| This is Part I of an ongoing series that will take a look at the prospective candidates for the 2010 statewide races. The Republicans Two-term incumbent Jerry Patterson has publicly said that he may run for Lieutenant Governor. However, if Attorney General Greg Abbott (who has the biggest campaign warchest among statewide office holders) enters the Lt. Governor's race or David Dewhurst runs for re-election, he would probably opt for re-election instead of waging what would be uphill battles in both potential matchips. In the end, I expect Patterson to run for re-election. If Patterson does not seek re-election, state Sen. Dan Patrick could enter the race. It is well known that Patrick has ambitions to run statewide in 2010 and this could be where he ends up. The Democrats The Austin American-Statesman ran a story on June 29 in which Kinky Friedman, state Rep. Patrick Rose and Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald were all mentioned as possible candidates. While stranger things have certainly happened, it is hard to take the Friedman rumors too seriously. Rose may run for statewide office someday, but at 30 years old he is likely a cycle or two away. I could certainly be wrong, but neither Friedman or Rose seem likely to enter this race. Ronnie McDonald would make a very interesting candidate and I'd like to hear what our readers from Bastrop have to say about him. McDonald considered running for Robby Cook's old seat, House District 17, before Donnie Dippel got in the race. Kuff quoted Capitol Inside's take on McDonald, who was first elected county judge in 1999, back when he was considering running for state rep. Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald is one of the first names to emerge in Democratic circles as a potential replacement for Cook on the ballot next year. McDonald, who's been county judge for almost nine years, considered a race for the House four years ago when Cook appeared to be on the verge of switching parties while being wooed by Governor Rick Perry and other high-level Republicans. But McDonald decided to stay in his current position after Cook spurned the GOP and filed for re-election as a Democrat.
McDonald has been a political trailblazer as Bastrop County's first African-American county judge. He was the first African-American yell leader in Aggieland before graduating from Texas A&M University and pursuing a career in government. McDonald worked for John Sharp in the Comptroller's Office before deciding to enter politics himself.
McDonald is a potential candidate for land commissioner to keep your eye on. Another name that has come up is VaLinda Hathcox, the 2006 Democratic nominee for land commissioner. Hathcox most recently lost the Democratic primary in the TX-04 congressional district. These are not meant to be comprehensive lists and we invite you to suggest other possible candidates in the comments. Phillip wrote about 'Crowdsourcing' over the weekend and it is a great way to collect a list of potential candidates. Leave your thoughts on who should run in the comments. |
