Suprising TX-Gov Poll of Students

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Tue Oct 31, 2006 at 10:17 PM CST

46.5% Bell (D)
18.3% Friedman (I)
16.5% Perry (R) 
10.0% Strayhorn (I) 
04.3% Werner (L) 
04.0% Undecided

If the heart of the supposed hotbed of Kinky Friedman support has this pathetic of a showing, what more evidence do people need to show that Chris Bell is the only viable candidate to beat Rick Perry?

Turnout at the on campus UT early voting site hit a high today of 626 votes even as the county remained static from yesterday. Looks like my autocall to students yesterday and other GOTV phone calls are making an impact.

CorridorWatch.org ISSUES 2006 CANDIDATE REPORT CARD

by: salsal

Fri Oct 27, 2006 at 07:58 AM CDT

CorridorWatch.org is a non-partisan organization formed to educate and inform, not to participate in politics. CorridorWatch.org is not a political action committee (PAC) and therefore does not support or endorse candidates.

However over our four year existence we have observed and interacted with many of the individuals who are on this November’s ballot. During this time we have developed informed opinions about these candidates.

Our goal in presenting the following Report Card is to let you know how CorridorWatch.org feels these candidates reflect the beliefs and concerns of our members and others who are opposed to the Trans Texas Corridor.

The following candidates have been graded on information available to CorridorWatch.org and reflect our assessment of their position on the Trans Texas Corridor and related issues such as tolling, toll conversion private property rights and eminent domain taking for economic development. The grade also reflects the effectiveness (in our opinion) that the candidate would have in effecting positive change if elected.

U. S. Senator
  "A"  Barbara Ann Radnofsky DEM
  "B"  Kay Bailey Hutchison - Incumbent REP
  "C"  Scott Lanier Jameson LIB

Governor
  "A"  Carole Keeton Strayhorn IND
  "C"  Chris Bell DEM
  "C"  Richard "Kinky" Friedman IND
  "D"  James Werner LIB
  "F"  Rick Perry - Incumbent REP

Lieutenant Governor
  "B"  David Dewhurst - Incumbent REP
  "B"  Maria Luisa Alvarado DEM
  "C"  Judy Baker LIB

Attorney General
  "A"  David Van Os DEM
  "B"  Greg Abbott - Incumbent REP
  "C"  Jon Roland LIB

Comptroller of Public Accounts
  "B"  Susan Combs REP
  "B"  Fred Head DEM
  "C"  Mike Burris LIB

Commissioner General Land Office
  "C"  VaLinda Hathcox DEM
  "C"  Michael A. French LIB
  "D"  Jerry Patterson - Incumbent REP

Commissioner of Agriculture
  "A"  Hank Gilbert DEM
  "C"  Clay Woolam LIB
  "F"  Todd Staples REP

State Senator - District 3
  "F"  Robert Nichols REP

State Senator - District 25
  "C"  Kathleen "Kathi" Thomas DEM
  "C"  James R. (Bob) Thompson LIB
  "F"  Jeff Wentworth - Incumbent REP

State Representative - District 13
  "A"  Lois W. Kolkhorst - Incumbent REP
  "D"  Charles Stigall LIB

State Representative - District 17
  "A"  Tim Kleinschmidt REP
  "B"  Robby Cook - Incumbent DEM
  "D"  Roderick (Rod) Gibbs LIB

State Representative - District 20
  "B"  Jim Stauber DEM
  "D"  Dan M. Gattis - Incumbent REP

State Representative - District 20
  "B"  John Zerwas REP
  "C"  Dorothy Bottos DEM

State Representative - District 52
  "B"  Karen Felthauser DEM
  "B"  Lillian Simmons LIB
  "F"  Mike Krusee - Incumbent REP

State Representative - District 57
  "B"  Jim Dunnam - Incumbent DEM
  "D"  Neill Snider LIB

State Representative - District 62
  "C"  Peter "Pete" Veeck DEM
  "F"  Larry Phillips - Incumbent REP

State Representative - District 90
  "B"  Lon Burnam - Incumbent DEM
  "D"  Rod Wingo LIB

State Representative - District 117
  "A"  David McQuade Leibowitz - Incumbent DEM
  "D"  Ted Kenyon REP

This Report Card is also available at:
http://www.corridorw...

Subject to changes and/or additions.
  CorridorWatch.org

Bell Goes 4 for 4 in Post-Debate Polls

by: stopkinky

Thu Oct 26, 2006 at 11:57 AM CDT

36% - Rick Perry
25% - Chris Bell
22% - Carole Strayhorn
12% - Richard Friedman

For reference, here's the SurveyUSA poll (10/24):

36% - Rick Perry
26% - Chris Bell
19% - Carole Strayhorn
16% - Richard Friedman

Wall Street Journal (10/19):

37.5% - Rick Perry
26.2% - Chris Bell
13.2% - Richard Friedman
13.0% - Carole Strayhorn

Texans for Insurance Reform (10/15):

34.4% - Rick Perry
18.7% - Chris Bell
18.5% - Carole Strayhorn
_8.6% - Richard Friedman

Bell Goes 3 for 3 in Post-Debate Polls

by: stopkinky

Tue Oct 24, 2006 at 02:51 PM CDT

36% - Rick Perry
26% - Chris Bell
19% - Carole Strayhorn
16% - Richard Friedman

Chris Bell is also the only candidate with consistent upward momentum (Strayhorn and Perry wobble up and down and Kinky has a consistent downward trajectory).

