Update:A portion of this interview was featured in the Star-Telegram's PoliTex Blog.
The Burnt Orange Report community may recall that we had the first exclusive interview with Tom Schieffer as his campaign for governor kicked off back in the spring.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had the opportunity to sit down with former Democratic candidate for governor, Tom Schieffer, once again. Given the political news that his exit from the gubernatorial race made this past week, we discussed his campaign, his exit from the race, his meeting with Bill White, and the future.
Well, Tom, you've had quite a week. Talk to me about how you feel today, about your decision, and where you go from here.
Well I feel good. I think it was the right decision. I think it gives the Democratic Party an opportunity to unite behind a candidate for governor that can win. That's what I was trying to do and that's the reason I ran in the beginning was to try to elevate the debate in Texas and start talking about the Democratic Party as a realistic alternative to what the Republicans have done over the last few years. Hopefully my actions Monday helped that process along.
With the announcement that Tom Schieffer is officially out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary, several of his highest-profile Democratic supporters released a statement today. From Representatives Garnet Coleman of Houston, Jim Dunnam of Waco, Jessica Farrar of Houston and Pete Gallego of Alpine (emphasis mine):
"We thank Tom for his steadfast support of Democratic principles, and the sacrifices that he and his wife have made over the last eight months as they traveled across Texas, addressing our states' crisis of leadership.
"We were proud to endorse Tom to serve as the next governor of Texas because he was willing to address issues and concerns that are important to Texas families - public education, jobs, children's health insurance, rising college tuition, energy, protecting the environment and transportation.
"The Democratic Party is still the only one that offers a chance for real change in Texas. Texans still deserve better than one Republican who wants to be governor for life and another who thinks the governor's mansion is a retirement home.
"We look forward to moving our state forward and redoubling our efforts to bring real leadership back to the state of Texas."
These four elected officials are tremendous progressive leaders in the statehouse. Their support of Schieffer carried significant weight, and perhaps prevented many Democrats from initially dismissing the Bush-voting former representative. As the race progresses, it will be interesting to see where their support moves. Previously, Reps. Coleman, Farrar, and Gallego had endorsed Mayor Bill White in his Senatorial bid.
Currently, with White not yet officially in the race and Shami and Gilbert averring that they will stay in the race, these become strong endorsements of the person who may be perceived as the next "establishment candidate," given the clout and respect these four carry amongst the progressive community.
Keep your eyes peeled, folks! This one is far from over just yet.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer is getting out of the race this afternoon, sources said Monday morning. "He just couldn't put it together," said one.
"I can't comment," said Clay Robison, Schieffer's spokesman. Schieffer didn't immediately return calls.
More as this develops.
There should be a press conference today at 3pm at the Texas Capitol.
Provided this is true -- and I don't think the Texas Tribune would break a story like this if it weren't true -- then Schieffer dropping out makes room in the Democratic primary field. Should he drop out, it would also free up a number of endorsements from Democrats who had previously pledged to support Schieffer.
Tom Schieffer entered the gubernatorial race in March, beginning a long conversation about the need for public education to improve in Texas. And while some Democrats were concerned about his candidacy, many others were proud of the way he aggressively traveled the state to talk to Texas Democrats about the immediate need to have a new Governor in Texas.
Zada True Courage, in an e-mail she sent out through Carl Whitmarsh' e-mail list back in August, summed up Schieffer's determination very well:
The guy's been running since March 2009 and he has been traveling around meeting with County Chairs and County Executive Committees. The last time I saw him in July, he was in Corupus, San Antonio, and Kendall County in less than 48 horus. For those who have never campaigned for office, I have to tell you this takes energy and some commitment!
Schieffer worked extremely hard as a candidate. I look forward to what he will say this afternoon, and ultimately I'm happy to have him back in Texas.
More as it develops...
Update from the Schieffer Campaign:
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer will have an important news conference at 3 p.m. today (Monday) in the Speaker's Committee Room at the state Capitol.
Tom Schieffer announced today that he will drop out of the Texas Democratic primary race for Governor. His campaign made the announcement official this afternoon. He also went on to say that he will endorse Houston mayor and current U.S. Senate candidate for Texas, Bill White. Schieffer had been running since March, and despite his aggressive travel across the state, was never able to fully get his campaign off the ground.
