Eric Beck <rayrena at realtime.net> wrote:
> Bush and Rove haven't expressed support for anyone, publicly at
> least. They probably don't care.
I agree with your description of Strayhorn as a populist. However, Bush and Rove may be more interested in how she's running her campaign, because she's dipping into the deep pockets of traditionally Democratic supporters. Whether they feel threatened by this or are just going to school by watching her remains to be seen. (see article posted below for particulars) Insiders report that more good ol' boy GOP sphincters were tightening over the possibility of Senator Hutchinson running.
> That level of political involvement in an allegedly apolitical
> state is impressive. And this was during the Texas summer, when
getting out the front door is a worthy accomplishment.
>
Indeed. This accomplishment cannot be written off as chance. Whether the momentum is carried forward or not remains to be seen, but it gives challengers to Perry a major toehold.
- Deborah
Republican governor candidate Strayhorn targets Democratic money AUSTIN — In an effort to match an incumbent governor's election war chest, Republican Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is targeting donors with a history of supporting Democrats.
Of Strayhorn's $7 million campaign account, more than $800,000 has come from some of the Democratic Party's biggest political donors, including trial lawyers, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News.
Some say the strategy is risky for a candidate trying to win Republican primary votes, but others say it's a necessary step. Strayhorn is challenged with matching Republican Gov. Rick Perry's $8 million campaign account.
"You've got to have money to run. And by definition, getting money from traditional party sources against an incumbent governor is going to be extraordinarily difficult," said University of Texas-Pan American political scientist Jerry Polinard. "Perry's locked that stuff up."
According to campaign finance reports filed with the state, Strayhorn contributors include:
_McAllen beer distributor Greg Lamantia, who provided an airplane to Democrats who left to block a Senate quorum on redistricting legislation in 2003. He has given nearly $53,000.
_Former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, a major fundraiser for national Democrats, has given about $57,000.
_Houston financier Fayez Sarofim has given more than $92,000 in the last two years.
Traditionally one of the largest sources of campaign cash for Democrats, trial lawyers have made considerable contributions, Strayhorn's reports show.
Mark Lanier of Houston, the lead plaintiff attorney in the nation's first Vioxx-related lawsuit to go to trial, has contributed more than $30,000. Lanier represents a widow who is suing the maker of Vioxx, claiming it caused her husband's heart-related death in 2001.
Dallas lawyer Fred Baron, a consultant to Democrat vice presidential candidate John Edwards, has given $12,500. And John Eddie Williams of Houston and Walter Umphrey of Beaumont, who sued the tobacco industry on behalf of the state, added more than $100,000 each to her campaign account last month.
Republican consultant Todd Smith said GOP primary voters won't like Strayhorn's trial-lawyer funding.
"We have successfully vilified trial lawyers and made them the poster boys of everything that's wrong with the Democratic Party. So this is a curious dynamic in Republican politics," Smith said.
Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell announced his bid for governor Thursday, becoming the first major Democrat to step into the race. He reported raising about $153,000 in campaign contributions during the first six months of the year.