Texas Primaries: State Board of Education Delivers Upset

Rick Perry’s campaign surged and peaked at the right moment to clinch the Republican nomination, while Bill White walked away with the Democrat nomination to set up what could be a significantly close campaign for Texas governor. The campaign for governor is going to be interesting to watch, and there appear to be some important factors to consider. There have been reports that supporters and donors to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s campaign will not support Rick Perry in the general election, and there is speculation of whether or not they might support White. Also, will the supporters of Debra Medina support Perry or if they will turnout to vote for Perry in the general election.

The surprising result of the night came from the State Board of Education District 9 Republican primary, as Thomas Ratliff defeated incumbent and former SBOE Chairman Don McLeroy. This particular campaign actually received national attention, as McLeroy received notoriety criticizing evolution and comprehensive sex education. During the campaign Ratliff presented himself as a moderate alternative, and McLeroy actually used that term as why the constituents of District 9 should not vote for his challenger. There was also a grassroots effort to turnout moderate Republicans to vote for Ratliff and for Democrats to vote in the Republican primary to vote against McLeroy.

Late in the evening with 83% of precincts reporting the Texas Tribune quoted McLeroy as saying that “I think I lost” and that “"These things don't swing 2,000 votes.” Although, according the Texas Tribune there was a push in the final week of the campaign by conservatives to keep McLeroy on the State Board of Education. While Ratliff lead in fundraising throughout the campaign in the last week McLeroy raised $13,502 compared to Ratliff's $12,656, including last-minute $5,000 donation from Houston businessman Bob Perry. However, it was not enough to push McLeroy to victory as Ratliff defeated the incumbent only 1% of the vote and by just over 1,000 votes.

In Texas Congressional District 17 the Republican primary is headed to a runoff between Bill Flores and Rob Curnock, as Flores received 33% of the vote and Curnock received 29%. Timothy Delasandro finished last with 5% of the vote, while Dave McIntyre and Chuck Wilson did not make the runoff getting 18% and 15% respectfully. This sets up an interesting matchup between a candidate who has already poured significant amounts of his own money into the campaign, and a candidate who lost in the general election in 2008. Expect the rhetoric to get tougher, as Curnock will probably seek to separate himself from Flores by labeling him a moderate. Flores will probably continue to spend significant amounts of money, and it should be interesting to see how far Curnock’s volunteers and grassroots support can take him.

Incumbent State Senator Steve Ogden soundly defeated the challenger Ben Bius in the Texas State Senate District 5 Republican primary. Ogden had originally decided to step down and not seek another term, however, after another Republican withdrew from the campaign Ogden changed course and decided to seek another term. The primary was marked by negative campaigning from Bius who could be considered to be a Tea Party candidate. Ogden will face Democrat Stephen Wyman in the general election. Another candidate that could be classified as a Tea Party candidate, Darren Yancy, lost in the Texas State Senate District 22 Republican primary to an opponent that had withdrawn from the campaign. Incumbent State Senator Kip Averitt won the primary with 60% of the vote and will not face a Democratic opponent.

The Texas State House representative from District 14 will be decided in a runoff, as incumbent Representative Fred Brown received 43.62% and challenger Buddy Winn received 25.8% of the vote. Former Judge Rick Davis received 17.74% and Blinn College professor Blanche Brick received 12.84%. It will be interesting to see whether or not the supporters for the Davis and Brick move to Winn and Davis. Although, the turnout for the runoff will probably be very low in Brazos County, especially considering that Perry won the primary for Governor. The low turnout will probably help Brown, unless supporters for Winn can produces an impressive turnout of supporters.

Now that the primary is over, perhaps Kinky Friedman can give up campaigning for public office in Texas.