That Senate race in El Paso is not only noisy — it's gotten expensive. Republican Dee Margo had no money in the bank with a week to go, but spent $438,983 during October. That's a lot of TV time in El Paso, Texas. He ended with loan balances of $100,000, but was reporting new contributions of around $50,000 in telegram reports after that one-week-out report was filed. 

The incumbent, Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, raised $201,774, spent $168,127 and had $23,134 left to play with. He borrowed, too: His outstanding loans totaled $35,000. And he was getting late money after the bell like Margo: Around $32,000 poured in after the last official report.

This has the distinction of being the only race on the Texas ballot that could change the Legislature's operations. The Senate operates on a two-thirds rule that empowers a minority — in this case, the Democrats, who have just enough members to block legislation they really hate. If Shapleigh were to lose, the Republicans in the Senate would have a two-thirds majority, and full control of the agenda for the first time in more than a century.

Democrat Chris Bell fired a fresh round at Gov. Rick Perry, but his latest financial report raises a question about how much punch it'll have.The new commercial attacks Perry for accepting contributions from utility companies and then giving them fast-track approval to build controversial coal plants that Bell contends are unhealthy.

 

Bell's latest campaign finance reports showed he had well under $100,000 in the bank in a state where it costs $1 million or more to put up a statewide television commercial for a week. The new ad, according to the campaign, will run (starting right away) in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.

 

The Republican Railroad Commissioner's mailers make oil & gas regulation a national security issue, complete with soldiers.

Republican Susan Combs unveiled two ads she'll have on TV (more than $3 million worth) from now until Election Day.Both spots are positive. Neither identifies Combs as a Republican, and neither mentions that she'd be the state's tax collector if she wins. She does say she'll "manage money wisely" and implies she'd increase education spending in the classroom, which is outside the comptroller's purview. The first ad, called "Fiscal Conservative," shows Combs in an office, in a photo of her on the floor of the state House, in several office scenes, and then walking down the sidewalk with her husband and dog. Combs: "As a small business owner for over 26 years, I've always met a payroll. As a former state legislator, I know how important it is to make the right decision with your money. And as agriculture commissioner, I reduced staff and cut the agency budget. As comptroller, I will manage your money wisely. I understand that it's your money — not the government's." Male announcer: "As comptroller, Susan Combs will stop waste, fraud and abuse in state spending. Susan Combs. Experience we need. Values we trust."

The second spot is called "Classroom" and shows Combs at a dining room table, in a classroom with kids, then shows a youngster in a school hallway before returning to office scenes with Combs and finally, to the candidate walking with her husband and dog. Combs: "As a wife and mother, I know how important education is to our children's future. As comptroller, I'll work to put more education dollars in the classroom and improve financial accountability in our schools. When it comes to financing our public schools, there is nothing more important than putting students first. Male announcer: "Susan Combs will stretch every tax dollar to make sure education is our top priority. Susan Combs. Experience we need. Values we trust."

They're worried in other parts of the country, but Texas Republicans aren't afraid to get on stage with the president.

Reaction to the newspaper tradition of encouraging voters to support one candidate over another rippled across the blog world. With the election getting closer by the minute, and early voting already begun, the political fever is rising. For those who can't get enough, a bowl of hot soup awaits you at the end.

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Choosing Sides

Texas' major newspapers are endorsing in statewide and local races. In the governor's race, here are how the chips fell: the Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, and San Antonio Express-News endorsed incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry; the Houston Chronicle endorsed independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorsed Democrat Chris Bell.

Of Gov. Perry garnering the Dallas newspaper's favor, Eileen Smith of In The Pink Texas said, "I've been waiting with baited breath (sic) to see who that editorial board would back. And by 'baited breath,' I mean 'was there ever any doubt?'" She was surprised, however, when the Austin Chronicle (Austin's version of High Times) endorsed Bell. Smith said, "When Kinky (AKA 'Best Citizen!') can't even get a nod from the hometown socialists, it's high time to pull out." Independent candidate Richard "Kinky" Friedman recently won the Austin Chronicle's Reader Poll as "Best Citizen."

