Ernest James Bailes IV (born April 13, 1982), is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

for District 18 in southeastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Bailes in 2017 succeeded Republican John Otto, who did not seek re-election in 2016.

Background

Bailes, a rancher and agriculturist, grew up on his family's beef and dairy cattle operations in East Texas. Growing up in

Shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

, he is a graduate of Shepherd High School and earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

University in 2004. Following his graduation, Bailes founded his own company called Repro Select, an "advanced reproductive services provider for cattle and white tail deer producers across the South-Central United States. Bailes is married to Courtney Bailes, a third grade teacher at Coldspring - Oakhurst CISD. The couple has two sons named Cinco and Rigby.

Current legislative committees

Bailes serves as a member of the following committees: Economic and Small Business Development, Land and Resource Management, Rules and Resolutions, Small Business Subcommittee, and Coastal Barrier Systems.

Legislative history

Bailes voted to prohibit one-punch straight ticket voting and voted to establish standards for determining adjusted franchise tax rates. Additionally, Bailes voted against the Schaefer Amendment of Senate Bill 8, which would have required women to carry fetuses with fatal fetal abnormalities to term. The amendment was tabled. SB8 related to certain prohibited abortions and the treatment and disposition of embryonic and fetal tissue remains, creating a civil cause of action and imposing a civil penalty, creating criminal offense. The law was struck down by a court challenge before taking effect.

2018 reelection

Bailes won reelection to a second term in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on November 6, 2018. With 35,538 votes (75.5 percent), he defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Fred Lemond, who polled 11,514 votes (24.5 percent).

References

External links

Campaign website

State legislative page

Ernest Bailes at the Texas Tribune
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailes, Ernest 1982 births Living people Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians Texas A&M University alumni People from Shepherd, Texas Businesspeople from Texas