Politex

Candidate filing for the Texas primary will start Nov. 12. Or not.

Redistricting lawsuits have thrown the official start of the 2012 election season in Texas into doubt.

Both the Texas Republican and Democratic parties have set Nov. 12 as the start of their one-month period to allow candidates to file for next year's primary ballot. 

Federal judges in Washington, D.C., and San Antonio are considering allegations that the redistricting plans were designed to reduce the voting power of minorities. A hearing in the case is set for today in San Antonio.

Candidates and political observers reached by the Star-Telegram last week said a court may delay the filing period because of uncertainty over what maps will be used next year. Redistricting issues have prompted the federal government to fiddle with Texas' primary filing schedule in the past, including in 1982, according to the Texas Legislative Council.

State law requires a 30-day filing period for the primary, according to the Texas Secretary of State. Some have speculated that a court might allow for the filing period to be shorter.

"The filing period might be compressed by the San Antonio court, especially if a timely ruling on preclearance is not achieved from the Washington court," said Chris Elam, spokesman for the Texas Republican Party. "Regardless, the Republican Party of Texas stands ready to operate under whatever schedule the court mandates."

Steve Bickerstaff, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Law School and a redistricting expert, said he expects the Washington, D.C. court to deliver rulings on all the state's maps later this month. He said he sees circumstances under which the courts would alter the filing period, the most likely one being that the D.C. court doesn't clear one or more of the state's maps.

"If there is an objection, the filing deadline will definitely be extended," Bickerstaff said.

Extending the filing deadline could prove problematic as state election officials have said they will barely have enough time to prepare for the primary under the current schedule. 

-Aman Batheja

Animated, giddy Perry draws "drunk" descriptions

A spirited and giggling Gov. Rick Perry showed up to deliver a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire Friday and the video has quickly gone viral.

The speech, which lasted approximately 23 minutes, features Perry speaking giddily about the New Hampshire slogan, "Live Free or Die," and his tax plan while at times rambling and appearing to stifle giggles. When a host of the event gave Perry some New Hampshire maple syrup, calling it "liquid gold," Perry could no longer contain his amusement.

An edited version that's 8 minutes and 23 seconds long and focuses on some of the speech's odder moments has been viewed over 150,000 times in less than a day.

Based on different videos of the speech online, the audience appeared to eat up Perry's one-liners. Perry drew repeated laughs as he cracked far more jokes than he's traditionally delieverd in stump speeches in the past. At the end of the speech, the audience gave him a standing ovation.

While some are questioning whether Perry was drunk or drugged during the performance, others are more focused on the political ramifications, with the speech drawing comparisons to Howard Dean's infamous "scream."

In response to the speech, Perry spokesman Mark Miner told the Huffington Post, "The Governor is passionate about the issues he talks about."

Here's the edited version of the video drawing the most attention:

To view the entire speech, click here.

-Aman Batheja

Rick Perry trailing Herman Cain in Texas, a new poll shows

It's just one point.

But a new poll Monday shows Texas Gov. Rick Perry holding 26 percent of the vote to businessman Herman Cain's 27 percent among Republican presidential primary voters in Texas.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas came in third, with 12 percent, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, with 9 percent, and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 8 percent. The other Republican presidential candidates pulled in 2 percent or less, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.

While Perry and Cain are in a statistical tie,some say they are surprised Texas' governor isn't leading in his home state.

"He is not dominating here the way one might have expected," Daron Shaw, co-director of the poll and a government professor at the University of Texas, told the Texas Tribune.

The poll, an Internet survey of 800 registered voters, was conducted Oct. 19-26. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.93 percent on questions about Republican voters.

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Strange effort in Iowa to promote Dallas businessman's run for president

Telemarketers have been contacting Republicans in Iowa this week about supporting a Dallas businessman’s late entry into the race for president, according to a Republican news site.

A writer for The Iowa Republican, a site run by political consultant Craig Robinson, reported Friday that he participated in a phone survey that asked him if he would support Mike George in the upcoming Iowa caucus.