Greg's Opinion offered its reaction to the Houston Chronicle endorsing Strayhorn: "I guess if your criteria for making an endorsement is to 'change a state's governing philosophy', maybe it does make sense to pick someone who will gladly, willfully, and frequently change hers to suit whoever it is that's writing out checks to her campaign from year to year. It certainly strikes me as worthwhile for a major state newspaper to actually do a little digging in the Guv's race and start to look at how Carole has changed her own worldview more often than she has last names. Joking aside, isn't there at least something of a story in that? … for at least one major Texas newspaper?"

In a local race, Eye on Williamson County was pleased the Austin American-Statesman endorsed Mary Beth Harrell (D) for Congress over incumbent John Carter (R), "After all these years, we're accustomed to the AAS's pro-developer, anti-environmental slant. That is what makes this endorsement so stunning."

Karl Thomas Musselman at Burnt Orange Report was upset by the Lufkin Daily News endorsing Sen. Todd Staples for Agriculture Commissioner over his Democratic challenger Hank Gilbert. The paper said Staples would oppose the Trans-Texas Corridor. "Um, Hello Lufkin Board… " Musselman wrote. "Staples was the SENATE SPONSOR OF THE TTC. Just like the Redistricting Bill and the Gay Marriage Bill, Staples was the sap who LET IT HAPPEN BY BEING THE PRIME SPONSOR IN THE SENATE."

McBlogger was encouraged when the Round Rock Leader endorsed Gilbert for Agriculture Commissioner: "Honestly, it's not as huge as an endorsement from the DMN (Dallas Morning News) simply because of circulation. However, if you look at the community the paper serves (VERY red Williamson County) it's a big deal for them to endorse a Democrat."

In Houston's CD-07 race between incumbent Republican John Culberson and Democrat Jim Henley, Charles Kuffner at Off the Kuff described the Houston Chronicle's semi-endorsement of Rep. Culberson this way: "What we got instead was basically a big lecture to Culberson, sort of a Festivus-like airing of the grievances, in which they list all of the things that Culberson has done to disappoint them, presumably in the hope that he'll come to understand the error of his ways and reform himself."

Dos Centavos was also confused by the Chronicle's editorial board. They said, "How do they support Ted Poe and then lecture Culberson? They go off on Culberson's anti-immigrant idiocy when Ted Poe has been right by his side, along with the other wing-nut they endorsed, McCaul. These three are all about 'border' boondoggles and waste, yet the Chronicle somehow has decided to write what seem more like campaign statements than endorsements based on facts."

Greg's Opinion was left wondering why newspapers, in this day and age, endorse anyone. "Among the criticisms is this … when the coverage of news is so frequently at the mercy of press secretaries of officeholders, is there not an inherent conflict for editorial boards?"

* * * * *

Senate Shootout

The other big political event of the week was a debate between the U.S. Senate candidates, Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, and Libertarian Scott Jameson.

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex "live-blogged" the debate, meaning he wrote running commentary during the debate itself. As a Democratic consultant, he, of course, saw things in a favorable light for Democratic candidate Radnofsky.

Perry Dorrell at Brains and Eggs called Sen. Hutchison "dotty" and provided a dictionary's definition. "Even the Libertarian made sense more often than Kay Bailey. She actually said 'cut and run' six times. I believe Karl Rove must have been her personal debate coach."

Peggy Fikac at the Houston Chronicle's "Texas Politics" blog said "Who had the most colorful comment in tonight's debate? No question, it was Barbara Ann Radnofsky. What's needed, she said, is 'leadership that's new and fresh that stands about 5-foot-9 and looks good in purple.' Even if she was wearing plum (that still looked more like mocha to your blog.)

Meantime, Paul Burka at Texas Monthly's BurkaBlog blasts four Austin-area congressmen for not debating their opponents. He said the Texas Legislature should pass a law "requiring candidates filing for statewide or national office to sign a statement agreeing to participate in at least one debate against an opponent from the opposition party during the general election campaign."

* * * * *

Campaign Trail

David Benzion at the Lone Star Times was surprised and amazed Gov. Perry would hold a rally at the campaign headquarters of senate candidate Dan Patrick, who's been critical of the governor's leadership. "This is either the boldest display of political confidence I've been aware of in quite a long time," Benzion wrote, "or a stupid mistake destined to go down in the 'What in the Hell were they thinking?' Hall of Fame of Texas political lore."

