September 8, 2006

Dewhurst, Abbott and Other Statewide Leaders
Ride to the Rescue of Down-Ballot Republicans

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

When most of the state's business groups were endorsing John Sharp for lieutenant governor in 2002, Larry Durrett helped swing the support of the Texas Restaurant Association to the Democrat's general election opponent. Four years later, David Dewhurst remembers.

Dewhurst, who beat Sharp that year, will show his appreciation this month when he appears at an East Texas fundraiser to help Durrett raise cash for his fall campaign as the Republican nominee for the seat that Democratic State Rep. Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville holds now and is seeking again.

Durrett, a former Jacksonville mayor and ex-TRA president who owns fast-food restaurants around the state, is the only challenger who the Republican lieutenant governor has agreed to help so far this year in a race against an incumbent state lawmaker. But he's not the only Republican Texas House hopeful who will have assistance from Dewhurst in the closing months of the general election campaign.

And Dewhurst isn't the only statewide Republican official in Texas who's risking their own political capital by supporting down-ballot candidates who could win elections or go down in flames. Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, for example, has cut a television advertisement for State Rep. Martha Wong as she fights for re-election in a Houston House race that some members from both parties think her Democratic opponent may be leading. Dewhurst also plans to attend a fundraiser in Houston for Wong this month.

Abbott appeared at a fundraiser for Republican State Rep. Vicki Truitt of Southlake before she won a contested primary election this year - and the attorney general has met with Plainview insurance agent Jim Landtroop about his bid for an open Texas House seat in the West Texas district that former Democratic House Speaker Pete Laney represents until he retires at the end of the year.

Landtroop, who faces former Crosby County Judge Joe Heflin on November 7, will also be getting a hand from the lieutenant governor when Dewhurst appears at a fundraiser for him in Big Spring this month. Wong will have Dewhurst by her side as well when she raises funds at a September event in Houston for her race against Ellen Cohen in a district that Democrats think they have a good chance of wrestling away from the GOP this year.

Dewhurst also plans to pass the plate for state House contender George Antuna at a fundraiser about ten days from now at a private Austin residence. The lieutenant governor has volunteered to help Houston House nominee Jim Murphy raise money for his bid for the seat that Republican State Rep. Joe Nixon chose not to seek after setting his sights on the state Senate instead. Exactly where and when that will be is still up in the air. Murphy is pit against Democrat Kristi Thibaut in the fight for the open House seat in Houston while Antuna battles former Harlandale school trustee Joe Farias in an open San Antonio state House race.

Dewhurst, who faces token opposition in November from a Democrat who has virtually no name identification or money for the race, appeared at fundraisers for a dozen Republican state House candidates two years ago when he wasn't on the ballot himself. But Dewhurst only did one fundraising event in 2004 for a challenger who was taking aim at a Democratic incumbent when he attended a fundraiser for Charles "Doc" Anderson as the Waco veterinarian was attempting to oust Democrat John Mabry in a heavily Republican district. Anderson went on to beat Mabry in the general election that fall.

While an association with high-ranking Republican leaders might have some potential to backfire with voters in Texas and across the nation in an anti-incumbent mood, Dewhurst has been in demand from candidates in state House races that have the potential to go down to the wire on election day. The goodwill that Dewhurst presumably accrues at the events helping candidates for the Legislature will breed a certain amount of loyalty that could make a difference if he seeks a promotion to governor in 2010 or a U.S. Senate seat when one opens up. Dewhurst is also lending a helping hand to at least one judicial contender as well with a fundraiser for Republican Judge David Puryear's bid for re-election to the 3rd Court of Appeals set to be held simultaneously with the Antuna event in Austin. Dewhurst has already appeared at a fundraising event for former State District Judge Will Wilson, who faces Democrat Diane Henson in a race for the 3rd Court of Appeals this fall.

Representatives for Governor Rick Perry, House Speaker Tom Craddick and Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs, who's running for comptroller, all said their bosses were also doing things to boost down-ballot Republican candidates in their bids for office this year. A spokesman for Combs wasn't sure if she planned to assist Austin developer Bill Welch in his bid for the Texas House seat that she represented after beating him in a bitter primary runoff 14 years ago.

Perry's campaign said the governor has been inviting Republican candidates for the Legislature and other offices to participate in events that he attends in their towns as he travels the state in his quest for re-election against Democrat Chris Bell and independent candidates Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Richard "Kinky" Friedman.

Perry, who's been mentioned as a possible contender for vice-president on a national ticket in 2008 or some point beyond that, was the featured guest two weeks ago at a re-election fundraiser in Clayton, North Carolina for State Senator Fred Smith, who's planning to run for governor there in two years. Smith said he got to know Perry at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last year and hopes he can convince North Carolina to follow the Texas governor's example on cutting taxes and keeping state spending under control.

One statewide elected official - U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison - came to the rescue of Republican State Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth at a fundraiser earlier this year when he and several other GOP House members were under attack from San Antonio businessman Jim Leininger and other conservatives. Hutchison endorsed Geren and several other House Republicans who had been targeted in a high-dollar primary blitz by forces within the GOP. Hutchison has campaigned for other Republican down-ballot candidates since winning a seat in the U.S. Senate 13 years ago.

While Democrats for legislative and other offices in Texas haven't had the luxury of statewide officials to turn to for help for the past eight years, they do have former statewide officeholders and candidates at the top of the ticket like Bell to give their campaigns a slight boost. The former congressman has shared stages in various Texas locations with Democratic contenders for other offices that will be listed below the governor's race on the November 7 ballot. On Labor Day, the Democratic nominee for governor spoke at a Sugar Land rally that also featured Dorothy Bottos, a retired teacher who faces an uphill climb against Richmond anesthesiologist John Zerwas in race for an open House seat near Houston. State Rep. Dora Olivo, who has a Republican opponent in her re-election bid, also appeared at the event with Bell. Agriculture Commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert, who's dueling Republican State Senator Todd Staples for the farm chief position with little money to spend on the race, was in Sugar Land for the holiday pep rally as well. Dewhurst's former nemesis, Sharp, was there, too.

While Dewhurst gives Antuna's campaign a plug at a fundaiser later this month, another state House candidate from San Antonio was expecting some valuable help Thursday night from the GOP at the national level when Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman was scheduled to be the special guest at a fundraiser for Nelson Balido at the stately Majestic Theater. Balido is battling Democratic State Rep. Joaquin Castro in a rematch of their initial meeting in 2002.