George is the founder and financier of Strong America Now, a group that promotes reducing wasteful government spending and has amassed a large group of supporters in Iowa. Most of the major Republican presidential candidates, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and US Rep. Ron Paul, have signed the organization's pledge to erase the national deficit by 2017 using a business methodology developed by George called Lean Six Sigma.

Strong America Now spokeswoman Katie Sibley said Friday that the blog post was the first she had heard about such an effort. She said she was not aware that George was planning a presidential run but did not respond to a request to interview George directly about the matter.

"To our knowledge, Mike is completely focused on reducing waste in government, a topic which he is the expert on," Sibley wrote in an email.

George previously flirted with a run for US Senate in 2009 and 2010. If he were to run for president, he would likely have to skip the New Hampshire primary as the deadline to make it on that state's primary ballot is today. 

-Aman Batheja

Perry receives little love at Arlington Republican forum

Game six of the World Series was just getting started but a packed house of dedicated Republicans opted to miss the first few innings in order to hear from local candidates for state senate. (Organizers appeared stunned when they had to set up extra chairs.)

The three candidates answered questions for over an hour. State Rep. Rodney Anderson of Grand Prairie and former state Rep. Toby Goodman, both vying to replace retiring state Sen. Chris Harris of Arlington, were there, as was state Rep. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills, who is running to unseat state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. (Hancock's primary opponent, state Rep. Mark Shelton of Fort Worth, but did not make the forum.)

While the candidates focused almost entirely on state issues, their responses to questions that touched on Gov. Rick Perry's bid for the White House suggested that Perry's struggling campaign may be impacting his support in his own state. 

Perry first took a hit when the candidates were asked if they supported repealing the law that allows some illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates. Though Perry has spent weeks defending the law and pointing to the broad support it received when it passed in Austin, all three candidates said they would vote to repeal it.

Later on, the candidates were asked to name their top two choices for president. None volunteered Perry as their top choice.

Anderson said Rick Santorum was his "candidate of choice" with Perry as his "1a" pick.

"I like Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, in either order," Goodman said.

Hancock didn't directly answer the question but began his answer by calling Gingrich the smartest of the candidates.

"Is he electable? I really don't know but I do think he's a brilliant, brilliant man," Hancock said. 

He then said he had concerns about all of the presidential candidates before pivoting to Perry.

"In Texas and our area, it would be extremely beneficial if we had the governor from Texas [elected president] who understands what it's like to have your tax dollars taken away by the federal government and redistributed to the other states," Hancock said.

-Aman Batheja

 

Goodman running for Harris' senate seat

Hoping to return to the state Legislature, former Arlington state Rep. Toby Goodman confirmed Wednesday he hopes to replace longtime state Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, Wednesday.

Goodman, a Republican, served in the Texas House from 1991 to 2007.

"We must keep a conservative voice in District 9," Goodman said. "I have considered this run for several weeks and have received strong support from local Republican leaders and grassroots Republicans."

Harris, who is not running for another term, originally endorsed Victor Vandergriff as his replacement. Vandergriff confirmed Tuesday he would not run for the seat because he didn’t want to abandon posts as chairman of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and as a director of the North Texas Tollway Authority.

On Wednesday, Harris endorsed Goodman for the senate seat.

"Few members of the Texas House have passed such long lasting and important government reforms as Toby Goodman has," Harris said. "Toby will be a trusted leader in the Senate from day one."

Goodman lost reelection to Democrat Paula Pierson by 587 votes in a heated race that drew statewide attention. While in the House, Goodman gained a reputation as a leader on children’s issues and an independent-minded Republican willing to work with both sides of the aisle.

State Rep. Rodney Anderson, R-Grand Prairie, is also running for Harris’ seat.

-Aman Batheja

Romney gets an endorsement - from Texan Lamar Smith.

In a surprise announcement today, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign said that the former Mass. governor had the endorsement of a congressman - and not just anybody, but a Texan -- U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio.

Something of a dig at Texas Gov. Rick Perry? Well, Smith, chairman of the U.S. Judiciary Committee, claims that he committed to Romney months ago, a move he kept under wraps.

"I am proud to have Congressman Smith’s support,” said Romney in the release. “On issues that I have focused on such as border security and job creation, Lamar has been at the forefront in the Congress. I look forward to working closely with Lamar both during my campaign and in the effort to fix our struggling economy.”