If you're missing all the fun in the CD-22 race (Tom DeLay's former seat), you can hear or read the transcript of a "push poll" apparently organized by write-in Republican Shelley Sekula-Gibb's campaign.

* * * * *

But I Promise, My Supporters are All Behind Bars

Scott Henson at Grits for Breakfast tells us about a website called PrisonersOfTheCensus.org that can calculate how many people from the 2000 census were actually behind bars and unable to vote. "This esoteric exercise takes on real world implications," Henson says, "when Congressional districts are drawn or funding formulas calculate who gets what money based on population projectsion - big cities where most prisonsers come from lose out, while rural jurisdictions where most prisons are get extra resources to manage a phantom group for whom they provide no services." Henson, and the Prison Policy Initiative, think inmates should be counted according to the county they came from.

* * * * *

Call Waiting

Grits for Breakfast also tells us about the growing problem of prison guards smuggling cell phones into prisoners. He quotes a National Public Radio report: "Last month, a warden in Texas also got a call — from the mother of one of his inmates. She was calling to complain that her son was getting poor cell-phone reception inside the prison." And we thought getting a signal out of the Capitol underground was bad…

* * * * *

Hot off the Keyboard

Some Washington, D.C., folks have started Hot Soup, a bi-partisan site where "Opinion Drivers" can gather online. The site has news, debates on current events, online polls, book discussions, and a networking function. Well-known politicos such as Mark McKinnon, Matthew Dowd, and Joe Lockhart are involved in its creation.

And finally, a blog from a staffer's perspective… Shaine Mata, a legislative aide to Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, will be writing Session 80 during the upcoming legislative session.

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Robyn Hadley cherry-picks the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. Robyn, a veteran of both journalism and the state Capitol, is the owner of Capitol Crowd, a networking site for people who work in and around state government. The opinions she quotes belong to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Robyn at robyn@capitolcrowd.com, or to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey, at ramsey@texasweekly.com.

Gov. Rick Perry's current TV spot starts with a light stab at his two major opponents (he's leaving Kinky out of it) and then talks about his accomplishments. The script is read by a woman: "Why are Congressman Bell and Carole Strayhorn running false, negative campaigns? Because it's easier to attack than lead. Rick Perry has led during natural disasters and economic downturns. Today, Texas has a record budget surplus, more jobs than ever, more money for schools and teachers, and a more secure border. Gov. Perry has cut spending and lowered taxes. He knows leadership is about making tough choices and doing the right thing for Texas. Rick Perry for governor, because leadership matters." (In the Spanish language version, "Congressman Bell" is replaced by "Chris Bell.")

Republican Rick Perry's campaign has saved its on-air attacks for Democrat Chris Bell, but the governor is attacking Carole Keeton Strayhorn in the mailbox.

Perry's swat at the Republican-turned-independent says "Carole Strayhorn will say anything to get elected," and says she's flip-flopped on abortion, appraisal caps, and her feelings about trial lawyers. The mailer accuses her of taking campaign contributions from people she regulated as a Texas Railroad Commissioner and from taxpayers and their reps now that she's the state's comptroller.

It closes with quotes about Strayhorn's flaws from a Houston Chronicle story (without mentioning that that same paper endorsed her over Perry). A spokesman for Strayhorn called several points in the ad misleading, saying it takes some of her positions out of context or leaves them unexplained to help make Perry's case. There's a copy of the full ad in our Files section.

With the election less than two weeks off, contributors, consultants, candidates, and other political types are starting to freak out. Some of the things they're talking about might even turn out to be true.

But the pow-wow of the state's most successful trial lawyers — spun by a couple of campaigns as "big news" to reporters and others — turned out to be a more somber gathering.

Dozens of lawyers from around the state went to Lufkin for the funeral of 39-year-old Reich Chandler, whose father, George Chandler, is a past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Reich himself was a member of that group's board and its executive committee. The lawyers assembled in East Texas this week weren't there to talk politics.

That said, there's a quiet push by some in the Democratic camp to lure some of the financiers behind Strayhorn to Bell for money they think could push him over the top in a contest that has just a few days left.

