Political novice Kristen Hook is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Chip Roy in the race for U.S House District 21. Credit: Twitter / @Kristin_Hook

The candidate vying to unseat U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican representing parts of San Antonio and the Hill Country, told the Current her opponent was rude and condescending during their first in-person interaction.

On Monday, Democrat Kristin Hook tweeted that she met Roy over the weekend after making several attempts to get her opponent to commit to a debate. Roy’s camp has ignored those requests, she maintains.

“Met my opponent for the first time yesterday and can confirm he is a Grade A jerk,” Hook said in her tweet. “I told him to his face I want to debate, but he told me I should have a ‘formal request’ to do so. With 3 weeks left to go, consider this my formal request … .”

Hook added that Texas’ 21st Congressional District, which Roy represents, “deserves answers.”

Roy’s camp was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Hook ran into Roy Sunday at a candidate meet-and-greet event at San Antonio’s Cornerstone Church. The gathering included candidates from multiple San Antonio-area races, Hook told the Current.

Hook and Roy sat near each other with one of the GOP congressman’s staffers between them. At first, Roy was polite and shook her hand, according to Hook, but his demeanor changed after she brought up his refusal to debate.

“He gave me a look that was very rude,” Hook told the Current. “It took me aback. I’ve heard stories from people that he’s an asshole, but hadn’t personally experienced it myself until that moment.”

What’s more, Hook said Roy – who touts himself as a God-fearing Christian – left the sermon early and didn’t speak to constituents.

“I had good conversations with people after, and they shared some really heartbreaking personal stories with me of things they’re dealing with and going through, and they said they just want someone to listen,” Hook said. “And I pointed out to them and wanted them to recognize that my opponent couldn’t be bothered to stay and listen to the stories that they had and to meet them.”

Hook told the Current that her team put in a “formal request” for a debate with Roy on Tuesday.

In recent months, Roy has grabbed headlines for making heated and outlandish claim..

One of the most recent came during a speech honoring the victims of 9/11. During his screed, Roy questioned whether U.S. was even worth defending anymore due to the presence of transgender teachers.

That diatribe came about a month and a half after Roy blamed “woke DEI quotas” for the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The month prior, he fired off a social media post saying he wanted to cleanse the nation of white progressives.

“People all across the district, it doesn’t matter the party they’re in, tell me that they cannot reach his office,” Hook said. “Staffers blow them off. They don’t answer questions, or they don’t respond. The least you can do is your job of constituent services. That’s part of one of the reasons that I want to make sure that our district is being served. We deserve that.”

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This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 15, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...