Tag: 2008 Elections

This is the biggest story coming out of the most recent fundraising numbers on the House Side.  While Tom Cole and NRCC huff and puff about how they plan to blow our house down. We have got the finest brick house in the land. Ignoring, for a second, the fact  that the DCCC and DSCC are both taking their counterparts to school or that the Democratic Presidential are out raising their Republican counterparts by huge sums with even more in the bank, you can not possibly win races any races without candidates.  It is on the count of funded  challengers where Democrats in the House are destroying their Republican opponents. As of June 30th the Democrats have twenty-four Republican held districts with candidates with $100,000 or more cash on hand. This compares to only nine such districts for Republicans. For a deeper analysis of this nearly 3-1 advantage follow the jump.

Eight of nine  districts are held by seats Republicans lost in 2006.  They have  one well funded challengers to long term Democrats and that is the GA 8 seat which was redraw and produced and squeaker in 06.  When dissecting even further you see that of the 9 challenger race they do have, three are re-runs. For those doing math, that means six new challenger districts with new challengers.  The Democrats have twenty four such districts with 100,000 cash on hand.  It is true we have nine re-runs within the amount of cash that says they are ready to compete, but eight of whom finished within six points of their Republican incumbents last cycle. Even when removing reruns and focusing only on new candidates, it is clear that the fifteen new Democrats still far outpaces the only six new Republicans. While it is still quite early, the prospects for Democratic gains have to far out-way the chance of Republicans to regain.  To close out here is the list of Democrats followed by the list of Republicans.

Democratic Challengers with 100,000
AZ 3  Bob Lord
CA 4Charlie Brown
CA 26 Russ Warner  Hoyt Hillsman
CO 4 Angie Pacione
CT 4 Jim Himes
FL 8 Mike Smith
FL 9 Bill Mitchell
IA 4Selden Spencer
IL 10 Footlik Seals
IL 14 Bill Foster
IN 3 Michael Montagano
MI 7David Nacht
MO 6 Kay Barnes
NC 8 Larry Kissell
NM 1Martin Heinrich
NM 2Bill McCamley
NY 25 Dan Maffei
NY 26 Jon Powers
NY 29 Eric Massa, David Nachbar
OH 1 Steve Dreihaus
OH 2, Vic Wulsin, Steve Black
OH 16 John Boccieri
TX 10 Larry Joe Doherty  Dan Grant
WA 8 Darcy Burner

Republicans with $ 100,000
CA 11 Dean Andal
CT  5  David Cappiello
Fl 16[3]
GA 8 Richard Goddard
KS [2] [Jim Ryun re-run]
NH 1 Jeb Bradley
NY 19 Andrew Saul
NY 20 [2]
TX 22 Shelly Sekula Gibbs

Just four Republican members of Congress had the courage late last week to vote for a bill requiring that U.S. troops stationed in Iraq be deployed by next April.  Mike McCaul was not among those showing such courage.  Instead, he voted to keep taxpayers’ sons and daughters mired in the escalating violence while the Baghdad government continues to enjoy its summer-long vacation.

For Central Texans who have been watching Mr. McCaul put his rubber stamp on the White House’s failed public policies for the past four years, his vote last week was no surprise.

Nor will his next move be – introducing a measure calling for the adoption of the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations from last year, now that those recommendations are no longer viable, if they ever were.

This isn’t leadership.  It’s followership.  And followership isn’t good enough.

When I went to Iraq in 2005, it wasn’t because I was a fan of President Bush or his war.  I’m not.  But I had spent the previous years working for small-d democracy from Kosovo to Afghanistan, and I thought I might contribute in some small way to help the Iraqi people consolidate their peace so that our own troops could come back home where they belong.

I worked on the elections of October and December that year – historic successes in the midst of the violence, failure, and disappointment that have marked the U.S. presence there.  In a rare collective act of hope and bravery, Sunni and Shiite alike went to the polls to choose a legitimate government in a free, fair, and open process, and the overwhelming public sentiment was to carry on with more elections in an effort to rebuild their nation.

