A press release from the Van Taylor campaign informs us that Wayne Richard, a former candidate in the three-way race for HD 66 (Brian McCall's open seat), has endorsed Taylor in the runoff.

Taylor, a Marine Reservist and investment banker, took 33.5 percent of the vote on Tuesday to former Plano City Council member Mabrie Jackson's 41 percent. Richard was edged out of the runoff after taking 25.5 percent of the vote, placing third. The Taylor campaign's press release said that Richard's base of support should remain through April and put Taylor over the top.

Richard, a media company owner, spoke at several Tea Party events but usually steered clear of the press during his campaign and brought in only modest sums into his account. Taylor, the big spender of the pack (using mostly personal loans), aired frequent television ads in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, whereas Jackson ran a strong, well-funded campaign touting her experience as an elected official on signs and billboards.

“Although Van and I fought a hard battle in the primary, we always practiced civility and a level of professionalism throughout the process,” Richard said, via a Taylor campaign press release. “As you know, my heart has always been focused on forwarding the conservative movement.  Now we must ensure the best candidate is elected to office. Van is the best candidate in the runoff for House District 66 to ensure our conservative principles are represented in Austin, and I encourage my supporters to get behind his candidacy.”

Taylor and Richard both ran on a conservative platform and earned support from local conservative clubs including the Coalition for Better Government and the Collin County Conservative Republicans, the Taylor press release said, and they were also both "TeaApproved" by the North Texas Tea Party.