As of the beginning of the week, Bell hadn't purchased any television advertising for the last 10 days of the campaign. Some polling shows him still unknown to some voters, even as early balloting is underway. Going dark — the term for not running any ads on TV — would diminish the Democrat's already slim chances for a victory.

His supporters contend that he's gathering strength as the Democratic base comes home, and that the combined strength of Strayhorn, Kinky Friedman and James Werner has ebbed from a high in the low 40s a few months ago to percentages in the high 20s today. If both trends continue, there's arguably a window for an upset. And Bell's gang is making that argument.

Perry and Bush and Cornyn are underwater, but Hutchison floats. . .

The pollsters at SurveyUSA say Gov. Rick Perry gets unfavorable ratings from 54 percent of Texas voters, matching a high (or low, depending on your angle of view) he hasn't seen since last May. After the special session on school finance, more people had a favorable impression than not; now, the pollsters say 40 percent like him and 54 percent don't.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who's also on the ballot, still has the favor of 60 percent of Texans, while 31 percent have an unfavorable view of her. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's underwater in this poll: 40 percent like him, and 43 percent don't.

Just one more: President George W. Bush gets favorable ratings from 45 percent of Texans, and unfavorable reviews from 52 percent; nationally, his numbers are 37 percent good and 60 percent ugly.

Perry's still in the lead, though it's narrowing as Friedman slides, according to a new poll.

The newest poll from SurveyUSA has Gov. Rick Perry at 36 percent, followed by Democrat Chris Bell at 26 percent; Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn at 19 percent; Kinky Friedman at 16 percent, and Libertarian James Werner at 1 percent. Only 2 percent of voters haven't decided, according to this poll. The poll of "likely voters" was done this week for KEYE-TV Austin and WOAI-TV San Antonio, and the margin of error is +/- 4.3 percent.

The pollsters said Bell and Strayhorn have made some gains since the last poll, and they've done it at Friedman's expense.

And in the cross tabs, they said Perry and Bell are each getting about three-fifths of the voters from their own parties. About 16 percent of Republicans are with Friedman and another 15 percent are with Strayhorn. About 10 percent of Democrats are with Friedman and 23 percent are with Strayhorn. Independent voters are spread among the candidates almost evenly: 25 percent Perry, 19 percent Bell, 27 percent Friedman, and 22 percent Strayhorn. A month ago, Friedman was getting 39 percent of independents in this survey.

Gov. Rick Perry's newest ad — apparently designed to spook Republicans enough to get them to the polls — acccuses Democrat Chris Bell of being a tax and spend liberal.

A new campaign song done by a Kinky Friedman supporter and promoted by his campaign urges each viewer to "get up off your ass and vote." In emails to supporters and others who've visited the website and signed up, the Friedman camp contends early voting is up dramatically in some parts of the state. They've been saying all along that if turnout is bigger than normal, that'll be good news for the independent writer and musician. Their line now: "Vote early, avoid the straight ticket, and take someone with you to the polls." Oh, and they're making one more push for contributions to buy Friedman some TV time before November 7.

Nobody wearing a red or blue jersey in Texas seems to care about swing voters this year.

Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Chris Bell are trying to consolidate their base votes — the people who always vote according to team colors — and haven't spent any significant time or money chasing the independents and leaners who are usually needed to win a race for governor.

In a five-way contest, both campaigns think it'll be enough to get all of their folks to stick with the party line and vote.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn is after independents and disillusioned voters from either of the two big parties. That's the swing vote in a classical sense, but she's not trying to steer them into a temporary allegiance with a party, which is the usual way to play. Instead, she's trying to keep them away from the two big political parties and in the "Had Enough" column with her.

Kinky Friedman is after independent and unlikely voters (that's not a punch line, though it works if you deliver it right). In a state where only about 29 percent of voting age residents are expected to vote, he's hoping to motivate Texans who are registered to vote but who can't get jazzed up about the Republicans and the Democrats. If that chunk of the electorate goes up and turnout rises two or three percentage points (enough to change the race dramatically), he's betting they'll be there for him.

Perry's bet is that there are more Republicans than Democrats or independents and that if they'll all vote, and all vote for him, he'll win. Bell thinks the same thing, though he thinks there are enough grumbles in the GOP to shave Perry's vote and put the incumbent within range of a Democrat — if the Democrat's got a unified party behind him. And Strayhorn's bet is that there are enough grumblers in both parties to combine with independents to make a third party candidate the next governor. It's like the Friedman formula without the unlikely voter scenario.

