Noriega to Launch Senate Exploratory Committee

Yes! (5.00 / 1)

Good article in the local Austin rag today

AAS article 7/1/07
State lawmaker eyes U.S. Senate bid
Noriega sees Cornyn as vulnerable, Texas in need of leadership

After training soldiers in Afghanistan and sheltering hurricane survivors in Texas, Rick Noriega is eyeing a potentially tougher grind: unseating Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn next year.

Noriega, a fifth-term Democratic state representative from Houston, said he won't finalize plans until he and his wife, Melissa, settle their finances, partly by selling property in East Austin. But he has already committed to a year's leave from his job as a manager for CenterPoint Energy.

Noriega, 49, has been urged to run by Democrats on a Web site showing his photo in Texas National Guard gear. And 49 of 68 fellow House Democrats, including five of six Travis County members, have encouraged him to go for it.

"These are folks in the trenches with you," he said. "You laugh, you cry, you fight, you bite. At the end, you know that people are about what's best for Texas. That's a huge statement from my colleagues."

Run Rick run!

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by: sonia @ Sun Jul 01, 2007 at 22:33:35 PM UTC

49 Texas Legislators are Drafting Rick for U.S. Senate (5.00 / 1)

See their letter and the list here:

http://muse-musings....

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by: muse @ Sun Jul 01, 2007 at 23:59:29 PM UTC

Rick Noriega: Our Candidate (5.00 / 1)

Rick Noriega is the first candidate since Ann Richards who can pull this state together, rebuild our party and win statewide office.

He's a progressive and a winner who can make us proud again.

I'm for Rick Noriega for US Senate, I hope you will be too.

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by: Rick Cofer @ Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 00:17:34 AM UTC

YEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAW!!!!!!!!!!!!! (0.00 / 0)

Things keep looking better and better for Texas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doing My Part For The Left,Left Of The Rainbow

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by: refinish69 @ Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 01:41:56 AM UTC

!!! (5.00 / 1)

Hells yeah!  That sums it up nicely.

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by: Indigo @ Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 01:46:04 AM UTC

Texas Observer blog - Drafting a Veteran (0.00 / 0)

T.O. blog 6/29/07
Drafting a Veteran

It’s early yet, but the Internet is humming with folks who want to oust Sen. John Cornyn in ‘08. They are bolstered by the fact that Cornyn’s approval ratings are not so hot (and still cooling).

Already a site titled simply Stop Cornyn is up and running. A larger collection of bloggers, not satisfied with declared candidate Corpus Christi lawyer Mikal Watts, has gone proactive in finding a replacement. Within the last two weeks they launched a movement to draft state Rep. Rick Noriega, a Houston Democrat with a solid voting record who also happens to be an active member of the National Guard, to run against Cornyn.

It’s easy to see Noriega’s appeal to the netroots: besides his politics, he’s served in both Afghanistan and on the Texas-Mexico border, immediately giving him authority on two issues that Cornyn could use to bully a different opponent. A run-down of many of the widely read blogs is available at Brains and Eggs. There’s also detailed information going up on the Draft Rick Noriega site, where it looks like they’ll be tracking primary opponents like Watts or maybe (emphasis on maybe) U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards.

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by: sonia @ Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 14:52:39 PM UTC