I post this (turnout results are always delayed by a day) to point out that you can make a big difference in this election because runoff elections don't generate high turnout.
County Total EV
Harris 1573
Fort Bend 755
Brazoria 726
Galveston 381
Jefferson 387
Total 3822
Sadly, I'm going to be back in Washington, DC this weekend for Rootscamp otherwise I'd be on this bus in an instant. Austin readers- time to get on the bus for Bell! It's a one day commitment only. -kt
The Travis County Democratic Party and Education Austin are proud to help Congressman Chris Bell by providing a blockwalking bus from Austin to Houston this Saturday December 13.
The free Bus trip leaves at 6:15am at AFL-CIO at 11th and Lavaca this Saturday December 13. Breakfast, coffee and a movie will be provided on the bus. Once in Chris Bell's district outside of Houston, we will meet with Congressman Bell and then blockwalk his district. We'll return to Austin by 7pm, enjoying dinner on the way back. Chris Bell's victory in the Texas Senate will help our fight for issues that matter to us--public schools, choice, clean air and clean water, and even the simple right to vote in Texas.
Call 477-7500 to reserve your spot on the bus today. Or click here to give us your phone and email and we'll follow up with you.
P.S. You can read over a live-chat debate between Chris Bell and Joan Huffman here on the Houston Chronicle Politics blog. Once again, the Chronicle is doing the new media stuff right.
Join Chris Bell online as he debates Republican Joan Huffman over at the Houston Chronicle online.
You can visit the Chron blog at noon Tuesday, December 8, as the two Senate candidates for the District 17 state Senate talk to the people of Texas.
You get to write some of the questions. They'll write their answers. The words will be posted on this blog in real time. Call it a keyboard debate. If you'd like, eat lunch as you follow the remarks.
This weekend, Chris Bell earned the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle for the SD-17 runoff election. They had some great words to say.
With the 81st legislative session looming next month in a weakening economic climate, residents of District 17 need an experienced public servant with a firm grasp of spending priorities. With his commitment to bolstering public education, reining in college tuition increases, and controlling skyrocketing insurance premiums, the Chronicle believes that Chris Bell is the best candidate to represent the diverse district in the Texas Senate.
...
Bell, a former news reporter and practicing lawyer, says his previous political experience has educated him about the concerns of Texans. According to Bell, "even before Hurricane Ike hit and even before the meltdown on Wall Street, people here in Texas were starting to feel a sense of insecurity, seeing school districts forced into crisis funding modes." He promises to make education issues a top early priority if elected, while working to create coalitions with members of both parties.
District 17 will benefit from being represented by a veteran elected official with statewide name recognition and a proven commitment to high ethical standards. The Chronicle urges constituents to make a special effort to go to the polls and cast their ballots for Bell.
We're not done yet with Elections in Texas. With an expected 76-74 Republican controlled statehouse we have a chance on December 16th to help narrow the margin in the state senate by one more vote to 18-13. That race of course, pits former Gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell against GOP nominee Joan Huffman who were the two vote leaders in the open primary on November 4th.
Today we are announcing a weeklong effort in support of Chris Bell's runoff election. With Early Voting this week and Election Day next Tuesday, we're also announcing our second $1000 Burnt Orange for Bell online fundraiser. Last time, we went on strike and you reached that goal in one day. We're not striking this time, but I'm more than confident our community can raise $1000 this week for Bell. So if you haven't given (and it's the only race in town so you should), click here and donate to Bell today.
I'll start it off with $50 myself. Will you join me?
Here is an ad that the Bell campaign has released in the runoff election. You can view other ads and videos from the Bell campaign on their YouTube channel.
Democrats received 52.2% of the vote combined on November 4th, proving that this is a winnable district.
To that end, there are some things you can do to help.
It's official. I am tired of reading that Republicans have an advantage in low turnout or special elections.
The facts simply do not support the bold claim.
Since 2005, Democrats have won or over performed in nearly every special election in Texas.
The obvious and best example of this is House District 97. In the December, "low turnout" special election, Dan Barrett won. In the November general election, Dan Barrett lost. Barrett saw a 10 point erosion in his numbers while Shelton saw a nearly 8 point gain.
House District 97 Special Election Dan Barrett (D) - 52.18%
Mark M. Shelton (R) - 47.81%
House District 97 General Election Mark M. Shelton (R) - 55.33%
Dan Barrett (D) - 42.75%
Nothing changed. Barrett was out spent in both elections. Shelton was cozy to Craddick in both elections. The only major difference is the turnout numbers. Barrett won the low turnout election, Shelton won the high turnout election.
It may seem like an overstatement, but looking back to 2005 the Republican special election not only appears to be a fallacy, it appears to be nonexistent.
2006 was a very good year for Democrats who ran in supposedly Republican favored special elections.
