Former U.S. Rep. Kinzinger makes Dallas stop; urges North Texans to ‘defend our democracy’

Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger swung through Dallas on Tuesday to highlight the importance of local
elections
and rallied North Texans to join what he described as a “battle for democracy.”

Kinzinger, who represented Illinois in Congress and now lives in Texas, made that plea while taking part in a panel highlighting the successes of North Texas candidates for school board and city posts who defeated right-leaning candidates in the May election and the June runoff.

Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans who voted in favor of the second impeachment of President Donald Trump and served on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

In an interview with

The Dallas Morning News

before the event at the Northaven United Methodist Church, Kinzinger said he wanted to encourage people to get more involved in civic life — particularly in casting ballots during elections.

Kinzinger, 47, told

The News

he currently has no intention of running for office in Texas.

But could he run for the White House?

“I’m not ruling that out,” said Kinzinger, who recently moved to The Woodlands, a suburb north of Houston.

“It’s not from a deep desire to do it, it’s not an ego thing,” he said, “but I think it’s important that we have someone who can really bring the country together.”

Kinzinger, who was elected in 2010 to represent his suburban Chicago district, announced his decision not to seek a seventh term after coming under heavy criticism by Trump and his allies, as well as Democratic-led redistricting that undermined his chances for reelection.

Following Kinzinger’s work on the Jan. 6 House panel, Trump suggested he and others should be arrested.

In an interview published in
January,
the former congressman told

Forbes

he is “probably closer to a Democrat now because of how the Republican Party has changed.”

Last year, Kinzinger
endorsed former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred
in the Dallas Democrat’s unsuccessful bid for Ted Cruz’s U.S. Senate seat. He also spoke at the Democratic convention nominating former Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the party’s bid to retain the White House.

More than 400 people attended the event, which was organized by a group of volunteers led in part by Pat Hicks, a Democratic precinct chair in Dallas. Hicks said he was inspired to organize the event after seeing candidates in local races in North Texas defeating GOP-backed candidates.

Richardson Mayor Amir Omar, one of the panelists, said he had learned how to tune out national politics during his time as a City Council member.

“The best way to get over the divide was to focus on the solutions,” Omar said.

The panel also included Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD school board member John Biggan, Richardson ISD school board member Vanessa Pacheco and Dallas City Council Member Adam Bazaldua, who helped moderate the event.

Laney Hawes, co-founder of Texas Freedom to Read Project, a parent-led organization that opposes banning books, also spoke on the panel.

Kinzinger congratulated the group of elected officials who joined him on stage and told the crowd they should be heartened by the growing coalition of people who are in the “fight to defend our democracy.”

Kinzinger added: “I refuse to be part of the generation that lets democracy die under our watch.”

©2025 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.