But the swings aren't in play this year in the way they usually are. This time, the angry white males, soccer moms, religious Democrats, secular Republicans, and other niche voters who have been hot dates in previous elections are being treated like voters from a third party. They're interested in education and roads and taxes and immigration and all that. But the hard appeals from Perry and Bell are to their base votes. And Strayhorn and Friedman are appealing to voters who've had enough of the donkeys and the elephants.

Look at the ads and at what the two major-party candidates are saying in appearances around Texas.

Perry is attacking Bell for being a liberal Democrat whose campaign is fueled by trial lawyer money. A new ad labels the Democrat as a tax-and-spend guy; an older one went at the same material in a different way. That's actually good for Bell: He's the least well known of the four major candidates and it doesn't hurt him to tell Democrats who he is and that he's a liberal. What Perry's trying to do is prod his own voters, to rattle them into voting against all those adjectives that traditionally scare them so.

Bell's doing the same thing, bopping Perry over the head for cuts in the Children's Health Insurance Program and for one example of the revolving door between his administration and the lobby. It's a play for Democrats in general and for female voters in particular.

It's one reason why you see the Republican campaign rallying around George W. Bush (something that's not happening in other parts of the U.S.) and the Democrats rallying around John Kerry and Bill Clinton (something that's unusual in a gubernatorial race in this red state in recent years). They want their base voters to come home and to hell with the rest (that's not 100 percent true — everybody wants more votes — but it describes the sense of things).

Answers, we'll get on November 7. Questions and speculation, we've got now.

1. Will Democrat Chris Bell have the money to finish the air war he started with the $2.5 million he got from Houston lawyer John O'Quinn?

Bell's big TV buy runs through October 27; without a new stack of bills, his presence on the air will decrease quickly. An infusion could give him the resources for a close, which raises another question: Are the numbers moving quickly enough for it to matter?

2. Will incumbent Gov. Rick Perry or anyone else in the race for that office muster more than 35 percent of the vote?

This is the question of the year, and the motivation for so many candidates, who saw Perry's relatively weak numbers and jumped in, only to find the race for second place split three ways.

3. Is it possible — see Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn for the answer to this — to build a successful campaign for governor without the backing of one of the parties?

Perry's got money and a base vote. Bell's got a base vote, but his finances have been weak. Strayhorn's got money and no base. And Friedman has celebrity, which is what everybody else is trying to get with those TV ads. It's a big political science experiment.

4. Do Texas Republicans sneeze when national politics give the GOP a cold?

Most consultants and analysts think not. President George W. Bush's numbers are stronger in Texas by 15 to 20 percentage points than they are elsewhere. He's planning a visit to Texas next week, a sure sign that the candidates here don't think it'll hurt to stand next to him (remember when Texas Democrats were encouraging then-President Bill Clinton to stay away). If the national GOP troubles affect Texas, the surprise could come in CD-14, where Democrat Shane Sklar is challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside. It's a district where Bush got 67 percent two years ago, outdoing average statewide Republicans by about four points; measure that result against the GOP performance this time.

5. Is it possible for Texas Republicans to sneak away with control of the Texas Senate by beating Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, in one of the state's strongest Democratic districts?

Shapleigh should win, easily. But the Republicans have put a lot of money into insurance man Dee Margo's challenge, and there's something more than pride at stake. It's the only seriously contested race in the 31-seat upper chamber, and a GOP win would wipe out the Democrats' ability to block legislation by holding more than a third of the votes.

6. With five to eight seats in play on each side of the party line in the Texas House, can either party win enough seats to change how things work in the lower chamber? To change the leadership?

Republicans have the reins now and a Democratic majority in the Texas House is beyond imagination at this point. A four- to five-seat net gain for the Democrats could threaten House Speaker Tom Craddick's support for the top job, but it's a long shot. His folks say he's got plenty of pledge cards, which helps. But his predecessor, Pete Laney, had well over 100 of those cards the day he lost control to Craddick.

7. Are Republican officeholders and candidates on the low end of the statewide ballot in any danger of getting picked off?

