| Months before the results were in, it was no secret that 2010 was likely to be a difficult election year for Democrats. However, according to numbers compiled by the Houston Chronicle, it appears few Democratic incumbents in the state's U.S. House delegation made significant contributions to support their colleagues' reelections. In contrast, the 20 Republican incumbents from Texas gave an average of $100,000. Republican Representatives Louie Gohmert, Kay Granger and Joe Barton all gave over $200,000. Democrats averaged a meager $26,000, with Rep. Gene Green leading the way with $123,000. Two of Green's Democratic colleagues in the Texas delegation, Ciro Rodriguez and Chet Edwards, both of whom met defeat, received the most from the Houston area congressman. Rep. Solomon Ortiz of Corpus Christi, whose defeat took many by surprise, did not receive a single contribution from any of his Texas colleagues. In a Huffington Post article, Democratic strategist Erica Payne identified Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin as one of the top five "Deadbeat Democrats." She wrote that Doggett had about $3 million in the bank. To be fair, Doggett did have his closest general election in years. Still, he is far from the only Texas Democrat who could have contributed excess money to help the Party survive the Republican wave. Congressional Republicans clearly smelled blood and were not shy in sharing their financial resources in their quest to take control of the House. If Democrats had been more willing to help their struggling colleagues, it could have meant winning several more seats, perhaps even more. |
