This is Part I of an ongoing series that will take a look at the prospective candidates for the 2010 statewide races.
The Republicans
Two-term incumbent Jerry Pattersonhas publicly said that he may run for Lieutenant Governor. However, if Attorney General Greg Abbott (who has the biggest campaign warchest among statewide office holders) enters the Lt. Governor's race or David Dewhurst runs for re-election, he would probably opt for re-election instead of waging what would be uphill battles in both potential matchips. In the end, I expect Patterson to run for re-election.
If Patterson does not seek re-election, state Sen. Dan Patrick could enter the race. It is well known that Patrick has ambitions to run statewide in 2010 and this could be where he ends up.
While stranger things have certainly happened, it is hard to take the Friedman rumors too seriously. Rose may run for statewide office someday, but at 30 years old he is likely a cycle or two away. I could certainly be wrong, but neither Friedman or Rose seem likely to enter this race.
Ronnie McDonald would make a very interesting candidate and I'd like to hear what our readers from Bastrop have to say about him.
McDonald considered running for Robby Cook's old seat, House District 17, before Donnie Dippel got in the race.
Kuff quoted Capitol Inside's take on McDonald, who was first elected county judge in 1999, back when he was considering running for state rep.
Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald is one of the first names to emerge in Democratic circles as a potential replacement for Cook on the ballot next year. McDonald, who's been county judge for almost nine years, considered a race for the House four years ago when Cook appeared to be on the verge of switching parties while being wooed by Governor Rick Perry and other high-level Republicans. But McDonald decided to stay in his current position after Cook spurned the GOP and filed for re-election as a Democrat.
McDonald has been a political trailblazer as Bastrop County's first African-American county judge. He was the first African-American yell leader in Aggieland before graduating from Texas A&M University and pursuing a career in government. McDonald worked for John Sharp in the Comptroller's Office before deciding to enter politics himself.
McDonald is a potential candidate for land commissioner to keep your eye on. Another name that has come up is VaLinda Hathcox, the 2006 Democratic nominee for land commissioner. Hathcox most recently lost the Democratic primary in the TX-04 congressional district.
These are not meant to be comprehensive lists and we invite you to suggest other possible candidates in the comments.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson says he will either run for Lieutenant Governor or seek re-election in 2010, according to a story by the Statesman's Asher Price.
If Patterson is able to win the Lieutenant Governor nomination (which could be a big "if" considering Attorney General Greg Abbott is considering the race and David Dewhurst could possibly run for re-election), he could be a good target for Democrats.
The Statesman seems to think his recent behavior has created a "distinctive political presence" that serves him well. While it will ultimately be up to the voters to decide, some of the things he has done are clearly out of the mainstream and might turn off moderates. and independents.
Patterson, one of the most controversial figures in the state as the Christmas Mountains debate raged, says he will run again, and maybe for higher office, in 2010. Democrats say he is vulnerable, but others say the imbroglio, far from injuring him, may have enhanced his image as a plain-talking, property rights-supporting, gun-toting personality, which goes down easy in many parts of Texas. At the Republican state convention in Houston this month, a video composed of photographs of Patterson aiming a gun, boarding a plane in his Marine flight suit, marching through the Christmas Mountains and posing with his family was broadcast as the Tom Petty song "I Won't Back Down" played in the background.
But the man who packs a pistol in his boot (he says he owns about a hundred guns) and appears to shoot from the hip is actually deliberate in his aim. He has built a political career as a contrarian who uses contrariness to his advantage, crafting a distinctive political presence that serves him well in a bluster-prone state like Texas ...
Democrats suspect that voters want somebody to be part of the solution, not part of the problem," Democratic consultant Kelly Fero said. "They want someone who can get along with others, make government work, rather than deliver ideological statements."
In an action that embodies Patterson's ability to invite both admiration and notoriety, he hands out unofficial business cards that feature the Texas flag as it was under the Confederacy. (A native of Houston, he is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans; his great-grandfather served.) The father of 4-year-old twins, as well as two adult children from a previous marriage, he says he has sworn off running for a seat in Congress because he can't stand being anywhere north of Fredericksburg, Va., on the East Coast.
The article also speculates about a few Democrats who may be eyeing the race for Land Commissioner.
If Patterson runs for re-election as land commissioner, he will be a favorite against opponents who could include Democratic state Rep. Patrick Rose of Dripping Springs, Kinky Friedman or Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald ...
I think Kinky Friedman's ego is too big and his experience too small to mount a serious bid for Land Commissioner. The other two mentioned candidates, however, are intriguing.
Rep. Patrick Rose is one of the rising stars of the party. He has made some votes that we probably don't all agree with, but he is extremely well-liked by his constituents and has turned what should be a Republican seat into a district where he received over 60 percent in 2006.
Rose is also one of the most prolific fund raisers in the House. If he is looking for a statewide office to run for in 2010, I think he would be wise to take a long look at the Land Commissioner's race. Rumors have also circulated about Rose and the attorney general's race for sometime. He would give Democrats a great chance in either race.
I don't know anything about Judge McDonald, but I'm hoping some of our readers, like Robert from Bastrop County, will be able to shed some light on his potential candidacy.
That's what Kinky Friedman, an Independent candidate for Governor in 2006, told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday night.
After saying he would only run if he could raise $3 to $5 million for the Democratic primary, Friedman had a few interesting things to say, including some words about "standard sleaze" coming from "some bloggers" back in his 2006 race.
