Special elections, leaked polls, candidates who won't and those who will, and getting money from dead corporationsVoters in Houston pick a state representative this weekend, settling the runoff contest between Ana Hernandez and Laura Salinas in HD-143. The winner will replace the late Joe Moreno, D-Houston.
• The next special election on the plate will replace Rep. Todd Baxter, R-Austin, in HD-48. Ben Bentzin is the only Republican who's signed up. He'll face at least two Democrats: Donna Howard and Kathy Rider, both of whom have school board credentials on their resumes. Kelly White, who lost to Baxter in 2004, apparently won't run with all those Democrats in the hunt. And Andy Brown hasn't signed up for the special amidst questions of whether he's lived in the district long enough to be eligible for the January election (he is eligible for the regular election). Filing in that race is open through December 19.
• Dan Patrick, the radio talker who's running for state Senate in Houston, touts a poll that shows him ahead of the other candidates -- Mark Ellis, Peggy Hamric, and Joe Nixon -- in a four-way race. He's at 38 percent, according to his survey, followed by Hamric at 13.3, Nixon at 8.5 percent and Ellis at 7.8 percent (the margin is +/- 4.9 percent). It also contends he's got higher favorable ratings than the others, by far, and that his unfavorables are lower than Ellis', while higher than the two state representatives. The battle there is well underway; Nixon has launched his second round of television spots. These focus on immigration policy, mainly a federal concern, but an issue that apparently polls well with GOP primary voters (in Houston and elsewhere).
• San Antonio City Councilman Richard Perez told the Express-News he won't run for the HD-118 seat opened by Rep. Carlos Uresti's decision to run for Senate. Only one candidate -- Republican Steve Salyer -- is in that House race at the moment. Salyer lost in 2004 to Uresti, by a 15-point margin. Uresti is passing on a reelection bid to challenge Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio.
• A couple of incumbent Republicans have obstacles between them and reelection bids. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, drew Chris Hatley, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, in the primary. Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, will face Lubbock businessman Van Wilson in March.
• When he quit the chairmanship of the Dallas County GOP, Nate Crain said he might run for chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. He's not saying it's a go, but in an email to members of the State Republican Executive Committee, he raises a bunch of questions about the current condition of the RPT. That email says the party has less money on hand than any of its big-state counterparts and questions whether the Texas GOP has an "active major donor program," and no finance director or finance committee. He also questions the party's decision to "rush into an agreement with the Travis County Attorney to limit the RPT Get Out the Vote effort in 2006, when a more aggressive approach would have been appropriate." He's trying to light a firecracker: The SREC meets over the weekend.
• Blood from Turnips Department: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says his office got $8.3 million in back taxes out of the bankruptcy estate of Enron, the dead Houston energy company.