| As noted by the Texas Tribune, Central Texas Republican State Senator Jeff Wentworth is exploring a vice chancellorship position at Texas A&M University. While not final, the talks are taking place and Sen. Wentworth was left without a standing committee assignment in the recent reshuffling announced by Lt. Governor Dewhurst.
Sen. Wentworth has stated that he will remain on the November ballot in any case, where he faced only Libertarian opposition.
Texas Tribune: Wentworth said he'll remain on the November ballot whether he takes the A&M job or not. Leaving early would leave the nomination in the hands of party officials, and he thinks that's undemocratic. He'd stay on the ballot, presumeably win (it's a Republican district, and his only opponent is a Libertarian) and then decline to take the seat. That would set up a special election where the candidates weren't chosen by party elders. "So the people could pick my successor," he said.
Besides the strategic reasons for how Wentworth might want to time this, it's understandable that he doesn't want to vacate his seat in such a way that leaves power in the hands of Republican precinct or county chairs. Wentworth is one of the more moderate Republicans with a pattern of fairer play in the upper chamber and a replacement picked by party officials (besides being an inside play) could result in a more conservative GOP nominee.
Should Wentworth take the job at A&M and decline being seated after winning in November, that would force a special election to be held very close to or during the 2011 legislative session. With only 30 Senators, 16 votes would still be required for a majority to pass legislation, but with the drama surrounding the 2/3rds rule the timing of when the seat is actually filled will be worth keeping an eye on.
A special election would also give Democrats a chance to file a candidate and compete in a lower turnout election. The path to a Democratic majority in the Texas Senate is pretty rough if you don't include SD-25 but it's still a tough seat to win. Wentworth won 58-37 over Democrat Kathi Thomas in 2006. In addition, I just spoke with Rep. Patrick Rose's campaign who confirmed that Rep. Rose has no interest or plans to run for an SD-25 vacancy at any point.
SD-25 runs along the I-35 corridor including parts of South Austin, Hays, Kendall, Comal, Guadalupe, and northern Bexar County where the population is concentrated. I find it unlikely that someone in the Travis County delegation would run for the seat as Rep. Rodriguez has his eye on a different Senate seat and Rep. Bolton is focused on her re-election this fall. (I just got off the phone with Bolton's campaign leadership and they confirm that Valinda is focused on winning her re-election in November and serving her district throughout next spring's session).
John Courage, former Congressional candidate in TX-21 which overlaps much of the district had briefly considered running for SD-25 this cycle and could be a potential candidate. Whether or not he runs, a San Antonio Democrat would likely be our best chance in a special election. |
