Crossposted at Texas Kaos.
I've been all around Texas: North, South, East, and West. Now it's time for one of the major metropolitan areas...Dallas/Ft. Worth. It doesn't look good on the surface, with only one of the target five races bearing an incumbent Democrat. However, Dallas County really pulled a coup when they flipped the courts blue. It can be done again in 2008, if only people will RUN, and we're about to take the tour, below the fold.
Join me for a dissection of TX-12, TX-24, TX-26, TX-30, and TX-32.
Let me once again give props to BENAWU's diaries on Congressional races.
TX 12
Kay Granger, delightful cherub, is the representative for TX-12. John Morris held her to 67% in 2006. I don't see anybody stepping up to challenge Ms. Granger. Let me point out that she voted against SCHIP. Charming. Her campaign site says:
...Congresswoman Granger has focused on making a difference—for her country, her constituents and her children. She's lived the American dream. Now she's trying to make it a reality for the generations to come.
By denying them health care. Nice. Her website has a nifty feature where I can't highlight and copy the text. Too bad I can type.
TX-24
Gary Page ran against R Incumbent Kenny Marchant in 2004. He made Marchant fall just below 60%. From Congresspedia:
Marchant is a staunch George W. Bush supporter and worked with him when he was governor of Texas. Marchant has said the two of them agree on social and fiscal policy "99 percent of the time." He has said that his top priority on Capitol Hill will be cutting the federal deficit.
Again, by cutting off SCHIP.
UPDATE:We have a candidate in TX-24. Bill Eden, of Colleyville, has filed to run against Kenny Marchant in 2008!
TX-26
Ken Leach is my hero! From Burnt Orange Report:
Ken Leach of Gainesville has taken the first step toward becoming the Democratic Nominee of the Texas 26th Congressional District by filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
Tom DeLay created the district to be a strong safe Republican seat. Consisting of the eastern part of Cooke County, almost all of Denton County, and the middle top third of Tarrant County. The 26th Congressional district is currently represented by Michael Burgess.
"I am not looking the campaign as a mountain to surmount, but am focusing on the pebbles comprising the mountain. Fortunately, it is a small compact district of 260 precincts. I am estimating needing to generate 30,000 votes or 125 new votes per precinct which equates to about 10 new votes per street," Leach said.
I'm still not finding a website, but I'm excited about this one.
TX-30
At last! A Democratic Incumbent! Eddie Bernice Johnson has been in the dome for seven terms. She's a nurse. And her numbers on election day are formidable. 80% win over her Republican challenger in 2006, and it doesn't look like he's going to take another shot at it.
TX-32
Will Pryor ran a spectacular race against Pete "The Streak" Sessions in 2006. It doesn't currently look like we will be favored with his candidacy again, despite his impressive 41%. No one has signed up to run against Sessions.
Pete has a long string of reasons why we should run him out of the House: No on SCHIP, College Cost Reduction, Low Income Housing, Stem Cell Research.
Let's give "the streak" the boot.
That's it for DFW. Next up, Harris County, then Home, Sweet Central Texas.
The usual disclaimers apply: If I missed something/someone, please speak up!