Burnt Orange Report

Not only do you never know, but it does have a very eerie precedent from 1994, when under-indictment Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, who had been forced to step down as Ways and Means Chairman due to his ethical woes, lost his heavily Democratic seat to an unknown, unemployed 31-year-old Republican lawyer named Mike Flanagan. Given that Morrison seems to be more serious/credentialed than that and actually might have a shot at decent fundraising online to generate national buzz (in '94, the NRCC dismissed Flanagan outright until an October poll showed him ahead, at which point they suddenly reversed and poured in help), if DeLay does end up indicted and losing his clout as Majority Leader temporarily, the chances for a parallel are striking.

Of course, Morrison would probably have to do more to prove that he is a serious and moderate guy , given that it is a decently conservative district and we don't have the kind of '94 groundswell against Congress as an institution (at least yet). And even if that did develop, he'd need to do a better job establishing himself than Flanagan, who proved to be a simple Gingrich sycophant and was easily slaughtered by Rod Blagojevich in '96 to regain the seat for our side.

Richard actually has a pretty good chance. This is the first time since Tom ran for office the first time (1986) that he's had a campaign office. In the last election, the Dem opponent got around 40% without even trying. No campaign, no fundraising.

Richard is getting support from all over the district, the Houston area, the state, and the country. He's running a grassroots campaign. We're doing some events around the district, and more every week.