December 9, 2005

Christian May Seek Return Trip to House
in Primary Bout with Successor Roy Blake

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

Former Texas lawmaker Wayne Christian confirmed Friday that he might challenge State Rep. Roy Blake Jr. of Nacogdoches in the 2006 primary election for the seat that he gave up in order to run for a redesigned congressional district last year.

"I'm considering that," Christian told Capitol Inside in a telephone interview from the investment consulting business he runs in Center. Christian said he's been encouraged to enter the GOP primary competition in House District 9 by people in his area and others across the state. While saying he's honored by the early show of support, Christian said he's having to weigh the possibility of a campaign against the personal financial obligations he faces with two daughters attending Baylor University.

The move to draft Christian is part of an effort that some high-powered conservative forces including several prominent donors have under taken in hopes of replacing some moderate House Republicans with members who wouldn't be as inclined to break ranks with the GOP leadership on key issues before the Legislature. A dozen or more Republican incumbents appear to be the main targets of the purification push.

Three House Republicans - State Reps. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, Pat Haggerty of El Paso and Delwin Jones of Lubbock - have already drawn primary opponents who appear to have support from some members of the GOP establishment in Texas and its influential conservative wing. The state GOP has done polling in the districts of the three House Republicans who face challenges within their own party and in areas represented by several other incumbents who have heard of attempts being made to recruit candidates to oppose them in the March 7 primary election.

There's speculation that James Leininger - a wealthy San Antonio physician and businessman - is one of the leaders of the move to knock off the GOP members who've displayed fierce independent streaks and made it more difficult for conservatives to push through their agenda in a chamber that's had a Republican majority for the past three years.

Blake is one of three freshmen Republicans who refused to go along with the GOP leadership on issues such as school vouchers. In voting with the Democrats against a measure that would have allowed the use of public funds for private school tuition in certain areas of Texas, the House members who've been targeted were in effect spurning Leininger at a time when the powerful contributor was in a room at the Capitol buttonholing Republican members who were listed as probable opponents in an attempt to win their support for vouchers while it was being debated on the chamber floor. Leininger, who helped fund the Republicans takeover of the Texas Supreme Court before emerging as the nation's leading school vouchers advocate, has been frustrated for the past 10 years in his attempts to win support for a pilot state vouchers program after enjoying huge success in his role as an advocate for tort reform.

Blake sided with 11 other House Republicans to help Democrats kill the school vouchers plan in the late stages of the regular session this past spring. The son of a former Democratic state senator who got his start in the lower chamber, Blake had been a popular hometown mayor before launching a campaign for the House seat that Christian was vacating after eight years in office so he could run for Congress. Blake remained typically low-key like most House rookies during his first legislative session, but he won praise from some members while drawing the wrath of others for holding his ground in the face of pressure on certain positions that conflicted with the leadership's goals.

Christian - in contrast - had a more predictable voting record as one of the most conservative members during four terms in the lower chamber. Despite their differences, Blake and Christian have both done well with the voters who are spread over five counties in a district that borders the Louisiana line.

Despite the threat of a primary opponent in his first re-election bid, Blake said he felt that he'd had a good first session and that he enjoyed widespread support around the district. Blake won 57 percent of the vote last year against Democrat Robin Moore, a Nacogdoches businesswoman who'd held Christian to 55 percent the last time he'd defended the seat in 2002. Blake had claimed the Republican nomination when he captured 78 percent of the 2004 primary vote in a race against Ron Capps, a consulting engineer from Brookeland. While Blake was sailing to an easy primary victory, Christian was finding the competition to be tougher as he finished third with 15 percent of the vote in a six-candidate field in the GOP primary race for Congressional District 1. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert led the field after round one of the 2004 primary and won a trip to Congress by knocking off Democratic incumbent Max Sandlin in the fall.

After a close call against Democrat Judy McDonald with 51 percent support to claim his first trip to Austin in 1996, Christian won 58 percent of the general election vote against Colin Strother in 1998 and received 55 percent in defeating then-Nacogdoches County Sheriff Joe Evans in 2000. If Christian decides to run against Blake in next year's election, it will be the first time he's faced an opponent in a Republican primary for the HD 9 seat since first filing to run for it 10 years ago.

Longview attorney John Graves - the candidate who finished second in the first round of the CD 1 voting before losing to Gohmert in a primary runoff - is reportedly considering a Republican primary race against State Rep. Tommy Merritt, who's on the list of incumbents that conservatives would like to oust from the House next year.

The other Republican lawmakers who helped defeat school vouchers and could be punished with primary foes as a result of that and other votes include State Reps. Carter Casteel of New Braunfels, Tony Goolsby of Dallas, Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton of Mauriceville and Edmund Kuempel of Seguin. Two others - Republican State Reps. Bob Griggs of North Richland Hills and Bob Hunter of Abilene - crossed party lines on vouchers and other issues but don't have to worry about primary competition because they are not seeking re-election next year.