Like millions around the world, I now realize that the Bush Administration and its congressional allies considered the elections little more than a photo op.  No wonder they didn’t take advantage of the momentum that had started.  The newly elected Iraqi government saw no reason to have more elections that could undermine its new power.  The Iraqi public, hungry to make its voice heard again, never got that chance.  The White House failed to push for more democratic change in Iraq.  And without pressure from either government, the elections ministry where I worked collapsed into a cycle of score-settling personal vendettas and political purges.

Press releases instead of progress.  Spin over substance.  Flashbulbs, declarations of mission accomplished, and endless requests for just a little more time to turn things around.  It’s not enough.

Along with thousands of brave soldiers and hundreds of other civilians from around the world, I tried to play a role in bringing positive change to Baghdad.  But it wasn’t enough. The elections I worked on were allowed to fade away, like sowing seeds on dust.  The best efforts of our troops, our team of international experts, and our good-hearted Iraqi friends didn’t end the war.  We simply installed a government bent on entrenching itself every bit as violently as Saddam Hussein had.

But I’m one of the lucky ones.  I’ve come back home.  And now I’m asking you to send me to Congress so that, together, we can make sure our brave troops come home soon, too.

http://www.dangrantf…

Well 5 more districts now have candidates:
AL-01,
CA-42,
IN-03,
PA-18,
WV-02,
Once again go and take a look at the 
2008 Race Tracker Wiki. & DCCritters.

Below the fold for all the news.
(cross posted at MyDD and Daily Kos)

310 races filled! This of course includes 233 districts held by Democratic Congresscritters.

But we also have 77 GOP held districts with confirmed Democratic opponents.

So here is where we are at (GOP Districts):
Districts with confirmed candidates – 77
Districts with unconfirmed candidates – 3
Districts with rumoured candidates – 33
Districts without any candidates – 89

1) The GOP held districts with confirmed Democratic challengers are as follows:
AL-01,
AL-04,
AK-AL,
AZ-01,
AZ-02,
AZ-03,
AR-03,
CA-04,
CA-24,
CA-26,
CA-41,
CA-42,
CA-44,
CA-48,
CA-50,
CO-04,
CT-04,
FL-01,
FL-08,
FL-09,
FL-13,
FL-15,
FL-21,
FL-24,
ID-01,
IL-10,
IL-14,
IN-03,
IN-06,
IA-04,
IA-05,
LA-01,
MD-01,
MD-06,
MI-07,
MN-06,
MO-06,
MO-09,
MT-AL,
NE-02,
NV-03,
NJ-05,
NJ-07,
NJ-11,
NM-01,
NM-02,
NY-23,
NY-25,
NY-26,
NY-29,
NC-03,
NC-08,
NC-09,
OH-01,
OH-02,
OH-07,
OH-14,
OH-15,
OH-16,
PA-03,
PA-15,
PA-16,
PA-18,
TX-04,
TX-08,
TX-10,
TX-11,
TX-13,
TX-14,
VA-05,
VA-06,
VA-10,
WA-04,
WA-08,
WV-02,
WI-01,
WY-AL,

2) The following 3 GOP held districts have candidates that are expected to run but are yet to confirm:
SC-04,
TX-26,
VA-11,

3) The following 33 GOP held districts have rumoured candidates – please note that some of these “rumours” are extremely tenuous!
AZ-06,
CA-03,
CA-45,
DE-AL,
FL-06,
FL-10,
FL-12,
GA-01,
GA-03,
GA-06,
GA-07,
GA-09,
GA-11,
IN-04,
KY-05,
MI-09,
MN-02,
NE-03,
NV-02,
NJ-02,
NJ-03,
NJ-04,
NY-03,
NY-13,
NC-05,
OK-04,
PA-06,
PA-09,
TN-07,
TX-02,
UT-03,
VA-01,
WI-06,