Bill White (@billwhitefortx) had, up until today, strongly denied that he would switch to run for Governor. As recently as last Friday, he told current Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith that he had filed to run for Senate and would run for Senate. (Source: Texas Tribune) However, White admitted that conversations about switching over to the Governor's race increased after Hutchison's announcement that she would not resign her U.S. Senate seat -- making what White had anticipated to be a May 2010 U.S. Senate election to fill Hutchison's seat pushed back to at least November 2010, and possibly as far as November 2012. Now, the person who has what one of our writers called, "Texas Democrats' First Truly Statewide Campaign of the 21st Century" will, most likely, be running for Governor.
Kay Bailey Hutchison's decision was the first domino to fall. Why did she decide to stay in office, and not resign to run against fellow cheerleader and Republican extremist, Governor Rick Perry? The conventional wisdom says that she couldn't have beaten Rick Perry in the Republican primary. Perry's dramatic and almost insane outreach to the Republican base -- noted most recently in his public comments that President Obama is "hell-bent on taking America towards a socialist country" -- have helped him lock up a lead in the polls. Hutchison hasn't helped herself, having failed to define her campaign or message at all in the months she's had the chance. But will her disappointment and failure among the chattering class of Texas political insiders translate to electoral defeat on primary day? We'll have to see -- but if she's shown no signs of political life, let alone strength, until now, then the answer will most likely be a resounding yes.
Rick Perry must be kicking himself. Last week, he had a presumptive lock on another four years for Governor (or two, if his Presidential campaign kicks off the way Paul Burka believes it will). Perry dropped a much more effective TV ad than Hutchison (watch both of them on Jason Embry's First Reading blog) and it looked like he only had to beat severe underdogs for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in order to win re-election. Now, he will have to face a formiddable opponent in Bill White -- and these very real election possibilities from a recent poll by the Texas Tribune:
Perry polls in a virtual tie with an unnamed Democrat, getting 34 percent to the Democrat's 33 percent. Eight percent would vote for a third-party candidate, and the rest haven't decided.
Meanwhile, we have to wait and here on other possibilities for the full ticket:
Hank Gilbert -- a favorite among our BOR readers -- now must decide if he stays in the Governor's race, or looks elsewhere. His campaign spokesperson, Vince Leibowitz, has said that he's staying, but the rumors are that he would be willing to switch to a downballot statewide race. Both the Agriculture Commissioner's place (which Hank ran for in 2006), and the Land Commisioner race (which holds a seat on the 5-person Legislative Redistricting Board, which is obviously important for the upcoming redistricting cycle in 2011) are places he's rumored to consider switching to.
John Sharp -- will now presumably have the Senate field to himself, at least in the very near future. If the election doesn't happen until 2012, then perhaps he'd find himself a challenger -- but to be honest, no one is concerned about that race at the moment, and until Hutchison officially resigns her post or officially does not file for office, we'd expect there not to be much news on this race for some time.
We will, of course, have more news and analysis in the coming days and weeks, as the conversations take place about who should go where. We welcome your comments and ideas below. In the mean time, remember:
Today's announcement is encouraging, but it only raises the bar on how much work we must do to actually win in 2010. Texas Democrats will not retake Texas just because someone with money and name ID enters a race. We're going to have to be disciplined messengers for our Party, we're going to have to knock on doors and make phone calls and raise small dollars and do everything we can to win.
Texas Democrats have the strength and infrastructure to show we can win in 2010. Now, let's show them how we do it.
Breaking news: Halloween Peeps have just endorsed Tom Schieffer for Governor of Texas. This comes as a shocking surprise about face from 2006, when Halloween Peeps endorsed Kinky Friedman.
Peeps could not be reached for comment, per usual, as Peeps don't talk to the media.
We are still waiting to hear about possible endorsements from Treaty Oak and Princess the adorable kitten.
This morning, the campaign of Tom Schieffer, a Democratic candidate for Governor, announced they had received the endorsement of nine South Texas legislators.
The group includes Senator Chuy Hinojosa of McAllen and Representatives Veronica Gonzales of McAllen, Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles of Alice, Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Eddie Lucio III of Brownsville, Armando Martinez of Weslaco, Rene Oliveira of Brownsville, Aaron Pena of Edinburg and Tara Rios Ybarra of South Padre Island.
Senator Hinojosa becomes the first Democratic state senator to endorse a current gubernatorial candidate this year.
From the Schieffer campaign press release:
“Tom Schieffer is a lifelong Democrat and proven leader who is addressing issues critical to South Texas and the entire state – stronger public schools, a better health care system and a stronger economy. His focus is on bread and butter issues that will improve the quality of life for all Texans,” said Senator Hinojosa, chairman of the Senate’s Hispanic Caucus and a well-respected Senate leader on criminal justice issues and appropriations.
Schieffer's early support from former Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa, a current DNC member and county party chair, likely was instrumental in securing the nine endorsements.
