Terrific news this morning in the race to defeat the horrific Republican incumbent, State Rep. Bill Zedler: Democrat Chris Turner -- endorsed months ago by TexBlog PAC -- has received a stellar endorsement from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
From their editorial, whose headline reads, "Bill Zedler has had enough time to shine as a Texas legislator. He hasn't."
Turner is young and untested, but he is smart and driven by a desire to improve the lives of the residents of District 96 and the rest of the state.
Turner looks at the Oct. 4 school property tax election and the $8.1 million in budget cuts at the Arlington school district this year and sees a common theme: The school funding plan adopted by the Legislature in 2006 has left local districts unable to meet increased costs without raising taxes or dangerously drawing down reserves.
The editorial goes on to tout Turner's forward-thinking public policy positions on commuter rail, transportatioin in general, air quality, and higher education funding opportunities. In other words -- an endorsement of the substance of Turner's excellent public policy positions.
Zedler, meanwhile, is skewered for being the right-wing wacko that he is. Talking about his unfledgling loyalty to the arcane policies of the Texas Conservative Coalition, they wrote:
[...] In practice some of the legislation pushed by the coalition and its members has been downright bad. We’d rather have seen more evidence that the District 96 representative could think and act independently rather than simply support group causes.
Turner has previously been endorsed by Texas Parent PAC, as well as TexBlog PAC months ago. In one of the best opportunities for Texas Democrats to win another seat, Turner is running an incredible campaign based on sound public policies.
(I'm bumping this because Chris just launched a $4,000 in 4 days online fundraising challenge. Chris is reaching a tipping point in his race -- if he can maintain the pressure and momentum he's building, he will be the first seat we win back. Donate today -- make it happen now, and help us take back the House! - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Who he is: It's hard to imagine a first time candidate for office with more political experience than Chris Turner. Before announcing his campaign for state representative, he was the district director for U.S. Representative Chet Edwards, where he supervised three offices in the 12 county-district and oversaw a staff of 10, working to help constituents and coordinate instate projects for the congressman. He also managed Edwards' last four, highly-competitive reelection bids. Why his race matters: There is no state in the country where the consequences of legislative control are more clear than Texas. In 2002, with a little help from Tom Delay, the Republicans took control of the legislature for the first time in 130 years. Now, six years later, Democrats are just five seats away from winning a new majority in the state. A victory for Chris Turner brings us one step closer.
TexBlog PAC endorsed House candidate Christ Turner announced that his campaign has raised over $200,000 in the first six months alone -- a tremendous amount so early in the year for a State House candidate! Turner is running against far-right Republican incumbent Rep. Bill Zedler, in the southern area of Tarrant County.
From Chris' press release:
Teachers, business people, health care professionals, lawyers, retirees and students - these are just a few of the hundreds of Texans who are supporting our campaign to bring more partnership and less partisanship to Austin. A few weeks ago, I started knocking on doors and talking to voters about the issues that matter the most to them. I've met a number of people who think we need change in Austin and agree with my goal of bringing more partnership and less partisanship to the Texas House.
What's more, our strong fundraising will give us the necessary resources to compete with the big special interest money that my opponent depends on to finance his campaign. While we still have a long way to go to reach our fundraising goals for the campaign, we have a lot of early momentum to build upon.
As part of TexBlog PAC, we were all eager to help Chris build that early momentum when we donated $5,000 to his campaign. He's got a real shot at winning -- you'll be hearing a lot about this race in the coming weeks. For now, take some action and help us elect Chris Turner to the TX House:
(Yesterday, we endorsed Chris Turner for TexBlog PAC -- which will come with continued online outreach and a $5,000 check from supporters like you! Give to TexBlog PAC today and help us raise more for our excellent House candidates! - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Friends,
Thank you for your support and endorsement of my campaign. I am honored to have the support of TexBlog PAC and its members. The blog community in Texas has done an amazing job over the last several years of galvanizing netroots support for causes we believe in and bringing in so many new people to the political process.
This is a critical election year for Texas. The future of our state will be shaped by the people we elect to the Legislature this November, and the stakes could not be higher. We can continue the failed policies of the last several years – policies supported by my opponent, Rep. Bill Zedler – or we can chart a new course for Texas.
