaign rally. It was an official congressional newsletter from the office responsible for representing everyone in the district.

An invitation without an answer

Self has also had opportunities to explain his positions directly to voters.

During his Oct. 9 NewsNation interview, he said no organization had proposed a debate with Hunt and suggested a “viable organization” would need to make the invitation.

But Liz Holland of the League of Women Voters of Collin County says the organization invited Self to its candidate forum, called his congressional office, spoke with staff and sent emails seeking his participation.

According to Holland, the League never received a response.

The League is an established, nonpartisan voter education organization. Its invitation wasn’t a challenge from a political opponent.

Hunt’s campaign has also identified invitations from the McKinney PTA, East Plano Islamic Center and Collin County NAACP.

Self wasn’t obligated to attend every forum. But declining an invitation is one thing. Not even responding to an organization trying to give voters access to their representative is another.

And when NewsNation asked whether he would debate Hunt, Self wouldn’t commit.

“This is my seat,” he said. “I’m going to win it.”

Whose seat?

Republicans have held TX-03 since 1968. Self won reelection comfortably in 2024, and the redrawn district remains heavily Republican.

But a safe seat doesn’t eliminate accountability.

Muslim families, Democrats, independents and Republicans who disagree with Self are all his constituents. They are entitled to representation regardless of how they vote.

Despite repeated requests from TX3DNews for evidence that these threats exist in his district, Self’s office has not responded.

Yet the warnings continue.

His newsletter declares that serving the people of TX-03 is his “number one priority.”

If Self believes an organized ideological alliance threatens his district, who is involved? Where is the evidence? And if his November warning has nothing to do with his political opposition, why not say so?

Self calls it “my seat.” But a congressional seat belongs to the voters, not the person holding it. They deserve the opportunity to question their representative and hear him defend his positions in public.

Come and Take It

Self ended his message with the Texas Revolution’s famous battle cry: “Come and Take It.”

But this isn’t a battlefield. It’s an election. Voters questioning their congressman aren’t threatening the Constitution. They’re exercising the rights it guarantees.

Self has spent months warning about threats to Texas. Now voters have an opportunity to judge his record, his rhetoric and his willingness to answer to them.

He calls it his seat.

On Nov. 3, they decide.