4) And last but not least the following 89 districts have not a single rumoured candidate:
AL-02,
AL-03,
AL-06,
CA-02,
CA-19,
CA-21,
CA-22,
CA-25,
CA-40,
CA-46,
CA-49,
CA-52,
CO-05,
CO-06,
FL-04,
FL-05,
FL-07,
FL-14,
FL-18,
FL-25,
GA-10,
ID-02,
IL-06,
IL-11,
IL-13,
IL-15,
IL-16,
IL-18,
IL-19,
IN-05,
KS-01,
KS-04,
KY-01,
KY-02,
KY-04,
LA-04,
LA-05,
LA-06,
LA-07,
MI-02,
MI-03,
MI-04,
MI-06,
MI-08,
MI-10,
MI-11,
MI-12,
MN-03,
MS-01,
MS-03,
MO-02,
MO-07,
MO-08,
NE-01,
NC-06,
NC-10,
OH-03,
OH-04,
OH-05,
OH-08,
OH-12,
OK-01,
OK-03,
OK-05,
OR-02,
PA-05,
PA-19,
SC-01,
SC-02,
SC-03,
TN-01,
TN-02,
TN-03,
TX-01,
TX-03,
TX-05,
TX-06,
TX-07,
TX-12,
TX-19,
TX-21,
TX-24,
TX-31,
TX-32,
UT-01,
VA-02,
VA-04,
VA-07,
WA-05,
WI-05,

Praise to those states where we already have a full slate of house candidates – Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

It is also interesting to note that we have only one race left to fill in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Thats 17 states with a full slate, and 5 states with one race to fill! That is almost half the states full or nearly full 17 months before election day, an impressive feat indeed!

Please note that in some races others at the racetracker site have confirmed candidates that I haven’t. This is because to satisfy me a confirmed candidate has either filed with the FEC, The Sec of State or has an active campaign website, or even if they come and blog and say yep I am running. Others are not so rigorous.

It is also great to see candidates in CA-42, TX-11 and VA-06, 3 of 10 districts we did not contest in 2006!

We are well on track to beat the 425 races we contested in 2006.

*** Tips, rumours and what not in the comments please.***

Yesterday was the deadline for House and Senate campaigns to file their fundraising reports for the second quarter of 2007.  Like we did for the first quarter, we’ve amassed a list of noteworthy fundraising numbers for House incumbents and challengers.  While this list is seriously mega, it is not meant to be comprehensive.  If we’ve missed anything, please post the numbers in the comments.  And remember: these numbers are adjusted for rounding.

Scroll buttons ready?  Away we go!

A few quick notes:

• Republican challengers who outraised Democratic incumbents: Jim Ryun (KS-02) and Andrew Saul (NY-19).
  
• Democratic challengers who outraised Republican incumbents: Charlie Brown (CA-04), Russ Warner (CA-26), Jim Himes (CT-04), Michael Montagano (IN-03), Frank Kratovil (MD-01), Andrew Duck (MD-06), David Nacht (MI-07), Kay Barnes (MO-06), Eric Massa (NY-29), Vic Wulsin & Steve Black (OH-02), John Boccieri (OH-16), Darcy Burner (WA-08).  Go Team Blue!
  
• Republican incumbents who were out-raised by other Republicans: Wayne Gilchrest (MD-01), Jean Schmidt (OH-02) and Ralph Regula (OH-16).
  
• Democratic incumbents who were out-raised by other Democrats: Steve Cohen (TN-09).
  
• Anatomy of a Dud: Sean Sullivan, just a few months ago, was a highly touted Republican recruiting coup in Connecticut against freshman Rep. Joe Courtney.  As the former commander of the Groton naval base, he could conceivably have some appeal in the district, where Groton holds a special mystique.  However, after three full months of campaigning, Sullivan has only $31K raised and $14K on hand to show for it.  According to The Politico, Republicans in Washington are plenty furious at his “disastrous” fundraising pace, and he’s now persona non grata in DC.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Courtney is on pace to amass $1 million before the year is over.  I love it.
  
• NY-20 and PA-08: Before today, the talk was all about how impressive Mark Kirk’s (R-IL) fundraising pace is.  Leave it to Kirsten Gillibrand and Pat Murphy to blow his take out of the water.  Gillibrand raised a massive $707K, and Murphy collected over $750K.  Gillibrand’s tally sure makes the not-insignificant fundraising reports of challengers Sandy Treadwell and Richard Wager, well, a little less significant.  And you’ve gotta believe that Murphy’s staggering figure is going to give any would-be challenger a serious pause.
  
• AZ-01 and CA-04: Rick Renzi’s and John Doolittle’s incredible shrinking cash-on-hand figures sure look like ominous signs for the embattled incumbents.
  
• WV-02: Can someone please tell John Unger to file his July quarterly report?  At the time of writing this, I cannot find Unger’s report in the FEC database.  Inquiring minds want to know how much support he’s attracting.
  