Smith said, “Like many Americans, I believe the United States urgently needs to replace Barack Obama as president with a proven leader who will create jobs, reduce the nation’s debt and embrace traditional values. The Republican Party is fortunate to have many candidates who are well-qualified to do just that. Last May– three months before Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy – I committed to supporting Mitt Romney. I support Mitt Romney because I believe that he has the specific skillset needed to turn around the economy: he has a conservative track record as a successful businessman and as a governor who created jobs, cut taxes, and kept spending low.”

-- Maria Recio

 

Perry says he was kidding in questioning Obama's citizenship, also opposes Confederate license plates

Speaking to a political television program in Florida today, Gov. Rick Perry walked back his recent flirtation with the "birther" movement and announced his opposition to license plates bearing the Confederate flag.

Perry made the comments in an interview with Political Connections, a Florida television program put on by Bay News 9 and The St. Petersburg Times, according to The St. Petersburg Times.

Perry told the news program that he has no doubt that President Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen and explained that he was only kidding when he made remarks recently suggesting he was not completely convinced that Obama was born in the United States.

Perry also said on the program that he opposed a plan to offer Texas license plates with the Confederate flag on them.

"We don't need to be scraping old wounds," Perry said.

The governing board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Perry appointees, could decide on the controversial plate within the next month. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers have opposed the proposal. More than 22,000 people have signed petitions against issuing the plate.

The plate was proposed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which is an ancestral history group. 

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, now a candidate for lieutenant governor, is a member of the group and has been one of the most outspoken proponents for issuing the plate.

In July, Patterson penned a guest column for the Star-Telegram about the plates. In the column, he compared the Confederate plate to one he also supported to honor the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum:

"I am proudly a member of the SCV; my great-grandfather James Monroe Cole served in the Louisiana Infantry during the War, died in the Confederate Veterans Home and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

"As a statewide elected official, I sponsored the plate because of my personal heritage and my commitment to Texas history - even the history others might find offensive." 

-Aman Batheja

Perry slides to 6 percent in latest poll

Gov. Rick Perry is facing more bad news in the polls after the latest survey by CBS and the New York Times showed him in fifth place with 6 percent, a 17-point plunge since mid-September, when he was the Republican frontrunner.

The poll, released Tuesday night, also showed that Atlanta businessman Herman Cain has surpassed former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts to become the new leader for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Cain had 25 percent among Republican voters, compared to 21 percent for Romney.  The two candidates were tied at 17 percent in an early October poll.

The poll of likely Republican primary voters shows that Perry now trails former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has 10 percent, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul, with 8 percent.  At the back of the pack were Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, with 2 percent, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who each had 1 percent.

The survey, conducted among 1,650 voters from Oct. 19 through Monday, was completed one day before Perry released a sweeping economic plan that includes an optional 20 percent sales tax. 

Perry is hoping that the economic initiative, which he unveiled on Tuesday in a speech in Gray Court, S.C., will help revive his foundering candidacy.  The Perry team has also brought in additional advisers with experience in past presidential races to help get the campaign back on track.

Perry’s once formidable appeal to Tea Party voters has largely shifted to Cain, according to the poll. Perry, who was polling 30 percent among Tea Party voters in mid-September, had only 7 percent in the new survey.  By contrast, Cain’s Tea Party support  has quadrupled in the same time period, with 32 percent of Tea Party voters saying they now support the former Atlanta businessman.

One bright spot for the Perry camp is the fact that most voters are still largely undecided.  Only 19 percent said their minds are already made up.  The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus four percentage points.

-- Dave Montgomery    

FW Council votes down gas drilling ordinance changes

After talking for months about revising its gas drilling ordinance, the City Council voted today against revisions to its gas drilling ordinance.

Although council members said they want more public input and need to continue exploring the issue, it is not clear where the city will go from here.

Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks said she would have preferred to see the revisions delayed rather than voted down.

The council did vote for a six-month extension on the city's moratorium on saltwater injection wells, which was scheduled to expire at the end of the month.

--Bill Hanna