Texas Democratic Primary: Clash of the Titans

[badgate]

We have five people running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas next year. Brace yourselves.

First is DFW dentist multimillionaire David Alameel.

Alameel came in 4th in the Democratic primary for Rep Mark Veasey's district. He poured a couple million into the primary, which I guess is worth it since the seat is safe D. He's a dentist, I think, and has a fortune of around $50 million.
Here is a Texas Tribune article from his announcement: http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/29/democrat-david-alameel-will-run-cornyns-senate-sea/


Meet Maxey Scherr, an El Paso lawyer. She thinks she is running against Ted Cruz
http://youtu.be/WNDDl7l8rCM - This video has earned Scherr some media, which is a good thing.
I could not find an official site, here is the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/maxeyscherrforussenate



Michael “Fjet” Fjetland

He ran as a Republican for a congressional district in 2006. Didn't crack 5%.
Houston Chronicle - Republican Turned Democrat Runs for Cornyn's Seat.


Kesha Rogers
Meet Kesha Rogers. She's a "JFK Democrat." She lost a Dem primary in 2012. Her main platform focuses in impeaching President Obama, so she has genuine general election appeal (lol jk)

From Burnt Orange Report "Kesha Rodgers, who has filed for the Democratic nomination, should not be given any consideration of the vote by any Texas Democrat. Her primary policy platform is the impeachment of President Obama. She has also compared the President to Adolf Hitler, complete with a picture of Hitler's mustache photoshopped on President Obama's face."


Harry Kim...I can't find a single thing about this person, except that he is a physician and his real first name is "HyeTae." edited to add I have unearthed the info that Kim is from Odessa.

[Brewer]

Out of all the candidates, I definitely like Scherr the best. But seriously, this lineup is really, really depressing.

[Lief 🗽]

Yeah Scherr seems the best, though the dentist is fine. They better not nominate the Republican or the LaRouchite though.

[windjammer]

I would support Alameel. He's wealth, so he could easily compete!

[SteveRogers]

I like Scherr, but she seem to be sinking a lot of resources into the whole "Get Texas off Cruz Control"campaign, which is an odd strategy when you're running against John Cornyn.   

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Alameel will easily swamp this crowd by making sure his is the only name voters know. Unless Scheer finds some deep-pocket donors, she won't be able to compete. As for the others...yeah.

[Indy Texas]

I like Scherr, but she seem to be sinking a lot of resources into the whole "Get Texas off Cruz Control"campaign, which is an odd strategy when you're running against John Cornyn.   

Get rid of the $10 minimum wage and I'd vote for her.

Oh what am I saying, I'll vote for anyone who runs against John "Box Turtle" Cornyn.

[badgate]

http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/10/maxey-scherr-democrat-worth-supporting-senate-texas.html

Here is an article with some new details on the candidates. Like myself, they were unable to find a single thing about Harry Kim. Some details:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The article concludes with an endorsement of Scherr.


Oh, and as for the primary, I wouldn't count out a possible endorsement in this primary from Wendy Davis, Leticia Van DePutte, and other TX Dems. Some party support for Scherr would make up for lack of money.

[7,052,770]

I like Scherr, but she seem to be sinking a lot of resources into the whole "Get Texas off Cruz Control"campaign, which is an odd strategy when you're running against John Cornyn.   

I assume that Cruz is a lot less popular than Cornyn, so tapping into that may be her best bet.

Not that she's going to win, of course, but maybe if Cornyn gets Tea Partied, who knows.

[Indy Texas]

Cornyn has always come across as a mediocre senator. He got less than 55% of the vote in his 2008 reelection, despite being in an easily red state running against an obscure state legislator.

Even after chairing the RSCC, he has never been able to wield any sort of influence within his party or outside of it. He's too conservative to be an aisle crosser and a dealmaker the way his former colleague Kay Bailey Hutchison was; he doesn't have the same goodwill among Texans that she had. But he's not a bona fide ideologue with grassroots appeal the way his predecessor Phil Gramm was and the way his current colleague Ted Cruz is.

When the days of a One Party Texas come to an end, as they inevitably will, there will be no room left for Republicans like John Cornyn. Simply being a white guy with a 90%+ rating from the ACU isn't going to get you anywhere. The Republicans who continue to succeed in Texas will be hyper-polarizing Tea Party types who will win gerrymandered safe House districts, and moderates who can win statewide offices with Hispanics and urban voters. There won't be much use for the Republicans in between those two camps like Cornyn.

[badgate]

I like Scherr, but she seem to be sinking a lot of resources into the whole "Get Texas off Cruz Control"campaign, which is an odd strategy when you're running against John Cornyn.   

