SMU professor and Republican nominee Tim McDonough joined conservative radio host Mark Davis on 660 AM The Answer to discuss his campaign for Texas House District 114, his expertise in artificial intelligence, and his bold plan to abolish property taxes in Texas.
McDonough, a clinical professor of machine learning and artificial intelligence at SMU’s Cox School of Business, brings a unique background to the race. A former Google employee, he teaches courses in business analytics and AI—expertise that has made him a sought-after voice on how emerging technology is reshaping politics and society.
“As far as we know, I’m the first professor at SMU in its 114-year history to run for a public office,” McDonough told Davis. “I want to bring some adult supervision back to Austin.”
AI in Politics: Promise and Peril
The conversation began with McDonough’s upcoming appearance at the American Jewish Conservatives’ “AI in Politics” panel on January 27th in Addison, where he’ll join Congresswoman Beth Van Dyne and State Senator Tan Parker to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming political campaigns.
McDonough explained that AI is revolutionizing voter engagement through micro-targeting and real-time sentiment analysis on social media—tools that are proving far more accurate than traditional polling methods. “AI is helping us learn a lot about the voters,” he said. “It’s really helping with tuning the messages and helping politicians understand what their future constituents are really concerned about.”
On the thorny issue of AI-generated deepfakes in political advertising, McDonough sided with disclosure over prohibition. “The expression needs to be allowed as long as there is some ethical component to its distribution,” he explained, advocating for clear labeling of AI-generated content rather than outright bans.
The Case for Abolishing Property Taxes
McDonough made clear that his top legislative priority is the complete elimination of property taxes in Texas—and as a trained economist, he’s confident it can be done.
“I’m trained as an economist, and I’m telling you, we can do this,” McDonough said. “Abolish property tax.”
The replacement? A progressive consumption tax structure that would apply higher rates to luxury purchases while exempting necessities like food, clothing, and school supplies. McDonough pointed to Florida, where similar legislation is moving through the state legislature with Governor DeSantis’s support.
A Citizen Legislator
McDonough emphasized his belief in the concept of a citizen legislature—the idea that serving in Austin should be a civic duty, not a career. “It’s not a day job,” he explained. “The intention for me is to make an impact on a couple of issues.”
His opponent, longtime politician John Bryant, represented the Fifth Congressional District for years before Pete Sessions defeated him, and now serves in the Texas House. McDonough is working to return HD-114 to Republican representation.
When it’s time to vote, it’s time for Tim.
