Tom DeLay had it out for Martin Frost, and tailored much of his redistricting power grab toward ousting the Democratic Rep. Yet, contrary to conventional wisdom, the race (which should be the most expensive this cycle) is looking increasingly good for the Democrat. The Houston Chronicle's Crag Hines
pays a visit to the district.
In the newly gerrymandered U.S. House seat centered on securely upmarket North Dallas, the biggest concern of the Republican candidate might normally be what kind of canapés to serve following the swearing-in next January.
George W. Bush, a former district resident, easily carried the area in the 2000 presidential election, with almost 65 percent of the vote.
It's hard to find a local Democratic officeholder except in the squiggly tail of the district south of the Trinity River.
So why do so many Republicans in the 32nd District seem a little nervous? They believe (as do I, grudgingly) that it would be almost a miracle for a Democrat to carry a district drawn precisely to include some of the most reliably Republican enclaves in the nation, encompassing Highland Park, Preston Hollow and Richardson. But they are unmistakably anxious.
The reason is that the Democratic nominee is Rep. Martin Frost, who has been in the U.S. House representing parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for 25 years. Frost, 62, is the senior Democrat on the Rules Committee (and in line to be chairman if his party regained a House majority). He is an assiduous fund-raiser and campaigner. He has done many favors for the generally Republican Dallas business establishment.
An equally nagging worry for the GOP is that their candidate is Rep. Pete Sessions, whom some North Dallas Republicans find it easy to dislike. Sessions, 49, began his House career in a district that stretched from East Dallas 200 miles into the hinterlands. Tired of the rural schlepping, Sessions, after the initial redistricting that followed the 2000 census, hopped across town (against the wishes of some North Dallas Republicans) to claim what looked like a more securely Republican (and certainly more compact) district.
Sessions not only is a
sign thief, but also made a major gaffe when he referred to the Iraq War as a "game" at a debate last week. Frost is running circles around Sessions.
Sessions may yet prevail given the favorable map, but this one is by no means a foregone conclusion. And aside from ousting DeLay and Bush themselves, nothing would give me greater joy than seeing the Hammer's Texas masterplan fail at the ballot box.