| Jason Stanford, Bell's political consultant who led his 2006 bid for governor, says the former Houston congressman is "leaning" towards entering the race to replace retiring state Sen. Kyle Janek, the Statesman reports. "Yes, he's leaning toward it and is probably going to make an announcement later this month," Stanford said. "It's not often that a Democrat gets a chance like this."
Matt Glazer wrote a great summary of the SD17 race a few weeks ago. We have also reported on the recent polling that showed Bell leading a possible Republican opponent, Austen Furse, by an impressive 14 points. Another Republican, former Houston criminal district judge Joan Huffman is also in the race. Furse's consultant had some interesting things to tell the Statesman, too. "Chris Bell doesn't want to be a state senator. He wants to be a U.S. senator or governor," said Allen Blakemore, Furse's political consultant. "This is a district (Bell) couldn't possibly win. ... This is just a continuation of the Chris Bell publicity stunt to keep his name out there."
Chris Bell's name ID is nearly 80 percent in this district. It is absolutely laughable for Blakemore to claim he is merely trying "to keep his name out there." I guess we should just be happy that Furse is taking advice from someone that delusional. Furse's main political experience was as an advisor to George H.W. Bush. I am sure the Bell campaign is looking forward to contrasting Bell's experience as a city councilman and congressman representing Houston with Furse's work as a money manager. Remember, Austin Furse is the same guy who used a picture of the United States capitol on his campaign website. Senate District 17 deserves a senator who has the experience and know-how to make a difference from day one, not to mention someone who at least knows what the Texas Capitol looks like. |