Chris Bell and Maximizing the College Vote

by: SouthTexasDemocrat

Mon Oct 23, 2006 at 04:33 PM CDT

Polls show Bell breaking out of the pack; Kinky just a spoiler; Strayhorn falling

by: stopkinky

Sat Oct 21, 2006 at 04:29 PM CDT

Wall Street Journal (an internet based poll using a methodology that may oversample pro-technology voters, but the poll is weighted to match the race, age, economic profile, education profile, and party affiliation splits corresponding with the splits from the latest exit polls from comparable elections in Texas):

37.5% - Rick Perry
26.2% - Chris Bell
13.2% - Richard Friedman
13.0% - Carole Strayhorn

Texans for Insurance Reform (a land-line telephone based poll using a methodology that may undersample younger, pro-technology, economically disadvantaged voters, and the poll is weighted to match the polling population to the assumption that 40% of the voters will be Republicans, 30% will be Democrats, and 30% will be independents - this poll is conducted by an independent polling firm but it is financed by Strayhorn supporters):

34.4% - Rick Perry
18.7% - Chris Bell
18.5% - Carole Strayhorn
_8.6% - Richard Friedman

Dallas Morning News endorsement: Governor Rick Perry

by: John McClelland

Fri Oct 20, 2006 at 02:57 PM CDT

The Dallas Morning News, in what I would call biggest non-surprise, endorsed Governor Rick Perry for re-election.

The endorsement makes for a clean sweep of GOP endorsements for the state races and US Congress by the paper (remember this is the same paper who endorsed Todd Staples because we need "someone who knows Austin", rather than a rancher.)

This is what the DMN had to say about Perry's opponents in the race:

...in advancing ambitious plans for education – including generous teacher raises – Mr. Bell and Ms. Strayhorn come up short on realistic ways to pay for everything. They would bank (as would Mr. Friedman) on income from casinos or slot machines. Both are illegal, however, and the Legislature has stood hard against expanded gambling.

We doubt that either Ms. Strayhorn or Mr. Bell would be the one to run such a proposal through the legislative minefield. For all her eye-catching spunk and eagerness to rumble, Ms. Strayhorn, 67, has a bad credibility problem among key lawmakers stemming from her revenue estimates as state comptroller. A political chameleon given to yapping, the former Republican could easily end up more a divider than uniter.

As for the thoughtful Mr. Bell, 46, a former one-term Houston congressman untested in an executive position, he would have the crippling disadvantage of being an unknown in Austin and a minority-party governor.

And Kinky, 61, the fountainhead of memorable one-liners? We appreciate the occasional levity from the Texas humorist but can't say much more.

While I try to find reasoning for these sweeping endorsements, all I can find is that in each editorial, they seem to endorse the Republicans because their opponents do not have detailed plans of what to do differently. I can not think of any political race in the past where an opponent offered up minute details of every little thing they're running on, so this reasoning is beyond me.

Politicans like Bell, Kinky, and Grandma should only need to point out how much Rick Perry sucks. And the polls show that the majority of Texans agree with that tactic, no matter how much the DMN wants every answer on a silver platter.

Is Heflin Gay-Baiting in HD-149?

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Thu Oct 19, 2006 at 11:15 AM CDT

You can listen to the robo-call here.

Hi this is Richard with the Hubert Vo campaign. I'm calling on behalf of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Political Caucus. This weekend we'll be walking door to door in your neighborhood for Hubert Vo. We want to thank Hubert Vo for voting for gay rights in the last legislative session. If you would like to join us in walking for Mr. Vo please call us at 713-521-1000. If you see us in your neighborhood come say hi. If you can't join us this weekend, we hope you will join us in voting for Hubert Vo because Vo votes for gay rights. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Kuff has further explanation on the intent and effect of doing something like this in that district.

Vo has been endorsed by the Houston Chronicle.

Selective Alzheimers: Did Strayhorn & Perry Forget About 1998?

by: Vince Leibowitz

Thu Oct 19, 2006 at 07:15 AM CDT

I was really shocked when I didn't see a photo of O'Quinn with horns and a pointy tail. After all, if you listen to the talking heads of the campaigns of Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Rick Perry, you just might get the impression that Chris Bell was selling his soul to the devil himself in order to bring his message to the people of Texas. That, of course, is rhetoric typical of the Strayhorn and Perry campaigns.

What is most entertaining about Perry and Strayhorn's feigned shock and dismay that someone would put so much money into Bell's campaign is how quickly those two have forgotten about being recipents of similar contributions—from someone far more sinister than a mere trial lawyer: Dr. James Leininger.

Post-Debate Gubernatorial Poll

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 08:36 PM CDT

And boy, there was some change after the one TX-Gov Debate. Prior numbers in (*).

Perry (R)	34.4%	(32.9)
Bell (D)	18.7%	(13.6)
Strayhorn (I)	18.5%	(20)
Friedman (I)	8.6%	(14.1)

If you don't think the debate (and Kinky's pathetic performance and Bell's very good one) matters, well, it does. There is finally momentum in this race and it's in Bell's favor. If you apply the same shift to other polls were more in line with reality to begin with, this 3 way tie for second would finally be over.

Also note, this poll was before the major new media out there.