August 17, 2004

Republicans Worry about Upcoming
Business Association Endorsements

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

Texas Republican strategists are concerned that the state's largest business group might follow the lead of lawsuit reform advocates and endorse some Democrats for the general election.

The Texas Association of Business & Chamber of Commerce PAC's board of directors plans to meet Wednesday to determine which candidates the powerful organization will back in the campaigns for the state Legislature and Congress this fall. The always-coveted TAB endorsements have piqued considerable interest this time around in light of the decision earlier this summer by a longtime ally - the Texans for Lawsuit Reform - to get behind a half-dozen Democratic state House incumbents who are facing stiff Republican opposition in their re-election bids.

Many Republicans privately concede that the TLR support for some moderate Democrats made sense given their support for the medical malpractice liability legislation last year amid intense pressure from trial lawyers and Democratic Party leaders to oppose the tort reform measures. But Republicans contend that TAB's political arm will be in effect passing judgment on candidates' positions and voting histories on a wide range of issues while the TLR endorsements were based on one issue alone. The general business group's PAC reserves the option to stay on the sidelines in certain races if neither candidate makes a case that is compelling enough to earn its support.

The Texas Business & Commerce Political Action Committee - which is commonly called BACPAC - sparked fireworks two years ago when it threw its support behind former Democratic state Comptroller John Sharp in his campaign for lieutenant governor against Republican David Dewhurst. TAB President Bill Hammond said at the time that the board decided to go with Sharp because of detailed proposals he'd made for reducing state spending at a time when the state was in a deep budget hole. Hammond said the Sharp endorsement was not intended to reflect critically on Dewhurst. BACPAC endorsed Democrat Margaret Mirabal for state Supreme Court and pitched its support to three Democratic congressional incumbents: U.S. Reps. Ruben Hinojosa, Charlie Stenholm and Ralph Hall, who switched parties earlier this year. But all of the other TAB endorsements went to candidates for the GOP that year.

Republicans appear more concerned this year about potential BACPAC support for Democrats in Texas House races than in high-profile congressional matchups such as the fight in West Texas between Stenholm and U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a Lubbock Republican, in one of several reconfigured districts on the new U.S. House map. GOP candidates and strategists are pointing to TAB's scorecard for the 78th Legislature and wondering whether Democratic lawmakers like State Rep. Patrick Rose of Dripping Springs, Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville and David Farabee of Wichita Falls will have the same success with BACPAC as they did with TLR. While Rose, Hopson and Farabee all supported the medical malpractice lawsuit restrictions approved by legislators and voters last year, they took positions favored by TAB less than half the time on votes cast during the 2003 regular session. Farabee received a 43 percent rating from the business group for his votes last year while Rose and Hopson were graded at 27 percent and 25 percent respectively by TAB.

Three other incumbent Democrats backed by TLR this year - State Reps. Robby Cook, Dan Ellis and Mark Homer - sided with TAB more than 50 percent time on the issues it used as a gauge in assessing voting records last year. Cook had the highest TAB grade among Democrats at 64 percent while Ellis received a score of 53 percent and Homer graded out at 54 percent. Cook and State Rep. Allen Ritter, a Nederland Democrat who's unopposed in the fall after a hard-fought primary win, were the only Democrats to receive ratings of more than 60 percent from TAB last year. That put them ahead of three of the GOP's 88 House members - State Reps. Pat Haggerty of El Paso, Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton of Mauriceville and Fred Brown of College Station - who all scored in the mid-to-high 50s on the TAB test.

Despite the concerns among some Republicans, there appeared to be a prevailing sentiment entering the Wednesday BACPAC vote that the best that Rose or Hopson could hope for would be for the business group to remain neutral in their races. The business group's board might have found it easier to justify a Rose endorsement earlier this year amid revelations that his Republican opponent, Alan Askew of Wimberly, had taken campaign money from a group that was funded by a couple of high-profile personal injury lawyers. But Askew returned the $2,500 contribution to the Texans for Family Values PAC a month after receiving it. With more than $500,000 in the bank at the end of June compared to Askew's $26,000 reserve, Rose has taken a fundraising lead that on the surface appears insurmountable. But Askew has the ability to tap personal money that he has used only sparingly so far in the campaign - and that could lead to a competitive race in the fall.

Hopson is running against a school teacher, Mike Alberts, who has less than $3,000 in the bank compared to more than $192,000 for the incumbent. Farabee is opposed by Republican Shirley Craft, a consultant who has remained competitive in the fundraising department and is considered a viable candidate by members of the GOP. Cook is pit against Republican Jean Killgore in a Central Texas rematch while Ellis faces Dayton CPA John Otto and Homer is dueling Republican Kirby Hollingsworth of Mount Vernon in targeted East Texas races.