Two Little-Known Dems Seek Texas Gov. Seat
By KELLEY SHANNON, Associated Press Writer
44 minutes ago
AUSTIN, Texas — Two Democrats with long resumes but little name recognition are competing in Texas' gubernatorial primary election Tuesday for the chance to challenge popular GOP Gov. Rick Perry.
The general election could also include two independents — the comptroller who calls herself "one tough grandma" and a cigar-chomping comedian.
Chris Bell, a former one-term Houston congressman, has raised more than three times as much money as his Democratic opponent, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Bob Gammage.
The two campaigns tried to stir last-minute voter interest Monday. In the two weeks of early voting, just 3.3 percent of registered voters from both parties cast ballots. The state elections chief predicts a 13-percent overall turnout.
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and humorist Kinky Friedman hope to capitalize on low turnout among Republicans and Democrats. They have to collect 45,540 signatures each from voters who did not cast ballots in the primary to make the November ballot as independents.
Strayhorn, elected to her current job as a Republican, wanted to avoid a costly and uphill primary battle against Perry, who was heavily favored to win re-election. Two of her four sons hold high-ranking jobs in President Bush's administration, including White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
Friedman is a musician, author and comedian who once toured with his band called the Texas Jewboys. He is rarely seen without his signature black cowboy hat and cigar and has the same political consultant former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura hired to help capture the governorship of Minnesota.
If Strayhorn and Friedman get on the ballot, Perry could face a four-way race in November against two candidates with political charisma and a Democrat hoping to break the Republicans Party's hold on all the statewide offices in Texas.
"It's great for the people of Texas. It means we're going to have a choice," said Mike Lavigne, former chief of staff for the state Democratic Party. "I think you're going to have everybody focused on Rick Perry. You'll have attacks there."
Perry portrays himself as being above the political fray and busy governing the state. He faces minor opposition against three primary opponents.
Bell, 46, gained notice as a freshman congressman for filing the first House ethics complaint against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He made the complaint shortly after the Texas redistricting engineered by DeLay caused Bell to lose his re-election bid.
A former broadcast reporter and lawyer, Bell served as chairman of the Houston City Council's ethics committee and came in last in a three-way contest for Houston mayor in 2001. He has said as governor he wants to improve Texas' standing nationally on several fronts.
"My motive for running is to get Texas out of the 'Thank God for Mississippi' club," Bell said, referring to national figures on uninsured children and teen pregnancies in which Texas often ranks just above lowest-ranking Mississippi. He also said he wants to restore bipartisanship to the Legislature after gridlock stymied efforts to change Texas' public school finance system.
Gammage, 67, once represented the same suburban Houston district in Congress now served by DeLay. He also served in the state Legislature and on the Texas Supreme Court, but retired from public life 11 years ago.
In the early 1970s, Gammage was part of a group of legislators who rallied against the speaker of the Texas House and other officials. The speaker, Gus Mutscher, was later convicted and sentenced to five years' probation for conspiring to accept a bribe.
He said recent corruption scandals in Washington and Texas brought him out of retirement.
"My ego doesn't need this," he said. "I don't need the title 'governor.' I care about getting the job done."
