Final Count and a Look Forward

A few bigger thoughts later in the weekend, but some nuts and bolts for now.

Nationally, the raw total vote led to the following results:

Senate: 55.0%-42.4%
House: 53.3%-44.6%

Here in Texas, here's the State Rep equivalent ...

Rep: 1,712,130 - 52.4%
Dem: 1,323,759 - 40.5%
Lib: 231,078 - 7.1%

There's still a fair amount of ground to make up on that 40.5%, but the 52.4% at the top of the pack shouldn't strike anyone as a number that instills a sense of hopelessness. The question for Texas Dems will be who realizes that we cannot write off the statewide slate with a herd of people that nobody's heard of and who won't have the bankroll to ensure that nobody's heard of them by Election Day 2010.

Field an even broader slate of candidates in 2008 and 2010, from the State Rep level to the Judicial races ... and yes, even for the statewide contests. Fight on all fronts. Eventually, some aspect of the facade that is the GOP majority in this state cracks. The fissures are already in place - business conservatives who realize their party has been hijacked by the religious right; conservatives who appreciate good schools in their neighborhood versus those who don't believe in public education in the slightest (and spend big bucks to cut it off at the knees). All we have to do is keep chipping away.

Five pickups among State Rep seats ... six if you go back to Donna Howard's Valentine Day present. Over the next two cylces, it's increasingly relevant to speak in terms of a Democratic majority in the House by the time redistricting comes back around. Run a credible candidate for Guv & Lite Guv and the state starts to look a whole lot different if one or both of them win in 2010.

William McKenzie of the DMN gives a taste of what might be on the horizon statewide. Unfortunately, it comes in a rather dysfunctional analysis. Per McKenzie, the big media markets that make up the big urban centers of Texas are areas where Dems are gaining momentum. After starting the column off stating our need to take a page out of Bill Clements' backroads approach, he then goes on to suggest we discard the very approach he leads off with.

I think there are areas of opportunity off the beaten path of Belo, Hearst, and others. To win, you have to grow, not just ride the wave. There are areas in South Texas and East Texas where we have to rebuild and re-establish trust with voters who have fled the Democratic Party over time. The areas where we've gained State Rep vote support has come from wealthier-than-average, suburban regions with voters who have professional careers and post-graduate degrees. There's an amazing similarity in the types of districts that we've won with Strama, Howard, Cohen, Vaught, Hightower Pierson, etc .... That's a big part of where to look for a rebirth of Texas Democrats. But there's more. And hitting on all cylinders is a necessity.