I am running for the State House because I think we need more partnership and less partisanship in Austin. That means putting the interests of Texas families ahead of the special interests.
We need to give our hard-working public school teachers pay raises, which Rep. Zedler has opposed.
We need to stand up to people like James Leininger and say “no” to his radical private school voucher plan, a plan my opponent supports.
It’s time we fully restore the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for working Texas families, because it was wrong when Rep. Zedler and others voted to kick 230,000 kids off of health care five years ago.
It’s time we do something about our sky-high utility rates and homeowners insurance in Texas.
And we need to get serious about protecting our natural resources – especially our air and water quality – in the Lone Star State.
If we elect the same partisan leaders to office, we’ll just get more of the same results. I think Texas deserves better than that, and that is why I am running. By working together, I know we can make a real difference for Texas families.
Thank you again for your support – it means a lot to me!
House District 96 contains most of the southern areas of Arlington and Fort Worth, along with the communities of Crowley, Kennedale and Rendon and parts of Mansfield and Burleson.
In 2006, Republican Bill Zedler narrowly avoided a loss, managing only 52.46% of the vote:
House District 96 – 2006 Election Results
Vote Totals
% of the Vote
Bill Zedler (R)
19,520
52.46%
Chris Youngblood (D)
16,483
44.29%
Sam Thomas (L)
1,206
3.24%
TOTAL
37,209
-
Additionally, as Turner’s website shows, Democrats turned out in the March primary at a rate almost 2.5 times higher than Republicans – a larger ratio than the statewide average. More Democrats voted in the HD 96 House District in Tarrant County than in any other House District in the County.
About Chris Turner – A Committed, Hard-Working Candidate
Born in Sherman and raised in Dallas, Chris went to Dallas’ Skyline High School and is a UT-Austin graduate with a degree in Government. Before launching his campaign, Chris Turner worked as District Director for Texas Congressman Chet Edwards (D – Waco). During his time with Congressman Edwards, Chris gained experience working across party lines to meet the needs of Texans from all walks of life.
Chris’ experience with the highly successful Congressman Edwards campaign will come in handy as he runs for office in HD 96. From his website:
Chris has also managed Edwards’ last four highly competitive and successful re-election campaigns, during which he was recognized for his leadership ability and organizational skills in the midst of challenging circumstances.
Donate to Chris Turner Today and Help Us Take Back the House!
We will be writing more about Chris in the coming days, weeks, and months. In the meantime, please join our efforts and donate anything you can – $10, $25, or $50 – to help us take back the House as we do our part to turn Texas blue!
House District 96 makes up the southern portion of Tarrant County, and its current State Rep., Republican Bill Zedler, is going to be facing the race of his life against one of the best candidates Democrats have fielded this fall, Chris Turner.
Last night's primary returns gave us an idea of how the district is looking. Democratic voters in HD 96 outnumbered Republican voters by a tremendous margin:
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLICAN
RATIO, D:R
STATEWIDE
2,857,301
1,380,907
2.07:1
TARRANTCOUNTY
199,567
100,793
1.98:1
HD 96
27,577
11,277
2.45:1
Looking at the numbers in Tarrant County, House District 96 had more Democratic voters than any other House District in the entire county -- showing that HD 96 may be the most politically active district in what is becoming a hotbed of political activity.
Rep. Zedler only won in 2006 with 52.5% of the vote. Turner is former District Director of Congressman Chet Edwards, and has cut his teeth on tough campaigns. The primary numbers suggest that this is a very winnable district for Democrats -- and one Republicans should be worried about every day for the next eight months.
(Again great stuff from RBH. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Using the data on the election analysis page (for 2004, I'll update slightly when the 2006 data is posted), here are the 7 Republicans who are in the bluest districts.
Haggerty (HD78), Murphy (HD133), Goolsby (HD102), England (HD106), Harper-Brown (HD105), Latham (HD101), and Branch (HD108).
Haggerty hasn't been challenged by a Democrat since 1998. He was almost unseated in the primary though.
Murphy and Latham are freshmen. Murphy won with 56%. Latham beat an incumbent in the primary and didn't face a Democrat.
Goolsby won with 52%, England won with 49%, Brown won with 55%, and Branch won with 56%.
