State Senator Brandon Creighton takes the oath of office

AUSTIN, Texas -- State Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, took the oath of office and was sworn in as the newest Texas state senator, Tuesday, August 26, by Gov. Rick Perry.

Creighton defeated Republican candidate, Steve Toth, State Representative, District 15, in a run-off election August 5, for Senator for State District 4, vacated earlier in the fall of 2013, by Senator Tommy Williams of The Woodlands. Crighton led in both the early voting and on election day; winning with a commanding two-thirds of the vote. Creighton ended up with 67.37% of the vote to be exact, to Toth’s 32.62% .

The victory came on Creighton’s birthday, giving him two reasons to celebrate. An open invitation was extended on his Facebook page for both his election watch party, and his swearing in at the state capitol, in the Texas House of Representatives Chamber, with a reception to follow.

Creighton has served in the House of Representative, representing District 16, for eight years; elected in 2006. In his last term in the chamber, Creighton was the House Majority Leader under Speaker Joe Straus. He has also served as a member of three House committees: Insurance, International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs, and Redistricting.

His political stance on controversial issues are as follows:

Creighton supported the ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the bill passed the House, 96-49. He voted for companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers. He voted against a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure nevertheless passed the House, 73-58. He supported legislation to provide marshals for school security. He opposed the bill requiring the immunization of minors without parental consent, a measure which the House approved, 71-61. He voted against the measure to prohibit texting while driving, and voted to require testing for narcotics of those receiving unemployment compensation. He voted against an "equal pay for women" measure, which passed the House, 78-61. He voted to forbid the state from enforcing federal regulations of firearms and in support of another law allowing college and university officials to carry concealed weapons in the name of campus security. He voted for the redistricting bills for the state House, the Texas Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. Creighton co-sponsored the law to extend the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses.

Creighton has demonstrated that he’s not afraid to tackle the provocative issues, and make tough decisions. After the swearing in ceremony, Creighton told the standing-room only crowd that he would remain true to his conservative principles.