U. S. Representative District 23 Henry Bonilla (R) - 45.71%
Ciro D. Rodriguez (D) - 54.28%
State Representative District 48 Ben Bentzin (R) - 42.38%
Donna Howard (D) - 57.61%
In 2006, Democrats won every special election they ran in with the exception of House District 29. House District 29 hasn't elected a Democrat since 2000 and no Democrat has received more than Tom Uher did in 2002 when he got 42.59% of the vote after 9/11. Before that, Uher represented a totally different district than what is now HD-29. Before the census and redistricting, Uher's district was a democratically favorable district, and since, it has been carved in a way to help elect over 100 Republicans in Texas (as was Tom DeLay's goal at the time).
You have to go back to February 2005 to see a special election contest where a Republican had a definitive win.
State Representative District 121 Paul Silbert (I) - 3.09%
Rose Spector (D) - 33.58%
Glen S. Starnes (R) - 1.38%
Joe Straus (R) - 61.93%
As Kuff wrote in 2005, House District 121 was and continues to be a Republican district. House District 121 in northeast San Antonio and stretched from Olmos Park northeast to Windcrest and north past Loop 1604.
Although Spector lost, she still did better than the Democratic challenger did against Elizabeth Ames Jones in 2000.
State Representative District 121 Elizabeth Ames Jones (R) - 68.24%
Michael G. Zapper (D) - 28.68%
J. (Jay) Moore (L) - 3.07%
While it didn't win us the seat, Democrats saw a nearly 5 point increase during the 2005 special election. In a competitive race, a 5 point swing would be the difference between victory and defeat.
In fact this phenomenon extends beyond urban districts. On February 17, 2004, Democrats were only 3.5 points away from winning the rural Senate District 1 in a special election.
State Senator, District 1 (Unexpired) Kevin Eltife (R) - 51.86%
Paul Sadler (D) - 48.13%
The truth is, Democrats do well in special elections. The reasons differ. The politics and finances differ from year to year and campaign to campaign, but the empirical data remains consistent.
As we move rapidly towards December 16, it is more important than ever for us to elect Congressman Chris Bell. The data shows it will only get harder.
(for more information about the Senate District 17 special election click here.)
Talk about more of the same. Republican Joan Huffman (Chris Bell's opponent in the Dec 16th runoff for SD-17) is holding fundraisers with some real change agents... Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Joan Huffman sent a message to voters in Senate District 17 this week that she has nothing new to offer in the Texas Legislature. Huffman held fundraisers with special guests Governor Rick Perry and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. Under these Republican leaders, hard-working Texans have been shortchanged while padding the pockets of corporations and big contributors.
"While Joan Huffman's friends have been in charge, investment in our public schools has dwindled, college has become increasingly unaffordable and fewer Texans have access to quality health care," said campaign spokeswoman Amber Moon. "Rick Perry and David Dewhurst want to bring Joan Huffman to Austin so they can continue these same failed policies that benefit big corporations and insurance companies over working Texas families."
The Governor finally announced the date of the final election in 2008. Chris Bell is in a runoff in Senate District 17, which ranges from Jefferson County to Brazoria County and takes up large chunks of Jefferson, Harris, and Galveston.
Gov. Rick Perry today announced a special runoff election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 17 to be held on Dec. 16, 2008. A special election to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Kyle Janek was held during the November 4 general election; however no candidate received a majority of the votes, as mandated by state law.
Early voting will run from December 8 through December 12.
The winner of this special election will serve out the remainder of Sen. Janek's term, which expires in January 2011.
The election is just 9 days before Christmas and 5 days before Hanukkah. In addition, Perry has selected 5 days of early vote that conveniently makes it more difficult for working men and women to go vote because it does not encompass any weekend dates.
Rick Perry has attempted to call runoff dates that favor the Republicans in the past with CD-23, HD-48 and HD-97 (all races Democrats won). Now it appears he is trying to give Joan Huffman an advantage by calling a runoff that will surely suppress voter turnout.
Update: According to a reader, Perry didn't "select" those days of early voting, they're set in statute. They point out, if you pick a Tuesday election day for a special run-off, you don't get weekend early voting days, the legislature changed that a while back apparently. (That should probably be fixed)
The Governor canvassed the election yesterday, Monday. He had up to 5 days after the canvass to set the run-off date, but he instead called it immediately. The date of the canvass starts the clock running on the window of possible election dates to chose from, which based on yesterday's canvass would have been Dec 9 - Jan 2. Although he can pick any day of the week, he would almost surely pick either a Tuesday or a Saturday since that's when virtually all elections happen, so in a practical sense he was choosing from December 9, 13, 16, or 20, unless he would want to set a date at Christmas or New Years, in which election workers would probably be unwilling to work, and voters be unable to vote.
That being said, it is apparent that Perry had an option to allow voting on the weekend and picked a date that doesn't permit this.