Probably not, but some of the pieces are in place. Voter enthusiasm on the GOP side of the ledger is low, according to pollsters and others on that side of the fence. The down-ballot candidates for jobs in the executive branch and the courts are relatively unknown and aren't able to put up much TV to fix the trouble. On the other hand, enthusiasm on the Democratic side of the ledger could be just as anemic. Weaknesses only count when there's a competitor in position to take advantage of them.  

8. Are toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor really issues that move voters? How about other state contracts?

Hearings on the road plans were held all over the state this summer, and a lot of the attendees were strongly and loudly opposed to Perry's large-scale proposal. A transportation writer at the Austin American-Statesman said it was like the Texas Department of Transportation had decided to hold campaign rallies for Strayhorn. It's not clear, however, that the opposition will turn into anything in the election. And do voters care about candidates' ties to people doing business with the state? Perry's criticized Strayhorn for taking contributions from tax consultants whose cases she decides. Bell and Strayhorn have been after Perry for highway and welfare contracts between the state and companies that employ former aides and allies of the governor.

9. Who's out there with late money, and is it big, and does it help?

Each of the four main gubernatorial candidates has some serious backing from one or more rich folks. But big money also shows up in House and Senate races, if you'll recall the noise from the March primaries. Eight-day campaign finance reports are due at the Texas Ethics Commission next week, and campaigns will have to show some of the cards they're holding.

10. What will turnout do, and who'll benefit?

It's boring, but it's critical. If it's unusually high or low, it could shake people. When voters are angry or worked up and want change, that's a potentially bad day for an incumbent. Low turnout? They might or might not be happy, but they won't make big changes in government sitting in that papasan chair at home.  A fun fact: If turnout is around 29 percent of voting age Texans and if the next governor gets, say, 40 percent of the vote, that person will be living in the Mansion and signing bills with the approval of one in eight adult Texans.

 

Gov. Rick Perry isn't attacking Carole Keeton Strayhorn on television, where he's been after Chris Bell. But you might find his opinion of the comptroller in your mailbox, where she appears just in time for Halloween in purple, black and white.

There's a copy of the full ad in our Files section.

Perry's swat at the Republican-turned-independent says "Carole Strayhorn will say anything to get elected," and says she's flip-flopped on abortion, appraisal caps, and her feelings about trial lawyers. The mailer accuses her of taking campaign contributions from people she regulated as a Texas Railroad Commissioner and from taxpayers and their reps now that she's the state's comptroller.

It closes with quotes about Strayhorn's flaws from a Houston Chronicle story (without mentioning that that same paper endorsed her over Perry). A spokesman for Strayhorn called several points in the ad misleading, saying it takes some of her positions out of context or leaves them unexplained to help make Perry's case.

Unlike the whacks at Bell, Perry's attack on Strayhorn is aimed at her, and not at the Republican voters the governor wants to motivate. And it began as polling started to show weakening in Kinky Friedman's independent campaign. Perry wants those voters to think twice before joining Carole. And as we noted in the item above about swing voters, he'd just as soon have them stay home. There's no pitch for Perry; in fact, his name appears only once on the four-page mailer, in a fine-print disclaimer next to the mailing label.

• Perry's new ad going after Bell is aimed at Republicans and conservatives. The announcer calls Bell a congressman three times — that's apparently a dirty word this cycle — and cites three different taxes where Bell's on the other side. The script:

"Why is Chris Bell lying about Gov. Perry's record? To cover up Bell's own votes to raise your taxes. Congressman Bell opposed an increase in the child tax credit. Bell now wants to raise your property taxes. Congressman Bell opposes any effort to protect homeowners from runaway property tax appraisals. Congressman Bell is so desperate to raise taxes, he even supports a new payroll tax on your job. Congressman Chris Bell; a Washington liberal Texans can't afford."

• One of Kinky Friedman's supporters put together a song and video that you can use as proof when you're telling friends that this isn't just a plain old Texas election. It's a plea to "Get up off your ass and vote," sung to the tune of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again."

In emails to supporters and others who've visited the website and signed up, the Friedman camp contends early voting is up dramatically in some parts of the state. They've been saying all along that if turnout is bigger than normal, that'll be good news for the independent writer and musician. Their line now: "Vote early, avoid the straight ticket, and take someone with you to the polls."

