SHARE THE WEALTH:
Once again Matt Glazer starts the ball rolling at Burnt Orange Report, saying we have three Republican Supreme Court seats up, and it makes no sense for two good Democratic candidates to be going after the same one. He himself doesn't mention the dueling Dems, but they are Susan Criss and Linda Yañez. He's one hundred per cent right, and no, I am not going to presume to suggest which should move to another race, but certainly one of them should.
I still remember the needless bloody battle between Ann Richards and Jim Mattox when they both ran for Governor in 1990. Had either run for another office, so that we could have all voted for both of them, then they, the party, and the people of Texas would have all been better off. Let us hope that we avoid a similar waste next year.
Once again Matt Glazer starts the ball rolling at Burnt Orange Report, saying we have three Republican Supreme Court seats up, and it makes no sense for two good Democratic candidates to be going after the same one. He himself doesn't mention the dueling Dems, but they are Susan Criss and Linda Yañez. He's one hundred per cent right, and no, I am not going to presume to suggest which should move to another race, but certainly one of them should.
I still remember the needless bloody battle between Ann Richards and Jim Mattox when they both ran for Governor in 1990. Had either run for another office, so that we could have all voted for both of them, then they, the party, and the people of Texas would have all been better off. Let us hope that we avoid a similar waste next year.
4 Comments:
At 9:21 PM,
Anonymous said…
I dont see Judge Yanez having much of a shot if she doesn't decide to back out, despite her qualifications.
Judge Criss is the ideal primary candidate and has been campaigning hard since April, so clearly she is devoted to running for place 8.
We can only wait and watch...
Will Judge Yanez decide to back out and run for the Wainright seat?
or will Texas Democrats make her wish she did?
At 9:29 AM,
Anonymous said…
Anonymous:
We need Judge Yanez on the ticket, and she told the Party back in January when they first asked her to run that she'd run for place 8 or would not run.
I know that Judge Criss is also not likely to change races, but since you have brought up the topic of electability, there are a few electoral factors you should know.
In 2006, there were 5 supreme court positions up, 3 court of criminal appeals positions up, and 48 court of appeals positions up.
In 2004, here were 3 supreme court positions up, 3 court of criminal appeals positions up, and 26 court of appeals positions up.
In total, that adds up to 88 appellate judge positions. In 4 of those 88 spots, the Democrat was unchallenged and got 100% of the vote. Out of the remaining 84 appellate judge races, the best that any Democratic judicial candidate did was Judge Yanez's victory in 2004.
Clearly, Judge Yanez is a strong general election candidate.
In 2002, Judge Yanez was one of 5 candidates who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination to the supreme court. Among our 5 Democratic candidates, Judge Yanez got the most votes by a large margin:
Linda Yanez - 674,590 Votes
Margaret Mirabal - 651,305 Votes
Jim Parsons - 645,641 Votes
William E. Moody - 644,340 Votes
Richard G. Baker - 609,458 Votes
Clearly, Judge Yanez is also a strong primary election candidate.
But the fact that Judge Yanez is both the stronger general election candidate and the stronger primary candidate is not why I'm supporting Judge Yanez in this race.
We need Judge Yanez on the ticket in November.
The Rio Grande Valley is home to the densest concentration of Democrats in the state. This is a blessing and a curse.
It is blessing because when the Democrats in the Valley turn out and vote, it can make the difference in an election.
It is a curse because the Valley is so heavily Democratic that many, many of the local races in Valley are uncontested in the general election because no Republican files for the race. As a result, many of the elections which matter most to many Valley Democrats are decided in the primary and not the general election. This causes a big drop off in the number of Democratic votes from the Valley in the general election.
We need Judge Yanez on the ticket in November because we will otherwise see the same old drop off in Democratic general election votes and this will hurt our whole ticket from top to bottom.
By the way, this is NOT A RACIAL ISSUE -- IT'S A MATTER OF KNOWING AND TRUSTING THE CANDIDATE. The Valley knew and trusted Lloyd Doggett and so they supported him over Leticia Hinojosa. It is a trust issue, and those politicians who think it is a racial issue need only look at the Sanchez-Perry gubernatorial race or the Doggett-Hinojosa congressional race.
Judge Yanez is the most trusted and respected Democrat in the whole Valley, and having her on the ticket in November will boost our chances in every statewide race.
At 6:50 AM,
Me said…
Nice to meet you, StoutDem. Found you through following links.
:)
At 12:04 AM,
Anonymous said…
houston for noriega:
Judge Yanez has never been in a race with a candidate like Judge Criss. Susan Criss has been elected to 3 consecutive terms by an overwhelming majority, the last being the largest in Galveston County. Galveston County will play a limited role in the primary next year but there's no doubting that Judge Criss gets the voters to the polls!
I can understand why you feel like Democrats need Yanez on the ticket in November, but im afraid that just wont cut it for Texas. We (D) would be in bad shape if she was on the ticket in November. Her lack of successful campaign experience alone impedes her from having success in both the primary and the general election.
houston for noriega said,
"Clearly Judge Yanez is a strong General Election candidate"?
How so? Judge Yanez lost the race for place 2 in 2002, its irrelevant how close the election was, she lost. Democrats remember this!
"The Rio Grande Valley is home to the densest concentration of Democrats in the state."
I agree that Valley Democrats are loyal Democrats, and do turn out in the primary, BUT are only one piece to the puzzle my friend. Judge Criss is supported by North Texas (Irving, Dallas& Fort Worth Democrats), South Central Texas (Houston, Austin, etc.) and West Texas, including the El Paso area. I know of a lot of Valley support for Judge Criss as well. With a well known hard working candidate like Susan, Democrats are in a good position in 08.
I find it hard to believe that a Noriega supporter would also be supporting Yanez. Smells a bit fishy to me!
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