(No word yet on the official statement but this is the rumor for now. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Kinky Friedman's book tour made two stops in Montgomery County on Saturday where he also made some news. He has hinted that he will drop out of the Texas Governor's race and is seriously considering entering another statewide race like Lt. Governor or Agriculture Commissioner.
The Courier, the local newspaper in Conroe, Texas reports:
THE WOODLANDS – The deep pockets of gubernatorial candidates Bill White and Farouk Shami may force Kinky Friedman out of the 2010 Democratic primary.
Instead, Friedman, who ran against Republican Gov. Rick Perry as an independent in 2006, may pursue another statewide post, such as agriculture commissioner or lieutenant governor, he announced at one of two campaign stops Saturday in The Woodlands
Kinky cites the campaign war chests of fellow gubernatorial candidates Bill White and Farouk Shami as his reason for dropping out of that race, “The problem is this: With my trusty slingshot I can beat any millionaire in Texas. Can I run against multiple millionaires in a primary? That’s probably not going to happen," said Friedman.
As far as what other statewide race he would consider, he appears to be leaning towards Ag Commissioner, and sees former Ag Commissioner (and Kinky advisor) Jim Hightower as an inspiration:
Friedman said he has discussed running for Texas Agriculture Commissioner with former commissioner Jim Hightower, singer Willie Nelson and Bill White.
“What I learned is that as agriculture commissioner there was almost nothing I couldn’t do that I couldn’t do as governor,” Friedman said.
Among the items on Friedman’s agricultural agenda was bringing a halt to toll roads going through farmland, the idea of farmer’s co-operatives selling alternative fuels all over Texas, and placing animal rescue facilities in every county.
The Democratic nomination for Ag Commissioner is currently being sought by the 2006 nominee and former gubernatorial candidate Hank Gilbert.
Kinky acknowledges meeting with both Bill White and Farouk Shami on Saturday (Shami lives in The Woodlands). If he gives any hint of who he would support in the Governor's race, Kinky seems to be leaning towards Bill White:
"I like Bill White. I really think we can work together,” Friedman said. “Bill’s concept of government is very close to mine. It’s not about Bill White. It’s not about Kinky. It’s about making government work for the people.
He had harsh words for Farouk Shami:
“The Democratic primary should not be for sale. It should be priceless and reflect the voice of the people,” Friedman said. “Farouk has already put $10 million (into the campaign) and he’s ready to put up another $10 million.
“It’s like a rich man buying a toy. He might have been better served to buy a sports team, or give it to a charity, or a children’s hospital or something,” he said.
(I'm happy to promote this local report from Montgomery County. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
In an op-ed yesterday on the Texas Tribune, Ted Delisi paints a pretty gloomy picture for the statewide effort of Democrats in 2010. I won't pretend to be a Texas political guru, but I do think I know a little bit about Montgomery County, one of the counties that Delisi points to in making a point about GOTV efforts:
Let’s take Montgomery County, just north of Harris County, where the margin of victory for the Republican presidential nominee actually increased from 2004 to 2008 (when Bush led the ticket). The last Presidential contest produced an 83,000-vote margin for McCain in Montgomery County, almost equal to the margin of victory for Obama in Harris, Bexar, Webb and Cameron combined.
Mr. Delisi is of course, using an absolute figure, not comparing the percentage margins. In fact, the number of Republican votes decreased in Montgomery County by 2.22% from 2004 to 2008, we just had a population gain. Source: Montgomery County
Now, I won't claim that Montgomery County will be purple in the next election cycle. In fact, it is one of the most conservative counties in Texas and has been trending that way for many decades. We are home to a perfect storm of Republicanism with the burgeoning affluent community of The Woodlands, a solid retiree base in the Western part of the county and a very rural base in the Eastern part of the county. And our county is experiencing rapid population growth in the most conservative areas. But, the efforts of local Democrats have made a dent.
From 2004 to 2008, registered voters increased by almost 15% and voter turnout increased by 2.40%, yet Republican straight-ticket voting was downnearly 2.50% and Republican voting went down by 2.22%. In a county with 160,400 registered voters, these are significant numbers. In a county that should be trending more conservative, the Republicans are losing votes.
We had an active campaign in 2008 where we strategically targeted precincts that were trending in our direction. Of our 85 precincts, we increased Democratic performance in 56 of them and did so by 5% or greater in 20 of them.
2010 will be a better year as we have opened a headquarters, launched a new website, built an email list of nearly 6,000 voters (17% of Democrats), greatly strengthened our voter file, held successful fundraisers attracting serious statewide candidates, started an active YD chapter, and trained precinct chairs -- just to mention a few things.
Getting out the vote will be the major priority for 2010. So, I contend that Mr. Delisi's assumption, that a lack of state-level focus on suburban counties will somehow inhibit GOTV there, is unfounded. He fails to recognize that local activities can have an impact. Additionally, red counties in the Houston metropolitan area have an advantage due to the popularity of Bill White in this region.
We are tired of Texas ranking with third-world countries on key social metrics. It's time to elect real leaders to fill the seats of Republicans who have failed all of us so miserably. Many of our voters feel the same way.
With help or without it, we'll be fighting the good fight in this conservative stronghold, scraping up every statewide vote we can. If you want to help us, make a donation via ActBlue or visit us at www.mcdptx.org.
Thank you,
Austin Stout, Treasurer Young Democrats of Montgomery County
That’s the reaction I invariably get lately when I mention Farouk Shami, the latest contender in the race for the Democratic nomination for Texas Governor. Oddly, I’m usually only talking about this with fellow political junkies, people you’d expect to have caught on by now. I guess with this race, it's hard to keep up.
Then I mention “CHI”, and if it’s a female, their eyes light up. Those CHI products sure do have a lot of fans. Some have said they would consider Shami based on the reputation of his flat iron, alone. After nearly ten years with a Governor Good Hair, will Democrats try to trade him in for a Governor Hair Care?
Sen. Hutchison's visibility campaign took a wrong turn today when her office released the Senator's "Weekly E-Update.". The picture on the front page shows her giving the commencement address at Sam Houston State University, noting she was in Nacogdoches, Texas. In her whirlwind tour of unfamiliar places, Senator Hutchison may not have realized that she was actually in Huntsville, Texas. Nacogdoches, as most Texans know, is home of Stephen F. Austin State University, Sam Houston's chief rival! It may have been a while since Senator Hutchison lived in Texas full time, but Sam Houston State has not moved 2 hours to the northeast while she was away. Next, I suppose she'll be giving the UT commencement in College Station.