Oh, and they're making one more push for contributions to buy Friedman some TV time before November 7.

How the cash looks in the hot House races

The last week before the election will likely see more of the Accenture issue, the partly related Children's Health Insurance Program, and possibly some campaign noise about electric rates and coal plants. It's late, but those issues are in the political queue.

Democrat Chris Bell started the Accenture bit with ads raising questions about the awarding of a huge Health and Human Services Commission contract to that firm and to its relationships with former aides to Gov. Rick Perry. Next, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, wearing her comptroller hat instead of her candidate hat, issued a report on the contract and called on the state to dump it. The short version: HHSC is serving fewer kids in CHIP and Medicaid and has cost $100 million more than expected. Her report is in the form of a ten-page letter to the three state legislators who requested it. HHSC publicists say the state has withheld $100 million in payments, so the overruns haven't happened, and say the CHIP numbers were dropping before Accenture was on the scene.

In the meantime, a government employees union — SEIU — has started a television campaign aimed at politicians who voted to cut CHIP. It names no one, and never mentions a political party. It's running in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where four Republican state representatives are in tough or potentially tough fights: Toby Goodman of Arlington, Tony Goolsby of Dallas, Kirk England of Grand Prairie, and Bill Keffer of Dallas.

"Amanda can't vote. She's not old enough. She used to be in the Children's Health Insurance Program, but Austin politicians stripped her of those benefits. Her parents work full time but still can't afford to pay a doctor, so when Amanda's sick, she waits for hours in the emergency room. The politicians who cut her benefits don't wait with her. Amanda can't vote, but you can. This election, vote for candidates who will fight for our kids in Austin, not cut their health care. For Amanda and all Texas children."

The electric rates and plants story centers on Dallas-based TXU's request to build new coal-fueled electric plants. The company wants quick approval so it can meet demand; Environmental Defense and other groups say the company should use cleaner technology than it has proposed. With about a week to go, that's leaking into politics.

Gauntlets, rumors, weird things on the web, and Dewhurst lands in the middle of El Paso's Senate race. Again.

• The thinking back in March was that Republican congressional candidates in tough races — people like Henry Bonilla, Ron Paul, and Van Taylor — would have to answer questions about whether they'd support Tom DeLay for a leadership position in the U.S. House. That line of attack vaporized when DeLay quit Congress and dropped out of the race. And now that it appears possible that the Democrats could win control of the lower chamber of Congress, there's a flip. Taylor, the challenger to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, is pressing the incumbent to tell voters whether he'd support Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, for Speaker of the U.S. House. Edwards is treating it as an unanswerable hypothetical, so far.

• Debunko Squad: There's a rumor of a poll out there in the Guv's race that has been disowned by everybody who's touched it in the blog and journalism world. But it's made it into the stuff the Bell campaign is sending to supporters to get them psyched. The poll supposedly shows a five-point gap between Rick Perry and Chris Bell. But the firm that's supposed to have done it says it ain't so, and everybody else has walked it back. Most every poll we've seen — public and private — has them about ten points apart.

• Bell picked up the endorsement of the Texas branch of People for the American Way.

• The Perry camp added a "Grandma's Attic" feature to their website to have some fun with their attacks on Carole Keeton Strayhorn. It's at http://php.Perry06.com/attic. Turn down the sound on your computer before you go there — it might make you jump if you don't.

• Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is in the middle of El Paso's Senate race again — this time on his own account. Dewhurst told the El Paso Times that Sen. Eliot Shapleigh wasn't the reason the medical school there hasn't received full funding. That upends an argument being made by Republican Dee Margo, who's challenging the incumbent and blaming Shapleigh for the scarcity of operating money for a facility that's already been built. Dewhurst, who's also a Republican, apparently didn't mention Margo. But he said the Senate approved the funding, only to see it blocked in the House. (In round one, Shapleigh told a debate audience Dewhurst has promised him a spot on the Senate Finance Committee; Dewhurst, through aides, says the makeup of that panel hasn't been decided.) Dewhurst's remarks upset some local Republicans, but they got a shot at the real story — it was in the same paper when it happened.

• Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky is faster than the political editor at ABC News at typing on her Blackberry. And she put out a press release to say so, with a link to the video of her typing real fast on the device. We don't make these things up: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2606003.

