| From the Times Record News out in Wichita Falls we learn the latest: David Farabee is taking his hat out of the ring in the race for the State Representative District 69 — Wichita Falls mayor Lanham Lyne is throwing his in. Farabee told the Times Record News Tuesday he will not seek re-election to the post he’s held almost 12 years. "It was a goal of mine for some time to serve 12 years. When we had a change of leadership in the House, I considered an additional term. Then I revisted my plans and decided to stick with my original life goals," Farabee said. [...] Farabee told TRN in an earlier interview that his main reason for considering stepping out of politics was family. He has three children of college and high school age. "I have personal obligations I have not been able to fulfill because I’ve always put my constituents first," he said.
Rep. Farabee's retirement means that the Texas House will lose a committed public servant, though I and many others I'm sure thank him for his years of public service, and wish him the best as he returns to a more normal life with his family. Shifting to politics -- the hip-check, Paul-Burka-doom-and-gloom reaction to this news is to think that Farabee's retirement makes it harder for Texas Democrats to take back the House. In reality, it doesn't. Take the following three main factors into consideration: - Democrats Still Win, Despite Retirements
Democrats beat six incumbent Republicans in 2006, when former Speaker Pete Laney retired, and Democrats beat six incumbent Republicans in 2008, when former Rep. Robby Cook retired. Retirements are not welcome -- especially when it's someone as hard-working as Rep. Farabee -- but there is absolutely zero historical evidence to show that it will prevent Texas Democrats from taking back the House. Not that a silly thing like facts will prevent the nay-sayers from nay-saying, but for those in the reality-based community, it's good to remember that.
- Democrats Still Provenly Successful in Suburban Districts
Despite those retirements, Democrats continued to win -- and there's no reason to think we won't continue to win in the urban/suburban districts where we've proven to be competitive. The key races in the fall -- including those supported already by Annie's List against Republican State Reps. Dwayne Bohac and Linda Harper-Brown -- are in urban and suburban areas where we have proven over election cycles that we can win. The game plan to get to 76 doesn't change much with this announcement, and again -- the facts and reality is that we're still much better poised to win control of the House in 2010 than the Republicans are.
- We have no idea what the field will look like yet.
Rep. Chris Turner didn't announce his candidacy until late December 2007 (Source). Rep Carol Kent didn't announce until the filing deadline. (Source). They both cruised to solid victories in 2010. The field is going to look very different in January than it does today; one more time now -- the facts and reality of recent history show us that
In many ways, today's announcement is a test. It's a test to see which reporters that cover politics operate with facts and historical evidence in mind, and who simply choose to spin their own analysis, absent any evidence or facts. Will others remember that retirements don't affect our ability to win, that Texas Democrats are still poised to win in suburban areas, and that we have no idea what the field will look like yet? Will they remember that we know how to win these races, and have done so over three election cycles now? And then when you throw in the fact that the Texas Republican House Committee is a complete and utter joke, you've got to ask yourself -- why should we still feel anything but confident in our chances to win in 2010? Come January 2011, when we elect a Democratic Speaker of the House, the Republicans are going to look how much they lost -- and how quickly they lost it -- and fall apart. Our job is just to get it done. |