• Take a look at the CoH figures for most of these potentially vulnerable Republican incumbents.  The thing that you should note is that very few of them are bigger than $1 million.  I suspect that that is the lingering effect of 2006: many of these incumbents, realizing that it was a wave year, dumped all or most of their warchests on ensuring their re-election.  Yet another blow to the traditional Republican money advantage.
  
• UPDATE: Unger’s report is in.  Less than $27K raised, but this isn’t a Sean Sullivan-type report since Unger only officially filed for the race around the end of the quarter.  He’ll have to make a good showing in the third quarter, though.

There are a lot of reasons to like Jim Himes, not the least of which is his remarkable hustle against Chris Shays in the second quarter of 2007:

Jim Himes (D): $352K raised
Chris Shays (R-inc.): $280K raised, $364K cash-on-hand

Of course, it’ll take a lot more than just giant sacks full of money to topple the slippery Shays, but Himes has shown some savvy at this early stage in the game.  Check out his recent liveblog at DailyKos (a great and enjoyable read) for more.

UPDATE: From a Jim Himes press release tonight:

Jim Himes Statement on Chris Shays’ Vote Today Against the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act

Stamford, CT — Affordable housing executive, businessman and Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes issued the following statement today in response to Chris Shays’ vote against HR 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, which requires the Secretary of Defense to begin the redeployment of troops from Iraq within 120 days, limiting our presence in Iraq by April 1, 2008. 

“Chris Shays’ vote today is a betrayal of the trust of the people of the 4th Congressional District.  Rep. Shays promised voters last year that he would support a timeline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, but since the election, not only has he failed to support timelines for ending the war, he has enthusiastically supported President Bush’s escalation of the war.

“Since the so-called “surge” supported by Shays began earlier this year, nearly 600 more American troops have been killed in Iraq.  While Chris Shays continues to support spending $329 million dollars a day in Iraq with no end in sight, he is neglecting the real needs of the people of the 4th Congressional District.

“Today, Rep. Shays called again for a new Iraq Study Group report, while disregarding the most important recommendation of the Iraq Study Group: to end major combat operations in Iraq by spring 2008. Rep. Shays’ vote today not only goes against ISG recommendations, it is in direct violation of his campaign promise to the people of the 4th District.  After 5 years of Chris Shays steadfastly supporting Bush’s failed Iraq policy, it’s time for a change.”

More like this, please.

If you ever watched the movie “Top Gun”, this guy is the real thing and he’s running for Congress as a Democrat according to Raising Kaine.

As a Naval Flight Officer, I led over 200 people as a commanding officer of a fighter squadron and I was a TOPGUN instructor.  I am a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and I was one of few aviators awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor in combat.  Upon my return, I worked directly for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I am a leader, and I understand first-hand the complexities of this war and the need to create an exit strategy to bring our troops home safely.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy.  At the graduate level, I have a Master of Arts in National Security Studies and a certificate in legislative studies from Georgetown University.  I’ve studied economics for a term at Oxford University in England.  I?ve completed a political candidate training program at UVA?s Sorensen Institute, and I was a national security fellow at MIT’s Seminar XXI fellowship program.  For a living, I sell Navy jet aircraft for Boeing. 

I am most proud of my role as husband to a wonderful wife and father to two terrific kids.  I ask you to join me as I fight to change America?s future and improve our lives in Virginia?s 11th District.  Please vote for me on November 4, 2008.

Well, he apparently assumes there will be no primary, which there will be if Tom Davis leaves the seat. This guy looks like he comes out on Central Casting and is definately worthy of a look.

From the Chicago Tribune:

There will be no redux for Tammy Duckworth in the 2008 election.

Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran now serving as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, said Sunday that she has decided not to run again next year against U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) in the 6th Congressional District.

Roskam, an experienced state legislator before his election to Congress last year, proved to be one of the slicker Republican candidates of the 2006 cycle; despite receiving a well-funded challenge from Duckworth last year, his campaign succeeded in snagging Duckworth in skirmishes over illegal immigration while Iraq was mostly left off the table until the closing weeks.  He went on to win by a two-point margin while Democrats scored victories in twelve seats that were more Republican-leaning than Illinois’ 6th District.

