[2] In 2015, the political newsletter Quorum Report published online posts on a fantasy sports forum made by Stickland in 2001 and 2008 given to them by his Republican primary opponent, Scott Fisher.

Strickland apologized for his remarks; he said in college "I wasted much of life, said and did things I wish I hadn't" and that "by the Grace of God my past sins are forgiven.

[8] In the Republican primary on March 1, 2016, Stickland faced opposition in his bid for a third term from Scott Weston Fisher, the senior pastor since 2000 of the Metroplex Chapel in Euless, Texas.

[1] An anti-abortion legislator, Stickland supported in 2013 the ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the measure passed the House, 96–49.

[16] Stickland voted against the legislation to establish a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure passed the House, 73–58.

Stickland voted against a bill relating to unlawful employment practices regarding discrimination in payment of compensation, which nevertheless passed the House, 78–61.

[17] Strickland was one of the most prominent Republican state House members who designated themselves the "Freedom Caucus" (a right-wing grouping aligned with the Tea Party movement).

[19] In May 2017, along with fellow caucus members, he engaged in an effort to block legislative priorities of House speaker Joe Straus through parliamentary obstruction tactics; the group used a legislative procedure called "chubbing" to kill more than 100 bills on the House calendar, in what became known as the "Mother's Day Massacre.

He has emerged as a critic of Speaker Joe Straus and an ally in the House of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the Texas State Senate.

In 2017, Patrick and Straus quarreled over the bathroom bill sponsored by State Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, which would require persons to use the public rest room corresponding with their genitalia at birth.

Straus agreed to a more moderate bill because of what he called concerns about economic boycotts of Texas by business and athletic groups who view the bathroom legislation as infringing on the rights of transgender persons.

[32] The group was also a major donor to Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

[31] In October 2023, Stickland met with Nick Fuentes, a well-known white supremacist and Adolf Hitler admirer, for almost seven hours.

[35][33] Patrick initially said he would keep the $3 million his campaign had received from Defend Texas Liberty PAC, but later reversed course and use the money to buy Israel bonds.