State Representative Lois W. Kolkhorst
By M.G. Angulo | Photos by Luke Macias and Nesossi Studios –
State Representative Lois W. Kolkhorst is more than a successful political leader famous for going after the issues that matter and the causes that change lives. She is first a wife and a mother, who takes those roles just a seriously as the one that put her in the political arena. Simply put, Kolkhorst’s devotion to faith, family and district is what makes this representative so relatable and beloved by her constituents.
Known for her straightforward talk and common-sense solutions, Kolkhorst is famous for fighting the tough fights and refusing to back down on the tough issues. With strong Texas roots that run five generations deep back to the Texas War of Independence, Kolkhorst believes she is the right person to serve our area in Texas Senate District 18. A graduate of Texas Christian University, her friends describe her as a committed wife, great mom and proud Christian conservative.
Jake, Lois and Lois Kate Kolkhorst.
Kolkhorst has worked closely with our longtime State Senator Glenn Hegar for years. She was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2001 to serve House District 13, which includes Austin, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, Grimes, Lavaca and Washington counties. As the Senator for District 18, Kolkhorst would represent a larger area from Katy to Gonzales down to Aransas County and north to Brenham. In her tenure as a lawmaker, she has been known for her passionate arguments against government overreach.
Kolkhorst has made her mark in Texas politics with several accomplishments. Last year she led the state’s effort to reject President Obama’s personal push to massively expand Medicaid in Texas, one of his key planks of implementing the Affordable Care Act in Texas. A few years ago, she wrote and passed one of the toughest immigration bills in Texas Legislature, which punishes businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. As a budget writer, she demanded and delivered $100 million for state troopers to protect our border back in 2007, long before the current immigration crisis. She also found time to pass a bill to clarify that Texas law cannot be modified by international governments like the United Nations (UN), which was in response to the Mexican government’s attempt to use the UN to overrule the Texas death penalty law.
Her qualifications and experience are impressive and extensive, but so much of what makes Kolkhorst an effective politician really can’t be found in a dry political biography. It’s found in her home.
First a Wife and Mother
Jim, Lois Kate, Lois and Jake Kolkhorst.
Lois Kolkhorst is a faithful, family woman. At the center of her world is God, her husband, Jim, and their children, Lois Kate, 15, and Jake, 12. Lois Kate attends Brenham High School, while her brother attends Brenham Middle School, and both are involved in a plethora of activities.
Lois Kate balances cheerleading, Anchor Club, French Club, Drama Club, track, Heritage Bell, Cubs Care Club, Young Life and church youth group, and Jake juggles baseball, basketball, soccer and football. And Mom is in between all of it, making sure she doesn’t miss a thing.
“I usually arrange my schedule to align with whatever my kids may be doing,” Kolkhorst shared. “I’ve tried to set my priorities as God, family and then everything else. This race for the Texas Senate has been exciting because we’re campaigning basically from Sugar Land to Corpus Christi. The campaign trail can be busy, but yet I’ve still been able to attend almost all of my kids’ games and activities.”
And her kids know just how special that is. “My mom does a good job because even if she has to go somewhere, she will make it home to play football with me or go to my games,” said Jake.
“My mom has made it a point during her campaign to involve my friends and me, which has been fun,” said Lois Kate, adding that her mom has made a lifelong impression on her teenage friends. “She always tries to find time to watch my cheerleading,” she added. “I don’t know how she does it. It’s truly amazing.”
Kolkhorst said she isn’t trying to be superwoman; she’s just a wife and mother with her priorities in line. “I’ve been known to leave the House floor, change into our team colors and drive straight to a game to watch Jake or Lois Kate,” she said. “You really have to be cognizant of your schedule and find a balance. I’ve tried to give the most to my Lord, my children and my husband.”
Lois Kolkhorst speaking at the Texas State Capitol.
These are qualities not only needed to be a lawmaker, but also to be a parent who wants to set a prime example for her kids. Kolkhorst has tried to teach her children to be, as she puts it, “givers who want to make the world a better place and serve others in whatever way they can.”
“I push my kids to be leaders. I tell them, ‘Be a leader today and have God in your heart.’ I think we’re all here to serve a purpose higher than ourselves,” Kolkhorst said. “My family has made tremendous sacrifices to allow me to be a public servant. In some small way, I hope our family has been able to do some good in our state and our country.”
While she balances her family life and public life, Kolkhorst said she’s no different than any other working mom. “I think every working mom has to juggle those responsibilities,” she said. “We stay up at all hours to make sure some school project is taken care of and that our kids are ready for the next morning. I am no different from any other mother. I respect females for our ability to multi-task and to do more no matter what comes our way.”
Kolkhorst said she and Jim – who started dating at 15 years-old and recently celebrated dating 34 years – also make time for family outings, whether that’s fly-fishing in Colorado, deer hunting or dove hunting. “We also have traditions like Friday night movie night, when it’s not football season, where we pile up in the bed together and all watch a movie. We watch a lot of sports on TV together.”