While the DCCC has made some noise about Roskam’s far-right voting record in recent months, there are no other obvious names set to challenge the freshman incumbent next year.  It’s widely noted that IL-06 has been rapidly losing its traditionally strong Republican edge (while Gore lost this district by nine points, Kerry only trailed by six).  It would be a shame if Roskam would be able to escape 2008 without facing an aggressive challenger who would be willing to push Iraq as the number one issue facing the district, and the nation.

(Hat-tip to DailyKos diarist chipoliwog.)

The commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence wasn’t really a surprise. We already knew the President believed in amnesty.

But the silence from our Congressman is troubling. Mike McCaul fancies himself an authority on national security and is a member of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

Does he condone the treasonous act of outing a clandestine intelligence agent?

Standing by your friends is one thing. Standing by a high government official convicted of lying to federal agents to cover up Dick Cheney’s campaign to take the nation to war in Iraq under false pretenses is another.

We need a change in Washington – now.

Please join me at http://www.dangrantforcongress.com/ to see how we can make a fresh start in a new direction.

Well 7 more districts now have candidates:
CA-44,
NJ-05,
NY-23,
NY-26,
OH-14,
PA-16,
VA-10,

But 2 are now back to uncontested:
FL-25,
GA-10,

Once again go and take a look at the 
2008 Race Tracker Wiki. & DCCritters.

Below the fold for all the news.
(cross posted at MyDD and Daily Kos)

305 races filled! This of course includes 233 districts held by Democratic Congresscritters.

But we also have 72 GOP held districts with confirmed Democratic opponents.

So here is where we are at (GOP Districts):
Districts with confirmed candidates – 72
Districts with unconfirmed candidates – 3
Districts with rumoured candidates – 36
Districts without any candidates – 91

1) The GOP held districts with confirmed Democratic challengers are as follows:
AL-04,
AK-AL,
AZ-01,
AZ-02,
AZ-03,
AR-03,
CA-04,
CA-24,
CA-26,
CA-41,
CA-44,
CA-48,
CA-50,
CO-04,
CT-04,
FL-01,
FL-08,
FL-09,
FL-13, [Either through the House of Reps investigation or Jennings has committed to another run.]
FL-15,
FL-21,
FL-24,
ID-01,
IL-10,
IL-14,
IN-06,
IA-04,
IA-05,
LA-01,
MD-01,
MD-06,
MI-07,
MN-06,
MO-06,
MO-09,
MT-AL,
NE-02,
NV-03,
NJ-05,
NJ-07,
NJ-11,
NM-01,
NM-02,
NY-23,
NY-25,
NY-26,
NY-29,
NC-03,
NC-08,
NC-09,
OH-01,
OH-02,
OH-07,
OH-14,
OH-15,
OH-16,
PA-03,
PA-15,
PA-16,
TX-04,
TX-08,
TX-10,
TX-11,
TX-13,
TX-14,
VA-05,
VA-06,
VA-10,
WA-04,
WA-08,
WI-01,
WY-AL,

2) The following 3 GOP held districts have candidates that are expected to run but are yet to confirm:
PA-18,
SC-04,
WV-02,

3) The following 36 GOP held districts have rumoured candidates – please note that some of these “rumours” are extremely tenuous!
AL-01,
AZ-06,
CA-03,
CA-42,
CA-45,
DE-AL,
FL-06,
FL-10,
FL-12,
GA-01,
GA-03,
GA-06,
GA-07,
GA-09,
GA-11,
IL-06,
IN-03,
IN-04,
KY-05,
MI-09,
MN-02,
NE-03,
NV-02,
NJ-02,
NJ-03,
NJ-04,
NY-03,
NY-13,
NC-05,
OK-04,
PA-06,
TN-07,
TX-02,
UT-03,
VA-01,
VA-11,

