NRSC Begins Intense Opposition Research Against Bill White

by: Michael Hurta

Fri Aug 21, 2009 at 02:53 PM CDT

Here's a number for you: 400,000+.  That is how many pages the National Republican Senatorial Committee has requested from the office of the Houston mayor for opposition research...in a race that still does not exist in completely tangible terms.

From a Houston Chronicle report on the Mayor's Senate run (emphasis added):

Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which recently filed a massive opposition research/document request to the mayor's office, said they filed the request because White's record will be "a key issue" in this race.

"Bill White is going to present voters with his version of his record so we want to make sure voters have the full version," Walsh said. "We intend to spend whatever it takes to keep this seat firmly in the Republican column.

This is all pretty standard procedure for an opposition plan to any candidate, but the extensive open records request (.pdf) made right now only shows that the Republicans see Bill White as a clearly viable threat to their statewide dominance here.  When was the last time we can say with confidence that a Texas Democrat fit that description?

The Chronicle piece finishes with the Bill White Campaign response:

Katy Bacon, a spokeswoman for Bill White's Senate campaign, said White's record will withstand the test of any scrutiny.

"So the National Republican Party is going after Mayor Bill White, a guy that works hundred hour work weeks, has been called by the Houston Chronicle, 'a tough act to follow,' and was twice re-elected with margins averaging 88 percent," she said in a statement. "People in Houston and across our state know Bill works hard and know his record; the NRSC in Washington is out of touch with Texans."