Update: Hank Gilbert's campaign has issued a hard hitting press release in response to Schieffer's endorsement roll out. In the interest of full disclosure, Gilbert's communications director is Vince Leibowitz, who has appeared as a guest writer on BOR in the past.
"That Tom Schieffer is releasing these endorsements this early is his campaign's tacit acknowledgment that Hank Gilbert is emerging as a serious threat to his nine-plus month effort. Schieffer's run for Texas Governor is stalled not only in South Texas but all across Texas because he is so closely associated with his friend and business partner, former President George W. Bush. This is yet another futile attempt to jump start a lackluster campaign, especially when the press and political pundits will wonder why he pulled the trigger on his major endorsements way before anyone begins paying attention to the race.
Tom Schieffer will be no better than George W. Bush on issues of importance to South Texas - much less all of Texas. Bush's lasting legacy for South Texas is skyrocketing unemployment, the continued lack of a VA hospital, and a border wall taking citizens' land and separating our communities. George W. Bush did not support the South Texas community when he was Texas Governor. He left this state in shambles before leaving the country divided, at war, and in the worst economic mess we have seen since the Great Depression.
South Texas deserves more than a continuation of the failed Bush/Perry legacy, which is all that Tom Schieffer has to offer."
U.S. Senate candidates Bill White and John Sharp have each announced endorsements from legislators in recent months. Of course, their election date has yet to be set (and is likely to be in May) while the Democratic primary is slated for March 2. The notion that Schieffer's announcement of the endorsements is surprisingly early may not add up given the recent actions of White and Sharp.
Rancher Hank Gilbert, recipient of roughly 1.7 million votes as the Democratic candidate for Agriculture Commissioner in 2006, continued his campaigns media blitz by landing on WFAA's Inside Politics in the DFW market.
Gilbert, in his always so folksy manner, artfully articulated to Watson and Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers, why he feels he has crossover appeal:
Hank Gilbert is a guy just like everybody else who is watching this broadcast. I grew up in rural East Texas--the son of two Union parents who owned a farm where every dollar counted. My wife and I sit around the kitchen table a couple of times a month just like most everybody else in this state does--trying to figure out what we can pay that time of the month on bills. I'm no different than anyone else. What I am not is an entrenched politician like most of the people in this race.
That's a powerful, connecting statement from Gilbert. You best believe that hundreds of thousands of Texans sit at the kitchen table on a weekly basis trying to figure out what bill is to be paid and what bill has to wait to be paid. Hank has crossover appeal because he really is like every other mainstream Texan out there who wants answers to the problems we face in our state.
Watson and Jeffers, apparently not satisfied with Gilbert's answers, continued to press him as to how a Democrat can win in 2010:
I don't know that the "D" or the "R" at the end of a name is as important as the candidate and the message that they are putting out there. The thing about Texans--we're just like the weather. We change and we change constantly. People ask me about that "D" and "R" stigma and I was in Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas---twice in the past there weeks. And on talk radio shows, Fox shows, and conservative callers are calling in and saying 'hey, I'm a Republican. I put Rick Perry where he is. I voted for him every time he was on the ballot. But next November I'm voting for the guy you have in your studio because he sounds like me and talks like me.' People ask me about that "D" and that "R?" R stands for rancher and D stands for dirt. We're just like everybody else out there. We want to make a difference for everybody in this state regardless of political affiliation or socio-economic status.
It was a good interview for Hank and I encourage you to check out the full deal. I was hoping that Watson or Jeffers would ask Hank about the recent dustup between his and Schieffer's campaign regarding their respective platforms on education. Last weeks catfight, where Gilbert essentially accused Schieffer of plagiarism, was the first such tussle we've had between declared candidates in the Democratic primary. I was curious to see if the feud would continue or if Gilbert would focus instead on the Republicans. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to hearing from my friend Hank Gilbert when he comes to the Mid-Cities Democrats meeting on October 22nd.
Former Travis County District Attorney, Ronnie Earle, appears ready to swell the ranks of the Democratic field vying to be the Party nominee for governor of Texas. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported this weekend that Earle is "leaning toward" running for governor. Should Earle join the field he would be competing with former Ambassador Tom Schieffer, former candidate for Agriculture Commissioner Hank Gilbert, humorist Kinky Friedman, Garland therapist Mark Thompson, and school teacher Felix Alvarado.
In a telephone interview, Earle, 67, said he hasn't set a timetable but will probably make a decision "sooner rather than later." Earle served as Travis County District Attorney for 37 years until retiring in December of 2008. His office came under fire from Republicans for its investigation of DeLay, which ultimately resulted in DeLay's resignation from Congress after he was indicted in 2005 for violation of campaign laws.
