If you stick a label of progressive in front of your name, the chances of winning in Texas are slim and none. Even here in Houston if it is city wide, your chances of getting elected are slim. For example in the open at-large seats how many progressives won? Zero!
At-large 1- Republican won Julian Ramirez
At-large 2 – Republican won Willie Davis
At-large 3 – Republican won Twila Carter
The Mayor, while a Democrat, did not put a progressive label in front of his campaign.
How many progressive-elected Texas Republican officials have you met recently?
Keep that in mind when you are endorsing state-wide candidates because they are progressive.
I believe that Ted Cruz and Donald Trump may be susceptible to being beat in Texas this year.
Some years back, a former Democrat Judge asked me how I thought Wendy Davis would do; after all, she received much national attention. There was also a Latina who was running for Lt. Governor.
I told him that she would be clobbered and that Hispanics would not know that the person running for Lt. Governor was Latina.
But for more than a year, Democrats were crowing that with a well-funded turnout operation, Davis was the kind of candidate who could at least move the needle for the bedraggled party, which hadn’t won a statewide election since 1994. In one sense they were correct: She moved the needle, all right — backward.
The spread between Attorney General Greg Abbott and Davis exceeded 20 points, greater than the split between Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White in the historic tea party wave four years ago. In fact, it was the worst showing by a Democratic gubernatorial candidate since Garry Mauro’s 68 percent-to-31 percent drubbing at the hands of George W. Bush in 1998.
This year, I believe that Colin Allred may be able to break that barrier that almost fell, when Beto ran against Cruz. If he manages that don’t be surprise that Biden also carries Texas.
Let us give them a chance. Allred runs a good campaign; he shows his wife in the first ad. I won’t say why that is good because “progressives’ could get all tangled up in political correctness. Besides, I could be wrong.