Texas Round-Up: Campaign Edition

by: Ryan Goodland

Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 06:50 AM CDT

• Kinky Friedman's campaign continues its turn rightward, as Friedman's spokesperson Laura Stromberg attacks Representative Sefronia Thompson and claims that Katrina evacuees are responsible for Houston's increase in violent crime over the past year:

  "[T]he truth is [Thompson's] city has seen a 20 percent increase in violent crimes. Why isn't that the issue?" [said Stromberg].

  Probably because that's not actually the truth. Houston has seen a 2.4 percent increase in violent crime over the past year, which incidentally is nearly identical to the rise in the violent crime rate nationwide.

• Rick Perry's staff is claiming that CHIP is fully funded. Is that actually true?

• In 2004, 42% of Texans age 18-29 voted, but in 2002, only 17% did, according to a story in today's Star Telegram.

• Gene Seaman continues to blame his wife (through a press release attributed to her) for claiming a second homestead exemption on an apartment for which he was paying with his own campaign dollars.

• DMN endorses a bunch of Republicans  and Democrat Bill Moody for the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals. (The endorsements went to the Republicans admittedly by default, since almost all of GOP candidates were running unopposed, had only Libertarian opponents, or had Democratic opponents who refused to show up for interviews). Not that newspapers endorsements ever sway races one way or the other, but considering that even Paul Burka is suggesting that Democrats are moving closer to competitiveness running statewide, these races seem like missed opportunities and a good example of why we need a "Run Everywhere" strategy.