Friday, June 23, 2006
Republicans move quickly to replace Delay
The Quorum Report is reporting some breaking news in the CD 22 race:
Federal Judge Sam Sparks accelerates case by converting hearing into full trial on the merits
With the expiration of the Temporary Restraining Order yesterday, Republicans hit the ground running today to replace Tom DeLay on the ballot for CD22.
Republican Party of Texas Chair Tina Benkiser notified the chairs of Brazoria, Ft. Bend, Galveston and Harris counties that they need to convene their precinct chairs in order to select an elector to meet and pick the ballot replacement.
Meanwhile, federal Judge Sam Sparks surprised many when he decided to convert Monday's hearing to a full tilt trial on the merits of the case brought by the Texas Democratic Party. They are arguing that DeLay's actions prohibit the Republican Party from replacing his name on the ballot.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the trial, Republicans are continuing the process of selecting a candidate to replace DeLay.
This is a tough race to predict because it is largely determined by precinct chairs.
State Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena) has been in the political grassroots the longest of the most frequently mentioned candidates and started out with familiarity and good relations with Harris and Galveston County precinct chairs. At the State Republican Convention a few weeks ago, the consensus was that he was the frontrunner.
Sugarland Mayor David Wallace has been promoting his successful fund raising. In an email earlier this week, he told supporters, "In the past 60 days I have been able to raise a considerable amount of money, and in the coming days I will surpass the $200,000 mark in contributions. I have also secured an additional $800,000 in commitments and I will continue to aggressively raise money to prepare to defeat the $2.5 million war chest of the Democrats.
Today Wallace began airing a radio spot attacking Democratic candidate Nick Lampson. Folks close to the campaign point out that the election is a little more than 120 days away. Wallace intends to demonstrate that he is the most energetic candidate and well financed candidate in the field and therefore the most likely to be victorious in November.
Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is still working. Some argue that as a councilwoman she has the highest name ID and is getting a lot of news coverage over her high profile efforts against undocumented workers in Houston.
If three of the four county electors can not agree on a candidate, the selection process moves to the State Republican Executive Committee which will have an entirely different set of dynamics.
Copyright June 23, 2006 by Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
Federal Judge Sam Sparks accelerates case by converting hearing into full trial on the merits
With the expiration of the Temporary Restraining Order yesterday, Republicans hit the ground running today to replace Tom DeLay on the ballot for CD22.
Republican Party of Texas Chair Tina Benkiser notified the chairs of Brazoria, Ft. Bend, Galveston and Harris counties that they need to convene their precinct chairs in order to select an elector to meet and pick the ballot replacement.
Meanwhile, federal Judge Sam Sparks surprised many when he decided to convert Monday's hearing to a full tilt trial on the merits of the case brought by the Texas Democratic Party. They are arguing that DeLay's actions prohibit the Republican Party from replacing his name on the ballot.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the trial, Republicans are continuing the process of selecting a candidate to replace DeLay.
This is a tough race to predict because it is largely determined by precinct chairs.
State Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena) has been in the political grassroots the longest of the most frequently mentioned candidates and started out with familiarity and good relations with Harris and Galveston County precinct chairs. At the State Republican Convention a few weeks ago, the consensus was that he was the frontrunner.
Sugarland Mayor David Wallace has been promoting his successful fund raising. In an email earlier this week, he told supporters, "In the past 60 days I have been able to raise a considerable amount of money, and in the coming days I will surpass the $200,000 mark in contributions. I have also secured an additional $800,000 in commitments and I will continue to aggressively raise money to prepare to defeat the $2.5 million war chest of the Democrats.
Today Wallace began airing a radio spot attacking Democratic candidate Nick Lampson. Folks close to the campaign point out that the election is a little more than 120 days away. Wallace intends to demonstrate that he is the most energetic candidate and well financed candidate in the field and therefore the most likely to be victorious in November.
Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is still working. Some argue that as a councilwoman she has the highest name ID and is getting a lot of news coverage over her high profile efforts against undocumented workers in Houston.
If three of the four county electors can not agree on a candidate, the selection process moves to the State Republican Executive Committee which will have an entirely different set of dynamics.
Copyright June 23, 2006 by Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
