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Tyler was the first of nine East Texas communities Congressman Nathaniel Moran will visit to announce his reelection campaign. Local elected officials attended the event Thursday morning at the downtown Tyler square, where Moran made his announcement.

“A constitutional republic is what we have in our great country. For that to be successful, voices are heard through multiple sources. One way is what we are doing right here. You get to express your voice in support of our Congressman Nathaniel Moran,” said David Stein, Smith County Republican Party Chairman. “You’re also going to have another chance for your voice to be heard through our Congressman by sending him back to Washington D.C. to represent us.”

Constituents want to know their elected officials are accountable and transparent, Moran said before he shared more with the crowd about his work during his eight months in office.

“I am excited to continue work in D.C. on behalf of East Texans. In just eight months, we have already started tackling the issues most important to East Texans,” Moran said. “More importantly, I am working to keep my promise to East Texans to address border security, broadband accessibility, election integrity, and more. Whether it involves a regional, national, or international matter, East Texans should lead the way to finding solutions. I’m humbled to have this opportunity to work on their behalf to do so.”

Moran was one of a few first-term members of Congress appointed to serve on three committees: Judiciary, Foreign Affairs and Education and Workforce. He actively wrote and supported legislation important to East Texas, including introducing the Rural Weather Monitoring Systems Act, which will require a review of current weather monitoring systems in rural areas, the Strong Communities Act, which would allocate funding for competitive grants for state and local law enforcement agencies to attract potential recruits to attend law enforcement training programs and introduced the Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act. This legislation will do away with the additional permitting process for upgrades to wireless towers, removing one of the obstacles to getting high-speed internet into rural communities.

According to Moran, he has also played an instrumental role in shaping national legislation that passed the U.S. House this year addressing election integrity issues and border security.

The House of Representatives passed Moran’s first piece of legislation within his first five months of office. The Visa Overstays Penalties Act, included in the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023, would discourage immigrants from overstaying their visas by increasing penalties and making the crime equal to illegally crossing the border.

Prioritizing the security of future elections, Moran’s legislation, the District of Columbia Ballot Security Act, was included in House Republicans’ election integrity package, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act. This comprehensive legislation works to end failing election policies while preserving the rights of states to govern their elections.

Moran has also worked to make an impact by addressing international issues during his time in office. He drafted several bills that impacted foreign affairs.

The House Committee unanimously passed the No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act on Foreign Affairs. This legislation would ensure the American values of freedom extend to the supply chains, prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to purchase goods made with China’s slave labor, according to Moran.

He also introduced legislation that would direct the president to annually publish a list of Mexican individuals directly or indirectly involved with the manufacturing, distributing, or transferring illicit fentanyl. Following publishing this list, the president would be required to impose sanctions on these individuals, according to Moran.

Moran, formerly a Smith County judge, takes pride in serving Texas’ 1st Congressional District. Reaching across 17 counties in East Texas, the district is home to a population of nearly 767,000 residents. The district stretches from the Piney Woods of deep East Texas north along the border of Louisiana to Arkansas, and within just a few miles of the Oklahoma line. By square miles, it is larger than the state of New Jersey.

“This is my home. This is where I grew up. I’m so thankful to be able to represent those I know best and love the most,” Moran said. “You allowed me to cast that vote for you. Not for anybody else in this world, but for East Texans, 760,000 individuals in East Texas, and I do that with humility.”