I assume that Cruz is a lot less popular than Cornyn, so tapping into that may be her best bet.

Not that she's going to win, of course, but maybe if Cornyn gets Tea Partied, who knows.

I'm not sure. Cruz is wildly popular among Republican primary voters, I do know. And wildly unpopular among Democrats, which makes it a good strategy for the primary. But I haven't actually seen any polls on his statewide ratings. Have you?

[badgate]

I commented on the Scherr Facebook page yesterday asking "is Maxey aware that she is running against John Cornyn?" They replied yes, so we finally have our answer.

I also made sure to point out that while the "Cruz control" thing was a good strategy for the primary, it would help Cornyn on the right during the general. So hopefully after March they cut it out.

[badgate]

Here is Maxey Scherr's official campaign page:
http://www.maxeyfortexas.com

Also, per Daily Kos, the Dem Lt Gov candidate for 2006 and AG candidate for 2010 is hosting a fundraiser for Scherr. While the only "real" candidates are Alameel and Scherr, this will definitely help her.


And for your entertainment, here is the Michael Fjetland official campaign page:http://www.fjetforsenate.com

[morgieb]

Dunno which one I'd prefer. Scherr sounds good, but the dentist dude would probably have the most money to challenge the Pubbies. Ultimately though none are beating Cornyn, and even against Stockman they'll have a hard time.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Harry Kim should be able to get the Trekkie vote.

[LeBron]

Harry Kim should be able to get the Trekkie vote.

Or the vote of migrants from Hawaii.

Seriously though, since Democrats stand zero chance here assuming Cornyn wins the primary, I would love to see HyeTye get the Democratic nomination just to see how bad he does. For the best comedic race among all of these fun mix-ups, Rogers vs. Stockman would be classic.

I'll be keeping my endorsement for Alameel still to although Scherr does sound appealing. If Stockman were to win the primary, then Alameel might be able to overspend his horribly financed Tea Party trainwreck opponent, but only then would Democrats ever be in distance of this seat. It's mostly a hopeful dream, but I digress.

[badgate]

As for Harry Kim there is still literally nothing online about him. I'm tempted to call/email the Odessa newspaper's political reporter or something

[CatoMinor]

I commented on the Scherr Facebook page yesterday asking "is Maxey aware that she is running against John Cornyn?" They replied yes, so we finally have our answer.

Haha. I think Ted Cruz is to Dmeocratic primaries what Obama is to the GOP now.

[badgate]

BREAKING


Dallas Morning News Wendy Davis endorses David Alameel for U.S. Senate
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/wendy-davis-endorses-david-alameel-for-u-s-senate.html/

[badgate]

Read it while It's free! The paywall for Texas Weekly is down until Feb. 1, and they have a rare piece on one of the Dem candidates.

Texas Weekly - Alameel Says He Wants Refund on GOP Donations
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/27/alameel-says-he-wants-refund-on-GOP-donations/

[badgate]

Harry Kim has a website, and it's legit!
http://www.kimforsenate.org
Not sure why it's .org but whatever. He should buy the .com domain in case he gets the nomination, or else Republicans will buy it and create an anti-Kim site.

For those so interested there is also a lengthy piece from the Texas Tribune featuring quotes from every candidate in the Senate race.
Texas Tribune - Race for Cornyn's Seat Most Crowded
https://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/29/race-cornyns-seat-most-crowded/

[badgate]

So apparently Keisha Rodgers interrupted Bowles & Simpson back in 2010.
http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/article_536bb036-ccdf-518c-b6dd-4cabcaf8e85f.html
Hahahahahaha

Cornyn also sent David Alameel a tongue-in-cheek letter responding to Alameel's "I want a refund" response to questions about past donations to Republicans. The paywall for this article goes back up at midnight so I'll quote the full letter but nothing from the article.
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/30/cornyn-sends-tongue-cheek-letter-opponent/

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Leticia Van De Putte has also endorsed Alameel.

I am starting to believe there may be a runoff between Scherr and Alameel.

[badgate]

For what it's worth, we have a "poll" on this primary.







It shows Kesha Rogers leading. Yeah.

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll of Texas races


Note that the margin of error is ±6.04 points.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Even if it's junk, those numbers are a bit startling, to say the least.

[ElectionsGuy]

Kesha Rogers
Meet Kesha Rogers. She's a "JFK Democrat." She lost a Dem primary in 2012. Her main platform focuses in impeaching President Obama, so she has genuine general election appeal (lol jk)

For what it's worth, we have a "poll" on this primary.

It shows Kesha Rogers leading. Yeah.

University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll of Texas races


Note that the margin of error is ±6.04 points.

This is why I love Texas