Texas candidate filing has now closed.
As you may already be aware there are a number of uncontested Republican Congresscritters.
And that sucks – big time.
Below the fold to see exactly what you (if you live in Texas) can do about it.
(Cross posted here, there and everywhere)
As is the case every election cycle there are a number of Republican Congressmen unopposed as at the end of candidate filings.
This year there are 7, more than any other in recent times!
They are as follows:
TX-01 (Gohmert) – R+21,
TX-02 (Poe) – R+13,
TX-07 (Culberson) – R+13,
TX-08 (Brady) – R+25,
TX-13 (Thornberry) – R+29,
TX-24 (Marchant) – R+11,
TX-31 (Carter) – R+14,
This is unfortunate to say the least.
However given the ludicrously easy ballot laws in Texas being a write in candidate is as easy as submitting 500 signatures of registered voters in your congressional district of choice and voila – away you go. Seems too easy? Well it is that easy!
So come on who has the cojones to take on a Republican on their home turf, thus inhibiting their ability to lend an assist to Repubs in close races?
Your thoughts?
This is being a write in candidate for the primary and your name would actually appear on the general election ballot, right? Because otherwise it’s not worth the bother.
Thought we’d have a candidate for that one. Marchant is entrenched in Carrollton/Coppell, and benefits from being a Republican in NE Tarrant and SE Denton. But Irving, Grand Prairie, Duncanville and Cedar Hill part of 24th are all 50/50 and getting bluer each election cycle. As it’s currently drawn, it will be competitive in three election cycles.
TX-7 Made a big push with Skelly, but we should still run someone. Ditto for TX-31. The others are really tough sledding. If you are for the run everywhere concept, I guess we should have had someone on the ticket for those seats.
I would say that Grand Prairie now leans Dem, as does the Irving part of the district. Duncanville and Cedar Hill parts are 50/50. Eddie Bernice Johnson has the staunch Dem precincts in those cities.
Conventional wisdom says that running a candidate everywhere is useful, and I agree in principle that a political party should contest every election as a way of growing the party, getting the message out, and forcing incumbents to spend money.
That said, there is also a strong argument for not having a candidate in most of these districts: A contested race will bring out more voters – and in districts that routinely vote 60%+ Republicans, that means a net gain of more Republican voters in the contested statewide races. In heavily Republican districts, having an opponent means that the incumbent will expend campaign resources on getting out local Republican voters. An unopposed Republican incumbent means less interest in the race, lower turnout, and fewer total Republicans coming to the polls.
Obviously it isn’t always that simple — other heated local races can propel turnout, as can high profile statewide races. But if we’re serious about electing Bill White as Governor and some of the others running on the strong Democratic statewide slate, the last thing we want is to see increased turnout in districts like TX-01 (R+21), TX-08 (R+25), or TX -13 (R+29). Letting these incumbents go unchallenged this year probably makes political sense.
It is disappointing to see no candidate in CD-24 and CD-7. A write in should probably run in those two, but why bother with the others? CD-08 and CD-13 are two of the most Republican districts in the country and in a cycle which many are saying will be unfriendly for Dems it doesn’t seem like it would yield many benefits.