4) And last but not least the following 91 districts have not a single rumoured candidate:
AL-02,
AL-03,
AL-06,
CA-02,
CA-19,
CA-21,
CA-22,
CA-25,
CA-40,
CA-46,
CA-49,
CA-52,
CO-05,
CO-06,
FL-04,
FL-05,
FL-07,
FL-14,
FL-18,
FL-25,
GA-10,
ID-02,
IL-11,
IL-13,
IL-15,
IL-16,
IL-18,
IL-19,
IN-05,
KS-01,
KS-04,
KY-01,
KY-02,
KY-04,
LA-04,
LA-05,
LA-06,
LA-07,
MI-02,
MI-03,
MI-04,
MI-06,
MI-08,
MI-10,
MI-11,
MI-12,
MN-03,
MS-01,
MS-03,
MO-02,
MO-07,
MO-08,
NE-01,
NC-06,
NC-10,
OH-03,
OH-04,
OH-05,
OH-08,
OH-12,
OK-01,
OK-03,
OK-05,
OR-02,
PA-05,
PA-09,
PA-19,
SC-01,
SC-02,
SC-03,
TN-01,
TN-02,
TN-03,
TX-01,
TX-03,
TX-05,
TX-06,
TX-07,
TX-12,
TX-19,
TX-21,
TX-24,
TX-26,
TX-31,
TX-32,
UT-01,
VA-02,
VA-04,
VA-07,
WA-05,
WI-05,
WI-06,

Praise to those states where we already have a full slate of house candidates – Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

It is also interesting to note that we have only one race left to fill in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia. Thats 16 states with a full slate (17 when I can conform Unger in WV-02) and 6 states with one race to fill! That is almost half the states full or nearly full 17 months before election day, an impressive feat indeed!

Please note that in some races others at the racetracker site have confirmed candidates that I haven’t. This is because to satisfy me a confirmed candidate has either filed with the FEC, The Sec of State or has an active campaign website, or even if they come and blog and say yep I am running. Others are not so rigorous.

It is also great to see candidates in VA-06 and TX-11, 2 of 10 districts we did not contest in 2006!

We are well on track to beat the 425 races we contested in 2006.

*** Tips, rumours and what not in the comments please.***

According to Todd Hill at the Burnt Orange Report, State Rep. Rick Noriega is set to form an exploratory committee in one week to challenge Republican Sen. John Cornyn.  This move would put him up against trial lawyer Mikal Watts for the Democratic nomination.  Watts has already shown an early hustle, helping raise $1.1M for the DSCC back in April, and injecting $3.8 million of his own funds into his Senate campaign a few weeks ago.  Noriega, a Houston Democrat who has been the target of a draft campaign, didn’t appear daunted at the time, and has been busy preparing for a run after his wife’s recent election for the at-large Houston City Council district formerly held by the one and only Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.  According to the Austin American-Statesman:

Noriega, a fifth-term Democratic state representative from Houston, said he won’t finalize plans until he and his wife, Melissa, settle their finances, partly by selling property in East Austin. But he has already committed to a year’s leave from his job as a manager for CenterPoint Energy. (Emphasis added)

And while Watts will still have his impressive financial prowess, Noriega will have the support of many of his colleagues in the state legislature: 49 of his 68 fellow Democrats in the Texas House have signed a public letter supporting the draft efforts.

The Statesman gives a better taste of the upcoming Noriega candidacy:

Watts and Noriega paint Cornyn as weak and obedient to President Bush, a critique that Cornyn disputes.

Noriega, whose great-grandmother crossed into Texas from Mexico in 1916, is author of a law permitting in-state college tuition rates for illegal immigrants.

He said Senate inaction on immigration showed Cornyn’s inability to work across party lines. Cornyn, like many Republicans, did not go along with what had been pitched as compromise legislation bringing Democrats and the White House together.

Noriega favored the bill.

Noriega accused Cornyn of pandering to a “fringe ideology” by voting to have a fence built on stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border. Noriega called the fence a waste of money unlikely to stem illegal immigration.

“Doesn’t make sense,” Noriega said of Cornyn’s position. “It’s a function of a lack of understanding, inexperience, not listening to the professionals on the ground.”

Noriega favors removing U.S. troops from Iraq. He doesn’t want to see more friends coming home in boxes.

Noriega said that if he runs, he’ll talk up the idea of Americans committing to public service: “The question becomes: What do we do individually to ensure that we as a nation are on the right path?”

As long as this primary remains “good clean fun” (a tall order, but it is my understanding that both candidates have pledged to run positive campaigns), a Watts-Noriega battle could do a lot for raising the profile of this race and energizing the grassroots across Texas. 

Let the games begin.