“I believe I can not only appeal to Obama people and Hillary people, but Ron Paul people and the independents and the people we used to call rednecks who are now sitting in a Starbucks some place in the suburbs,” Friedman said.
Writing off his previous independent gubernatorial campaign as failed from the start, Kinky Friedman thinks he’s the best chance for a Democrat to be Texas’ next governor ...
Whether [raising $3 - $5 million is] possible, he said, will depend on if the Democratic grassroots can move past the attacks some lobbed at Friedman in 2006, much of which focused on decades-old comedy routines in which he used racial slurs.
“I think it was standard sleaze...There never was a black community against me. It was some bloggers who felt that I was doing too well. That’s all. And they had to reach back 27, 29 years..and the question is does any of that stuff stick or it doesn’t. I don’t think it does.
And 29 years? Try 3, as Phillip reported back in 2006.
I had not expected to write two posts in three days about Kinky Friedman running as a Democrat, but he certainly does seem to be making a lot of noise about it.
(Small Note from Phillip) - Um, Kinky? Never a black community against you? What about when the NAACP demanded an apology -- did you forget because you refused to apologize?
In an interview with a San Antonio radio station, Friedman said he would run for Governor as a Democrat if he's "got a war chest that is sizable enough."
Last year, before Friedman confirmed he would run if he could raise enough money, Texas Democratic Party communications director Hector Nieto was asked about Friedman's chances in a Democratic Primary.
"He's obviously going to have to prove himself to Democratic voters," Nieto said. "He's going to have a difficult time doing that."
Personally, I think Texas Democrats would be wiser to nominate someone like Houston Mayor Bill White in 2010, but one thing's for sure: a primary battle that includes Kinky Friedman will certainly be interesting.
If you recall a few weeks back I wrote that Kinky Friedman is thinking of running as one Kinky Democrat instead of one Kinky Independent this go around. The poll results suggest he should think twice considering he only captures 9% of the hearts and minds of Democrats and Independents who were part of this survey.
After helping to seal Rick Perry's second term in Austin, word is that Kinky Friedman is thinking of running again for governor in 2010, but not as an independent.
This time he would run as a Democrat.
Friedman said he is considering running again for governor in 2010, as a Democrat.
"God probably couldn't have won as an independent," Friedman said.
"My focus would be on education and getting rid of the death penalty. I don't think that's a radical view. What part of 'Thou shalt not kill' don't people understand?"
Ummm...paging Mr. Bill White! Save us from this potential atrocity in 2010.
And we wonder why Kinky's campaign to 12% last year was such a joke. From today's New York Post.
Take heart, Imus. You're merely joining a long and legendary laundry list of individuals who were summarily sacrificed in the name of society's sanctimonious soul: Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, Joan of Arc, Mozart and Mark Twain, who was decried as a racist until the day he died for using the N-word rather prolifically in "Huckleberry Finn."
Don Imus is a part of "America's soul" now? But hey, with Kinky's history of racial comments, I'm only surprised that he didn't jump on the bandwagon. Why not, say, "nappy headed nigger eggs that talk to themselves"? Would be right up his alley. (just make sure it's not a bowling alley or else he'll start throwing his "nappy headed nigger eggs" into the sea...)
Seeing that number at the end of election, would normally send your heart through the floor if you are the lucky politician to receive it. It would normally mean the people of Texas don't want you representing them anymore. But not in the case of Rick Perry, who became just the 3rd Texas Governor to win with less than 40% of the vote.
With 5 opponents receiving votes this past November, Governor Rick Perry's losing effort turned into reelection. And on this glorious Tuesday January 16th, he will be sworn in again and become Texas's longest sitting leader during this term.
But what does it say to a leader when the majority of the voters said no? 61% of your state wanted you gone! Is it time to listen to your opponents, because you have no mandate?
Just over 1.7 million people voted to reelect Rick Perry. There were 13,074,279 voters registered for the election. Only 33.6% of them even bothered to show up. That means really only a third of a third of Texas is with him. Of course, when some of those people are reporters for major state newspapers, who else do you need supporting you right?! That seems to be the basis of the Perry Doctrine.
Last month, I split Texas into nine areas, and I made the following comments on the gubernatorial race here:
Due to the huge split, it is very likely that Bell will win more than 17 counties.
Turns out that Bell did win 34 counties. Which is the one thing I got right about this race.
Chris Bell gets the ignoble prize of having the worst percentage showing of any Texas Democratic Gubernatorial candidate in history. Or at least in the last 130 years.
2008 is going to be an amazing year for Texas. I also think that 2006 is going to provide us with some shockers (probably in both directions at the same time). But one thing that I'm really happy about is that for the first time, Dems in Texas have led on the Tech front at least in innovation.
So I offer this comparison just for fun about why Chris Bell will come in no less than second if he doesn't make it over the line tonight.
Travis County Republican Party's Walk to Win tool which is outdated by at least 2 months. Cool, but easily surpassed by Maxey's FriendsVote.org tool which is up to date as of last Friday in Travis and has the other 253 counties in Texas too.
Kinky Friedman's 1990s era GOTV operation as described via e-mail.
If you can't make it to HQ, call us at (512) 326-5465, and we'll set you up with some phone numbers to call on your own! You'll need access to a fax machine if you want to call remotely!
Fax machine? Hahahaha. That's almost as funny as my favorite joke of the election cycle.
Me: Hey, have you seen the great new tools developed by the Texas Democratic Party on their website?
Grassroots Democrat: Really?! I haven't yet actually.
