| Ed. note: The following is one of twenty races we are featuring in the Texas Political Report. Annie's List provided research and analysis for this race. Candidate Pages: Kendra Yarborugh Camerena website, on Facebook, on Twitter
Candidate Pages: Rep. Dwayne Bohac website, on Facebook District Overview: The Numbers, The Issues, and the Candidates
The district encompasses Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, and parts of the Spring Branch and Spring Woods communities of west and northwest Houston. The district is almost evenly split between Anglo and Hispanic residents and has a 10% African-American population, but working class Anglo voters make up a majority of the expected turnout. A Republican district since redistrciting in 2001, independent voters split their tickets in 2008, when Democratic County Sheriff Adrian Garcia carried HD 138 with 52.8% of the vote while Obama received 43.9% of the vote.
Bohac's record on education, jobs and insurance and utility rates is on the table, and Bohac must also deal with the fact that he is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, involving reports that he illegally procured voter data from an “inside-man” within the Harris County Voter Registrar’s office. Ed Johnson, associate voter registrar at the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collectors Office, was also the paid director for Computer Data Systems (CDS), a company started in 2003 with Bohac at its helm. CDS sells voter data to Republican clients – the same data Ed Johnson managed in his government job. The story generated a lot of heat for Bohac when it broke last year, and he’s now under formal investigation. Expect Yarbrough Camarena to continue to make this ethics scandal an issue in the campaign as she presents a choice for new leadership in the district. Why Democrats Could Unseat Bohac This Year
Bohac is facing his first serious challenge in a district trending Democratic while defending his Craddick-era voting record and answering charges about an ethics scandal in a bad year for incumbents. He’s also running against a strong opponent with a professional team, who’s been working hard on the phones and block-walking for months. Yarbrough Camarena is no stranger to politics - her father having represented a large part of the district. Her background – a middle school teacher, born and raised in the district - fits well with the values of her potential constituents and she’s raised substantial cash to make a real play for the seat. And it doesn't hurt any Democrat in Harris County to have Bill White running above you at the top of the ticket when you're both trying to buck the national trend to defeat a Republican incumbent. June 30 Campaign Finance Report: | HD 138: Camerena vs. Bohac | Contributions
| Expenditures
| Cash on Hand
| Kendra Yarbrough Camerena (D)
| $106,633 | $40,828 | $120,532 | Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R)
| $200,812 | $86,428
| $228,453 | Bohac's Advantage
| $94,179 | - | $107,921 | |
