Watts to End Bid For U.S. Senate

Hello Unified Democratic front! (5.00 / 2)

one can dream, yes?

if Watts now puts his resources into building the structures that help all Dems, there seems little doubt, using newly elected Rep. Juan Garcia (HD-32) as a role model, that this move can actually benefit all Texans.
 

-my comments at BOR are mine, and do not represent anything official from LFT.

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by: mariochampion @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:08:26 PM UTC

Wow (5.00 / 2)

Thanks, Mr. Watts, for your honesty throughout the campaign. You turned a lot of heads talking about the issues. If the time is ever appropriate for you and your family, I hope you consider running for public office again. It will never be easy, but it's something I think you would excel at.

In the mean time, I look forward to you continuing to kick ass in the courts, fighting for Texas workers, consumers, and all the rest of us who could use some good defense every now and then.

Thanks again.

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

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by: Phillip Martin, Progress Texas @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:09:13 PM UTC

Can I just say... (5.00 / 1)

That I agree with Phillip 100%. While anyone could still file for US Senate (not that we've heard from or expect anyone too), I think it has been a healthy thing to have multiple candidates in the race so far. It made both people better candidates and tested their campaigns.

Watt is a good Democrat and will continue to fight for people. Whether he chooses to pursue his law practice from here on out or some day decide to run for office again (KBH's seat? supreme court?) I know that a lot of people will respect his decision to do so.

Please read the Community Guidelines and How to Rate Comments.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:33:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well, (0.00 / 0)

Truth be told, I was actually thinking about getting into the race myself. What do you think - good idea? I mean, I could totally forge a birth certificate that says I was born in '77.

But seriously, I had high hopes for Watts - his money made Cornyn look more vulnerable. Here's hoping he dumps some of that wealth into Noriega's campaign.

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by: AlexFerraro1 @ Wed Oct 24, 2007 at 01:18:36 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes, a united Democratic initiative ..... (0.00 / 0)

When Mikal Watts spoke at the Dallas County Democratic Party Fish Fry on the 19th, I thought he was in the race to stay.

I have heard about him from Democrats who have known him for a very long time.

I, too, would encourage him to contribute to the Democratic nominees. 

Tom Blackwell,
Dallas

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by: Tom Blackwell @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:15:36 PM UTC

I thank Mikal Watts and wish him and his family the best (0.00 / 0)

I have a lot of respect for his decision. 

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by: sonia @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:33:50 PM UTC

I'll have the crow for two, please (3.00 / 1)

I was one of the slowest on BOR to pick a candidate to back for this race and did so largely on what turns out to be a line of complete horse shit.

In the last 2 weeks or so a lot of Watts supporters have been critical of the campaign and have all had the question, "What the hell are they doing over there?", knowing that money doesn't mean anything without hard work.

I have my problems with Rick Noriega, but he will be a 2000% improvement over cornyn and I will wholeheartedly support him...starting with sending a check today.

When you feel like you've lost in a primary or been hoodwinked by a candidate/campaign the instinct is sometimes to slink away...but we can't afford that.

I urge all Watts supporters to bounce right back and get on board with Rick Noriega. This race is too important to have a hangover.

I also call on Watts to live up to his commitment that all the money he put towards this race would stay in this race...even if he isn't in the race.

Watts: donate your unexpended funds to the DSCC and help us beat cornyn in November.

Please refer to KT's signature.

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by: colin @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:33:59 PM UTC

Mr. Watts ran his campaign with class. (0.00 / 0)

When his children grow up there will still be one or two seats that haven't turned democratic yet and I hope that he tries to get one.

Thank you for running a positive primary campaign Mr. Watts and I wish nothing but a bright future for you.

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by: citizenx @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:40:18 PM UTC

yeah, but where's the endorsement (0.00 / 0)

If this is the entire statement, where is his endorsement of Rick Noriega??

Hopefully they are planning something joint to announce Watts' contribution of his raised funds to the DSCC and his endorsement of Noriega.

Please refer to KT's signature.

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by: colin @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 14:58:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I am sure it is coming (0.00 / 0)

This is a stand alone issue worthy of a separate press release.

The endorsement is sure to follow and when it does it will be a newsworthy event all by itself. It will be nice to see the two of them together untited in one common goal, gettting rid of Cornyn.

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by: citizenx @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:03:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I may have been alone in this view, but I think that the primary (0.00 / 0)

was getting both of our candidates good free media coverage which was raising awareness of both candidates (which is critical when challenging an incumbent).

We can kiss all that free media goodbye.

I'm also one of those who thought that Noriega had the nomination in the bag. Because I believe that Noriega was certain to win the nomination, and he was getting much needed free media from the primary contest, I think Watts withdrawing from the race significantly hurts our chances against Cornyn.

Also, with Hillary on the ticket (which unfortunately seem likely), we will need every advantage we can get.  With the drag on the ticket from Hillary, losing the free media which we would have received throughout the primary is an even greater loss.

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by: Texas Bob @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:09:32 PM UTC

A good man... (0.00 / 0)

Let me just add that although I didn't support him in his primary challenge, I think his withdrawing shows he's looking at what is in the party's best interest and what our best chance for winning is.  If he throws his money/support behind Noriega in this race, I think a LOT of people will remember it in the near future when Kay Bailey leaves her seat and he runs for the open seat! :)

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by: David O. @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:13:03 PM UTC

I have no doubt that Watts will contribute to Noriega up to the federal limit (0.00 / 0)

but the FEC won't let Watts fund Noriega's campaign in the same way that Watts could have funded his own campaign.

We really need to get to work on raising funds!

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by: Texas Bob @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:17:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

what the FEC will allow (0.00 / 0)

Is for Watts to donate his funds to the DSCC.

