TX-10
The 10th Congressional District used to be home to the likes of Jake Pickle and Lloyd Doggett. Then Tom DeLay broke into the Crayola box and scribbled some new and nasty lines designed to hurt Democrats.
In the 107th Congress, TX-10 looked like this:
By the 108th, it had changed to this:
By the time they were through, it took it's current form:
Larry Joe Doherty is running to unseat Michael McCaul, and has a strong campaign to do it. In 2006, a seriously underfunded Ted Ankrum held McCaul to 55%, and McCaul isn't winning friends and influencing people in Congress.
TX-20
Democratic Incumbent Charlie Gonzalez is back for another round. He's been the representative here since 1999, when his father Henry retired from Congress (Henry B. Gonzales held the seat from 1961-1999). This San Antonio seat drew no GOP candidate in 2006, and the Bush/Kerry split was 55/45 in 2004. This time, Charlie is facing Robert Litoff, who has raised $0 in the '08 cycle. I don't know about you, but I'm not sweating this one.
TX-21
Lamar Smith is the incumbent Republican. No Democrat filed to run for this seat. Trooper Keeton has agreed to run as a write-in, but I am not confident about his chances. Write-ins tend to fair poorly, and Smith is a powerful and successful incumbent. It's a worthy cause, but I fear, a doomed one.
TX-25
What can I say about Lloyd Doggett? He's so safe we could use him to store our important papers and jewelry. He's the reigning king of the Texas Delegation in the House, and while he regularly draws opposition, they suffer defeat by pretty crushing margins. We miss Lloyd in the 10th, but he's doing a fine job for the 25th. If you're lucky enough to live in Lloyd's district, would you consider volunteering some time or money to some of the neighboring districts that could use a hand? It's not that Lloyd doesn't deserve your help, he just doesn't need it like some of his neighbors do...
TX-31
Brian Ruiz is taking on John Carter in this red-but-trending-blue district. In 2006, Mary Beth Harrel pulled in 38.80% to Carter's 58.48%. Harrell fought hard, but with a section of Texas that went for Bush with 66.6% (yes, that number is cracking me up), it was a losing proposition. But, you'll notice the fact that Carter's numbers were down from Bush's in 2004.
Mary Beth got 60,293 votes in the 06 General.
Brian got 58,792 in the 08 Primary. Carter got 46,388 in the 08 Primary.
Contribute to Brian.
And that's it for my Texas analysis. I will be going back over my series to update some things, and am looking ahead a little. I want to go over the races where we didn't field a candidate for 2008, and see if we can figure out not only why, but what we need to do to get someone to run in 2010. (don't worry, I'm not going to start beating the bushes for candidates until after November. I know better!)
As always, thanks for stopping by, and please chime in if I missed anything! |