Whenever the Kolkhorsts have a chance to be with family, they jump in headfirst and prepare for a good time. “During Thanksgiving, our entire family gets together, which is about 30 to 35 people. We spend the night in our barndomenium for a couple of nights. We have so much fun watching movies, eating and spending quality time together,” Lois Kate said of the family’s holiday traditions. “Every year around Christmas, we usually spend some quality shopping time in Fort Bend County.”
Successful Businesswoman
Aside from being a mom, wife and politico, Kolkhorst is a savvy businesswoman who stands alongside her husband Jim. For most of their adult lives, the two have been growing Kolkhorst Petroleum, a company that started with less than 25 employees and blossomed into a series of corporations that employs nearly 400 people today.
“My dad started Kolkhorst Petroleum,” Jim explained. “We’ve been in business for over 50 years as a company and started to really expand around 1997. In 2004, we began the Rattler’s Convenience Store chain, and in 2012, we became Burger King franchisees. We had about 25 employees when Lois and I took the helm, and now, we have close to 400.”
Jim immersed himself into the company with his wife by his side. “I was hired as the local chamber of commerce
president and president of the economic development foundation when Jimmy took over the company,” Kolkhorst said. “I’d help him on the side. He’s really the mastermind. I’m just a spark plug to his engine. He’s a great partner in life, and it helps that he is my best friend and that he is a great businessman. Sometimes I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world.”
The company’s success is attributed to a variety of factors, Kolkhorst said. “We have great employees who are dedicated to our mission of quality service. They are the main reason we continue to grow. In the business world, you have to take risks to grow and need the workforce to back up that risk.”
“Our life together has been quite an adventure. Lois is a great woman. She will be an incredible State Senator,” Jim said. “She’s my wife and my best friend. We’ve been together since 1980, so we know each other really, really well. It’s been a great ride, and we’re still going strong.”
The Heart of a Leader
With 14 years of experience in the Texas House of Representatives, Kolkhorst has served on multiple committees over the years, which many feel qualifies her to be the best person to become the State Senator of the 18th District of Texas. “I believe that experience matters. I’m proven, I’m extremely conservative and I’m a Texan. The experience of being a mother, wife and small business owner certainly contribute as well. I’m ready to do the job as a senator just like any working mom is ready to report to their job.”
Experience aside, Kolkhorst said she also has the heart to lead the district. If elected, Kolkhorst said her constituents can rest assured that she will work on their behalf and take their concerns to the legislature.
“I always say that we must know the heart of our leaders,” she said. “I really work hard at being a leader who serves the people every day. I’m not perfect, but I give 110 percent every day. I know I can do this job. I’m a fifth-generation Texan. I love Texas. I love what Texas has been and what Texas can be.”
Budget and the Economy:
Kolkhorst wants to put an end to budget diversions and keep a lid on spending by starting each session with a “zero-based budget” that accounts for every single taxpayer dollar. She has helped secure more than $100 million extra dollars for border security, and she fought to lower state spending and return any surplus dollars to the taxpayers who a paid them. To provide transparency on how tax dollars are spent, Kolkhorst helped write a bill to open the books on state spending, making sure state expenditures are posted online for the public.
Education:
Kolkhorst has worked for more than a decade against high-cost bureaucracy that drives up taxes and to make sure more of education funding reaches the classroom, and as a parent, she fought against the reliance on standardized testing. “Education is truly our future,” Kolkhorst said. “What we teach our children today begins to shape and mold their minds. I’m a big advocate of teaching history. I am not a supporter of Common Core. I believe that Texas is smart enough to come up with its own curriculum and to teach it to its children.”
Immigration and Border Security:
Kolkhorst demands that Texas secures its border and provide our state forces with the money, manpower and technology to fight against illegal immigration. Already, she’s passed one of the toughest immigration bills in Texas that punishes business that knowingly hire illegal immigrants and authored one of the first voter ID requirements in Texas. “We must continue to invest money, because the federal government is not going to do it,” Kolkhorst said. “We will get even more aggressive about protecting our border.”
Sanctity of Life:
With a fundamental respect for human life, from conception until natural death, Kolkhorst has worked against funding Planned Parenthood, and she voted to put an end to late-term abortion in Texas. She sponsored legislation that guided Texas away from the practice of embryonic stem cell research, instead enabling an adult stem cell research program.
Second Amendment:
Kolkhorst is a firm believer that the right to keep and bear arm exists to protect all other rights. She said as senator she will fight to protect gun rights. She has streamlined the process Texans go through to earn their Concealed Handgun License, and she has worked for years with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, some of the leading wildlife researchers in Texas.
Property Rights:
Kolkhorst has been fighting to see that land owners don’t have their property taken by unelected government appointees. Considered a defender of private property rights, she wrote and passed a bill to eliminate the unfair “jury of view” method of eminent domain in Texas.
The Affordable Care Act:
“As the current chair of the Public Health Committee in the Texas House, I’ve been battling the dangers of the Affordable Care Act and the impact that it is having on our citizens,” Kolkhorst said. “I’ve also worked on privacy rights for electronic healthcare records to make sure they cannot be bartered or sold.” Her landmark medical privacy bill, House Bill 300 in 2011, is known as the toughest law on electronic health records in the nation.