(It's official, he's filed papers to run as a Republican. Maybe it's a good thing TexRoots endorsed Shane Sklar ran against him last year after all... - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
I guess we know the exit strategy for removing Paul from the 14th District: The Republicans somehow lure Paul into running for the Presidency, he fails, and he retires from Congress at the end of the 110th. Then the Republicans try to get their guy in the 14th.
But he said the campaign will test its ability to attract financial and political support before deciding whether to launch a full-fledged campaign. Snyder said Paul is not running just to make a point or to try to ensure that his issues are addressed, but to win.
I guess Ron can cite his experience in not doing things as a selling point. Because he certainly doesn't have any better card.
(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%.
(RBH does some great numbers work. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
According to the Texas Democratic Party website, there are currently nine counties without a chair. Those counties are Armstrong, Cottle, Crockett, Culberson, Fannin, Hansford, Ochiltree, Roberts, and Terrell.
Here's the Bell and BAR percentages for those counties (Bell on left, BAR on the right):
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.
The poll -- which was overseen by two local professors, political science professor Nathan Bigelow and sociology professor Janet Huber Lowry -- notes that Hall has gotten a minimum of 58% of the vote in the last five straight elections. But the numbers it finds this time around are different. It surveyed 400 registered voters without providing descriptions of the candidates, and found the above-mentioned 48%-41% spread among those who say they will "certainly vote."
The two worst showings for Democrats in major statewide races were Gerry Mauro in 1998 and Gene Kelly in 2000. Mauro got 31% in a Governor's race. Kelly got 32% against Senator Hutchison.
In this race, Bell's poll numbers have been consistantly poor where ever polling has been conducted. Fortunately for Bell, if he gets 33% this year, he won't be a loser by 30 points, but by around 5 points.
Rick Bolanos campaign had the following to say in a press release posted on here.
Bolanos will discuss evidence showing that Republicans have enjoyed the financial support of those candidates, including thousands of dollars of contributions from one of the "Democratic" candidates to George Bush, Dick Cheney, John Cornyn, Lamar Smith (Congressman of District 21, in which one of these "Democratic" candidates resides) and even to the TX-23 incumbent, Henry Bonilla himself.
Ted Poe has this to say on the House Floor Tuesday.
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, why must I press ``1'' on my phone for English? Why are voting ballots in numerous languages? Why are street signs in foreign language like Vietnamese? Why do we educate illegals in their native tongue? Why can't some clerks in stores or fast food restaurants speak English?
Mr. Speaker, one of the qualities that make a nation a nation is a common language. Our ancestors decided that the American national language would be English. German was the second choice. But, in our day, we don't want to hurt people's feelings that are not from around here, and we make the unwise choice to communicate with them in their language, not the American language.
Comments and the rest of the speech under the fold.
((As a Geography grad I have to tell you, I'm a sucker for this kind of analysis. Good show - Matt) - promoted by Matt Hardigree)
The map will be in the extended text.
First off, let me list the 10 counties with the most votes cast in the first round of the Senate primary with the the Hunter/Kelly/BAR breakdown in paratheses:
Bexar (22/26/52), El Paso (12/30/58), Hidalgo (16/41/43), Harris (10/44/46), Dallas (28/20/52), Webb (23/39/39), Jefferson (28/34/38), Travis (7/17/76), Nueces (10/54/36), and Cameron (15/41/44).
Barbara lost Webb by 22 votes.
But, as the map will show, she was very weak in the Valley.
