Howard Frankston

Serving with
 Predecessor
 District
 Predecessor
 Successor

 Birth name
 Nationality
 Political party

Howard Tonsley Frankston (Born 16 June 1942), is the incumbent United States Senator from Texas. First elected in the 1990 Senate Election, he was reelected in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014 and is running for reelection in 2020. Frankston won his 2014 reelection bid with his strongest win yet, 64-34. His father, also born in Lubbock, Texas, was sent to the Western Front in late-1943. Upon returning, he remained as an officer within the United States Air Force. Before becoming a Senator, Howard Frankston served for six years in the House of Representatives representing Texas' 19th Congressional District. Prior to entering politics, he served in the United States Air Force, discharged at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He announced his retirement on October 29th, 2019 and will therefore not be a candidate in the 2020 Texas Senate Race.

## Early Life

Born in 1942, Howard was raised largely by his mother while his father fought in the Second World War. Upon his return to Lubbock, his father instilled a great degree of discipline on his son. In 1960, Frankston graduated from high school with an aptitude for negotiation and admirable athleticism. In 1958, his father had been promoted to Lieutenant General within the U.S. Air Force. Accordingly, both through his physical fitness and his father's connections, Frankston would be expeditiously admitted to the United States Air Force Academy outside Colorado Springs, graduating as a Second Lieutenant in 1964. His admission is widely known to be due to his father's close work with Capitol Hill as a liaison between the Pentagon and Congress.

## Military Service

Howard Frankston had served in Vietnam and been stationed in Europe. Near the end of his time in the Air Force, Howard Frankston served at Ramstein Air Force Base as a fighter pilot. In 1981 he was the pilot who flew American hostages out of Iran after 444 days of having been held as hostages, after this trip he was asked to serve as the aide-de-camp to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for the remaining two years of his service. He spent the first three months of 1983 working as a military attache in the White House on the team of the National Security Advisor. In mid 1983, after almost 20 years in the United States Air Force, having climbed to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he was honorably discharged and would live comfortably in Lubbock, Texas.

## Political Career

In 1984 he sought and narrowly won election to the seat held by Kent Hance. While in the House of Representatives, he was placed on both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was considered a major liaison between the Pentagon, State Department and the Hill, proving to have been a good friend to the Reagan Administration. President Burke Sr. swiftly endorsed him ahead of the 1990 Senate Election in Texas, clearing the way for a triumphant victory in the Republican Primary. In the 1990 Senate Election he was the clear favorite with a resounding 62% of the vote statewide. He has since been reelected 4 times (1996, 2002, 2008, 2014).

He was responsible for steering through the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002, after negotiating its passage for upwards of 7 years, he called it his first major accomplishment in the Senate. He proved to be efficient behind the scenes, while a poor public speaker, his ability to command a conversation, and steward action led to his ability to join the Gang of 14 to resolve judicial disputes.

He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President in 2008, withdrawing before the primaries, he was suspected to have been the number one candidate for Secretary of Defense, while having been thought of has a potential Secretary of State at a stretch, under the next Republican Administration.

### Presidential Campaign

Frankston withdrew in the 2008 Primary in September of 2007, despite decent polling figures and sufficient cash to last until Iowa, he withdrew citing 'an inconsolable desire to serve Texans in the Senate'. He endorsed future nominee and good friend (not-McCain). In 2017 he confirmed that due to their longstanding friendship, the two had agreed that by October whichever was doing better would receive the endorsement of the other.

### After 2009

Following the party's return to opposition in the Senate, he worked with Democrats in an effort to deliver major climate change legislation, which was defeated 51-49, following the election of President Baharia, in the wake of Democrats losing their 60-seat grip in the Senate, following Massachusetts, he offered his vote in return for a bipartisan climate change action bill, he and (not-McCain) were among a group of 8 Republican Senators who privately made the offer only to be turned down. In response, Frankston campaigned the hardest he had ever campaigned to deliver Republican wins on every part of the ballot, his performance fueled talk of a potential 2012 run. As late as August 2011 calls for a Frankston run were made, and he stringently refused, preferring to focus on legislative goals such as repealing DADT. He was the first Republican Senator to support the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, working with Rep. Dayton of Virginia (at the time) to corral the numbers needed to move the bill through the House and Senate swiftly, he was considered to have been relatively successful. Following this 'return of his mojo', he campaigned hard to prevent a (not-Davis) victory, once it was clear that (not-Abbott) would secure the gubernatorial election he campaigned with (not-Will-Hurd) to deliver a flip in the 23rd District.

After the Republican takeover of the Senate in 2014 he rose to Republican Majority Whip, he will be term-limited in this role after the 2020 election, should he run for reelection in 2020. He arose mostly as a result of his tenure and longevity in the Senate, and perhaps most importantly, the desire to propose a compromise candidate who could be neither a RINO nor a Tea-Party Conservative.

In 2014 he managed to deliver passage of a bipartisan broad ranging immigration reform bill that failed to pass the House, he called it a disappointment in his career. In 2015 he worked with Senator Sam Baginski to deliver the Veterans Choice Act. He flirted with a run for President in 2016 but opted not to. He had sponsored and voted for DOMA, and in 2013 expressed his belief that a federal law would have been improper, and that states should make that decision themselves. In 2015, following the decision by the Supreme Court in regards to Obgerfall, Senator Frankston called on Republicans to accept the outcome, saying that it was the law of the land and that defiance of the ruling was paramount to lawlessness. As Senator he was a cautious vote in favor of the War in Iraq, although he has said he regrets it in retrospect. He voted against the ACA, and has continued to call for its repeal. He is suspected as having not fully supported the 'skinny repeal' given the weakness of the whip at the time of the vote. Despite this, he worked diligently to deliver a successful passage of the the Wolf Tax Cuts, despite having voted against the Burke Cuts in 2003 and having called them unwise at a time of war.

He voted for the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh, and was the only Republican in 2015 to want a hearing for Judge Garland, he broke ranks with Majority Leader Warrick when he publicly said the Senate should hold hearings for Judge Garland, he was caught on tape at a town hall meeting with constituents saying "the American people elected President Baharia in 2012 and three lots of Senators since 2010 who should give this Judge due consideration, if he is as qualified as the President says, we shouldn't be afraid to hear him out."

He considers himself a Republican in the model of Eisenhower and Reagan. The Senator was however the most vocal supporter of the Wolf Tax Cuts and defense increases. He has been a vocal proponent of electoral reform, supporting voter-ID laws while also asking states ease the burdens imposed to getting them. The Senator voted against the Freedom Act of 2015, saying the time for the PATRIOT Act has passed.

## Personal Life

He married Maria Frankston (nee Maria Walker) on the site of their current ranch just south of Lubbock. The couple have had two children and currently have five grandchildren.