We’ve got a big chance for a pick-up in the Texas 7th, where Michael Skelly is running the strongest campaign that a challenger has ever mounted in the district. Michael is a successful wind energy businessman who will bring his renewable energy expertise to Congress. He was recently named Wind Industry Person of the Year and raised more money than any Democrat or Republican during the first quarter of the year. His is the only Texas race on the DCCC’s "Emerging Races" List.
He’s facing incumbent opponent and Delay lackey John Culberson, who voted against SCHIP, the GI Bill, equal pay, implementing the 9/11 commission recommendations, and investing in renewable energy. He voted against Head Start, against making it easier for people to afford student loans, and against Pay-As-You-Go. He voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors, against major ethics reforms, and he’s known as the king of earmarks.
Follow me after the jump to hear more about Michael Skelly and why he’s going to win in November. (After you’ve rec’d this diary and told everyone you’ve ever met to do the same!)
Our country is now confronting an energy crisis that touches on our most serious concerns, from economic well-being to national security to global climate change. With his background and expertise, there is simply no candidate in the country more experienced or better positioned to offer credible solutions than Michael Skelly.
Skelly came to the U.S. from Ireland with his family when he was two years old aboard the S.S. America, arriving on American shores with only $200 to their name. After attending public schools, Michael went to the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Business School with the help of student loans and Pell Grants.
Michael led the development of Horizon Wind Energy from the ground up. Nine years later, it is a multi-billion dollar operation, the third largest wind energy company in the country. By the end of the year, the Houston-based business will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of nearly one million American homes. Michael has been one of the leading innovators in his field, having worked in dozens of states to increase the amount of domestically-produced energy powering American homes.
Growing up, Michael’s parents engrained in him the notion that with success comes responsibility. It was that guiding principle that led him to join the Peace Corps after college and that same principle that led him into the renewable energy business. Today, it is also that principle the guides him in his run for Congress.
Michael’s campaign received national attention when he raised more money than any candidate, incumbent or challenger, Democrat or Republican, running for the House of Representatives this year. In the first quarter, He raised $180,000 more than the top Red to Blue candidate and $60,000 more than the top incumbent, either Democrat or Republican.
Michael is facing a tough opponent in November. But in 2003, the infamous Tom Delay redistricting actually increased the number of Democratic-leaning and Independent areas in the district. Since then Culberson’s percentage of the vote has decreased with each election. And like most parts of the country, less than one quarter of the district thinks the country is currently on the right track. Culberson has never had to face a strong challenger and has never had to run a serious campaign for re-election.
Michael is an Independent-minded Democrat who is a perfect fit for the district and has a real shot at winning in November. This is, by far, our best chance of picking up a Congressional seat in Texas.
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