Mark Phariss, left, and Vic Holmes at the U.S. Supreme Court
Texas marriage equality plaintiff Mark Phariss has announced his candidacy for state Senate District 8, which covers part of Collin County including Plano, Allen, McKinney and part of Frisco. In Dallas County the district includes Sachse, Richardson and part of Far North Dallas.
Phariss decided to run for the position a few weeks ago and registered toward the end of the filing period. In the first two weeks of his campaign, he has raised more than $25,000. As of this afternoon when he called to talk to Dallas Voice about his candidacy, he had already taken in at least an additional $3,000 on ActBlue.com.
Phariss has been endorsed by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and by state Reps. Mary Gonzalez and Celia Israel.
Phariss and his husband, Vic Holmes, sued the state of Texas in 2013 for the right to marry. Co-marriage equality plaintiffs Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman sued to have their out-of-state marriage recognized by Texas.
The couples won in federal district court and had a hearing in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. That court never issued a ruling, but after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its marriage equality ruling, the 5th Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision and Phariss’ victory stands.
Phariss has an opponent in the Democratic primary named Brian Chaput. On the Republican side, Phillip Huffines, brother of Dallas state Sen. Don Huffines, is running against Angela Paxton, wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The primary election is on March 6.
A full story about Phariss and his candidacy will appear in Dallas Voice in January.
— David Taffet