That is where the attacks ads and contrasts will be made anyway.

Please refer to KT's signature.

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by: colin @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:21:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

But the DSCC will use its funds in Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado, (0.00 / 0)

New Mexico, Oregon, Maine, Nebraska, Minnesota, Alaska, Louisiana, South Dakota, and probably even Idaho before they send any money into Texas.

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by: Texas Bob @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:39:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Be optimistic (0.00 / 0)

At this point there is no reason to expect the DSCC to need to spend a dime in Virginia, New Hampshire, or South Dakota. With a little luck they will not need to spend in Colorado, Minnesota, or Oregon either.

On the other hand, Nebraska ain't looking like a big spending opportunity lately.

But I think you overlooked Oklahoma. I hope they will pour serious money into Oklahoma to help Andrew Rice beat the global warming denier James Inhofe.

And maybe in the end Texas will get some funds from the DSCC.

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by: Woody @ Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 03:39:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Watts (0.00 / 0)

I like Mikal Watts.  I think he is a good man and certainly a good Democrat. 

Even though I supported Noriega it wasn't because Watts was a bad candidate, it was because I felt Noriega offered the best chance at defeating Cornyn for many reasons I and many others have stated.

I was very impressed with Mikal Watts at our North Texas Salute to Jim Wright dinner back in September.  He was articulate, charming, and worked the room real well.  He had professional staff as well.

I do remember a conversation that the president of the Mid-Cities Democrats had with him centered around family.  Watts was talking about how his wife only agreed to this campaign if he committed to at least be home every Sunday.  It was also clear to everyone how much he loved his wife and kids.  He peppered that message throughout his speech.  Our MCD president made mention that don't run for office at the expense of losing your family.  You can never get that time missed back.  He seemed to really take that to heart.

It is obvious his universe centers around his family and I admire that tremendously.  I too hope he will commit to Noriega in many ways more then just money. 

All the best to you, Mikal, and your family.

Todd

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Todd Hill @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:24:13 PM UTC

I wish him will in the future (0.00 / 0)

And am happy to see his concern for his family.

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."- James A. Baldwin

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by: Timothy @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 15:33:57 PM UTC

question (0.00 / 0)

Going through the FEC reports you can see that a number of individuals contributed to Noriega over the $2300 limit for primaries because of the Millionaire Amendment.  With Watts out of the race does this mean that Noriega has to give back that money?

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by: Joe @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 16:46:07 PM UTC

possibly (0.00 / 0)

The other thing would be to "re-designate" the contributions for November.

It seems to me that if a statement of candidacy was filed and the threshold was breached (or the FEC was notified that he intended to breach it)...he shouldn't have to give back the money.

But re-designation saves the campaign from refunding the money.

Please refer to KT's signature.

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by: colin @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 19:30:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Criss and Yanez (0.00 / 0)

I had already made up my mind to support Noriega even before the inevitable trial lawyer attacks on Watts started.  I know that there was much more of that to come and I am happy to see Watts step aside early because it gives Noriega a much better chance to take down Cornyn which is after all the game plan.  Speaking of gam plans, now that we have dispensed with one of our unnecessary statewide primary contests what about Yanez and Criss?  With Noriega heading the statewide Democratic ticket we clearly need both Judge Criss and Yanez on the ballot.

I have been following the debate between the Criss and Yanez camps in both the blogs and newspapers for the last month.  Both Yanez and Criss would be excellent replacements for any of the justices on the Supreme Court.  The Yanez camp seems to be making the argument that Yanez's experience as an appellate court justice makes her a better candidate.  The Criss camp responds that Judge Criss' day in day out experience as a trial court judge taking jury verdicts on a weekly basis makes her the better candidate.

It seems to me that the same number of votes will get Yanez elected as Chief Justice.  She talks about making history as the first female Hispanic Supreme Court Judge in Texas.  Why not make real history and become the first female Hispanic Supreme Court Chief Justice in the entire United States?  If Yanez would consider running for Chief Justice while Criss continues her hard driving efforts to take position number eight the Democrats could actually end up with two seats and as a bonus Noriega would kick Cornyn's ass.

As Chief Justice, Yanez would have a tremendous opportunity to lead the Supreme Court in a new and fairer direction.  Yanez would really make history and she would have a staunch ally in Judge Criss both on the campaign trail and in Austin beginning in January 2009, the same time that Noriega takes over as the new junior Senator from the great State of Texas.

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by: ngbaron @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 20:00:05 PM UTC

Primary contests are not necessarily a bad thing. They're only bad if (0.00 / 0)

(1) there are office which remain uncontested while candidates feud over one vacancy or

(2) the primary race gets ugly and there is bad blood between the campaigns (so that donors or supporters of one candidate do not unite behind the other candidate once a nominee is chosen).

I seriously doubt that there will be any uncontested Texas Supreme Court races this election.  I have heard lots of talk about prominant and respected appellate judges who are considering running against Wallace Jefferson, which is the only race which does not currently have a declared candidate.

If no sitting judge runs, a lawyer who posts here occasionally has said that he will likely run against Wallace Jefferson.

So there is no risk that any of the Texas Supreme Court races will go uncontested. 

The only risk is that the campaign will become ugly.

There is no reason for the Yanez-Criss primary campaign to become ugly because the two judges have very different backgrounds and have very different styles which means the voters will have the ability to make a choice based on clear distinctions between the candidates.

In the context like this where the primary can be decided based on judicial philosophy and long records of prior judicial decisions, the primary is a good opportunity for us to get favorable publicity for our favorite candidate and to promote a debate focusing on the positive aspects of our candidates.

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by: Texas Bob @ Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 23:15:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]