MORE GOOD NEWS LOCALLY:

Not only have a dozen (so far!) Republican members of Congress announced that they will not be running for re-election next year, and several others (including two here in Dallas County) switched parties, but we now get this note from former Dallas County Chair Ken Molberg:

I am informed that Karen Johnson, incumbent judge of the 95th District Court, announced today that she will not run for re-election. This means that both Republican incumbent civil district judges in Dallas County whose terms expire next year have chosen not to re-seek the seats they currently hold.

The writing is there on the wall, and it is clear to everyone that the trend is going our way. Molberg is himself running for Johnson's court, and facing a primary opponent. Some Republican may still decide to run for this seat, but the lack of an incumbent should help whomever we nominate.

UPDATE:

Apparently, it was Molberg's campaign that inspired her to give up. According to the Texas Lawyer Blog:

"... Ken Molberg was stepping up his campaign fundraising . . . which placed some people in awkward positions. Some were activist Democrats who had ties to him and were friends of mine. They wanted to know what I was doing before they lent their names and money to someone else."

She says "I intend to serve the community in some other capacity". Yeah, right, whatever.