In the same report, Earle claimed that because of his "deep roots" in Fort Worth that he feels he can compete in Tarrant County, which former Ambassador Tom Schieffer considers home base. Not only is Tarrant County Schieffer's home base, but he also feels he can compete and potentially flip it if he were the Democratic candidate.
I'm not certain why Earle feels he could gain traction in Tarrant County. The vast majority of Democrats that I socialize and work with here said, "who?" when I first mentioned to them that Earle was considering a run for governor. Many of the movers and shakers in Tarrant County have already quickly lined up behind Tom Schieffer too.
The fact that Earle made it a point to mention his Tarrant County roots indicates that he feels Schieffer is the man to beat early on in this primary campaign. It would appear Earle plans on defining himself as the anti-Schieffer candidate upon entering the gubernatorial race. This is a vastly different strategy than Hank Gilbert, who has entered the race and essentially ignored the other Democratic candidates and has effectively assailed the Republican candidates from day one of his campaign.
Just as a side note, this past Thursday Kinky Friedman made an appearance at the Colleyville-Grapevine-Southlake Democrats meeting. Friedman made a point to plug his book multiple times while he plugged his website zero times. Nor did he pass out any campaign material, ask for money, or ask for votes. Considering this isn't Friedman's first rodeo as a candidate for governor I don't know how much more amateur you can get when you don't at least ask for votes. Then again, perhaps his real motives were revealed in simply plugging books.
Thanks to Nhu Le of Austin, TX for this summary of last night's reception welcoming the DNC Asian Pacific Islander American Caucus to Austin, TX! Cross-posted at APA for Progress and AAA-Fund.
This weekend -- most likely unaware of the other -- two excellent writers posted their thoughts on the state of the Governor's race in Texas. Craigg Hines, former Washington bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle, wrote a piece for the Washington Examiner titled, "The War of the Roses." And Charles Kuffner -- also known lovingly as "The Texas Blogfather" -- wrote a piece for Off the Kuff titled, "The state of the Governor's race."
Hines' piece focuses largely on the Republican side of the Governor's race, capturing the universally recognized dismal start of the Hutchison campaign for the national audience. He contextualizes the back-and-forth between Hutchison and Perry in a dramatic setting -- one that reinforces their failed leadership by exposing how petty and diminutive the two really are (and throws in a quote from BOR, for good measure):
The Hutchison-Perry race already resembles the plot line of the 1989 vicious-divorce flick "The War of the Roses." A report by KHOU-TV in Houston on the increasing venom of the contest did a quick cut to Kathleen Turner's character in the movie screaming, "I simply want to smash your face in." [Ed. note: watch the actual video from KHOU]
This is a strange, uphill landscape for Hutchison, whom many Texans over the last decade had assumed could waltz into Austin about anytime she liked and claim the governorship. Think "coronation"; Hutchison was. Now it seems it will take a miracle. Think "parting the Red Sea."
Republican angst aside, it will be a great show, if only because you have a former University of Texas cheerleader, Hutchison, challenging a former Texas A&M yell leader, Perry. So, for some Texans, this is serious stuff, verging on blood sport. (The historically minded will recall that the last president from Texas, George W. Bush, who came to the White House from the Governor's Mansion, had been a cheerleader at both Andover and Yale.)
That leaves, observed Burnt Orange Report, a center-left Texas political blog, two cheerleaders "running against each other to see who can get the right-wing of the Republican Party to shout the loudest." [Ed. note: read the origial post here]
Kuffner, meanwhile, looks more closely at the Democratic primary for the Texas Governor's race, reflecting on last week's endorsement from House Democrats of Tom Schieffer and the recent entry of Hank GIlbert into the Governor's race. Kuff takes his a fair look at the whole field -- namely, Schieffer and Gilbert:
I think we’ll have a pretty good idea soon if the fundraising will exists to make one of these people a serious challenger for the Governor’s mansion. I was on a conference call with Gilbert and a number of my blogging colleagues yesterday morning, and one of the things he said was that he’s set a goal of raising $100K online between now and his official launch on September 21. I don’t know if he can do this, but I do agree that if he does, he’ll establish himself as a viable contender, and that it will make it easier for him to attract support from the conventional donors. (Though it must be noted that this doesn’t necessarily follow. Just ask Rick Noriega about that.)
Schieffer’s recent announcement about receiving endorsements from House Democratic leaders may be an indication that the establishment has decided to coalesce around him; if so, expect him to post better fundraising numbers for the third and fourth quarters.