A spoof from the Perry camp, a closer from Strayhorn, and back-and-forth in the hard-fought Wong-Cohen race in Houston.

• Gov. Rick Perry's got a radio spot that starts off sounding like a beer ad and goes for a laugh.

• Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn unveiled what looks like a "closer" ad to seal the deal with voters. She's telling them to vote against the parties to "shake Austin up."

• Rep. Martha Wong, R-Houston, is defending herself against a well-financed challenge from Democrat Ellen Cohen in HD-134. She's running this ad, in which a male actor does the voice of Cohen in an effort to draw a laugh and to paint the Democrat as a foreigner who wants to raise taxes.

A child custody dispute that made news two years ago is back, in the form of a letter of explanation from the assailed candidate's camp.Janice Heflin's letter — mailed by and on behalf of her husband's campaign — offers an explanation for an ugly dispute over a child that went to court two years ago. That issue probably aided in the upset of Appropriations Chairman Talmadge Heflin, R-Houston. And now that he's trying to win back the seat from Democrat Hubert Vo, the Heflins are resurrecting the issue.

Campaign finance reports for the month that ended on Saturday are in, and here's a quick glance at the gubernatorial candidates' books:

• Democrat Chris Bell raised $1.8 million, borrowed $1 million, spent $2.9 million, and had $84,106 on hand. His biggest benefactor was Houston attorney John O'Quinn, who contributed $1 million and signed as guarantor of a $1 million loan (before the report was filed, that had been widely reported here and elsewhere as a $2.5 million package; consider this report the campaign's correction of that fiction, and our apology for passing it on). Houston attorney Richard Laminack gave $100,000. Chris Mattsson of Austin gave $50,000. Mark Paran of Euless gave $34,400. And Bell had $25,000 contributions from a half-dozen folks, including Robert Bass of Fort Worth and Cecilia Boone of Dallas.

• Independent Kinky Friedman raised $1.1 million, spent $1.2 million and got to the end with $535,866 in the bank. Friedman got $350,000 from John McCall of Spicewood, $100,000 from Barbara Bowman of San Antonio, and an in-kind contribution for $60,000 in TV advertising from Willie Nelson of Spicewood. That's that Willie Nelson.

• Republican Rick Perry raised $2.6 million and had $2.9 million on hand. His biggest contribution — $500,000 — came from the Republican Governors Association PAC in Washington. Houston builder Bob Perry (no relation) gave $150,000. David Spencer of San Antonio gave 75,000, and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher of Houston gave $73,217. Perry had a stack of $50,000 donors: the Border Health PAC, Harlan Crow, Stevan Hammond, and Kenny Troutt of Dallas; James Pitcock Jr. of Houston, W. Rush of San Antonio, and Morton Topfer of Austin. Anheuser-Busch PAC gave $30,000, and he had ten contributors who gave $25,000, including former gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams Jr. and Dallas oilman T. Boone Pickens.

• Independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn raised $582,895 and ended with $421,386 in the bank. Her big contributors included George Ryan and others at his tax firm —Ryan & Co. — gave a total of $176,000. Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale of Houston gave $35,000. J.L. Davis of Midland and Will Farish of Hempstead each gave $25,000. State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, contributed $6,647 in airplane expenses. Strayhorn also got wings from the Williams-Bailey law firm in Houston, Austin developer John Needham, Ronald Snider of Marshall, Larry Long of Kilgore, Steve Sterquell of Amarillo, and Pinnergy Ltd. of Austin.

One week to go before Election Day. It might look like Halloween to the kids, but for political junkies, it's like the week before Christmas. There's a lot of frantic activity. Consultants are wrapping up their candidates, hoping voters will choose them in the booth. The candidates themselves are working as hard as elves on Christmas Eve. On Wednesday, November 8th, the morning after the election, we'll finally know who received lumps of coal in their stockings. (Hey, if Target can put Christmas decorations next to Halloween decorations, I can mix holidays too, can't I?)

* * * * *

The Big One

Houstopia thinks Gov. Rick Perry is in trouble: "Question: since apparently no one has been buying his message these last few months, why will things be any different now? Perry obviously senses he is in danger of losing this election. Look for him to go savagely negative against Bell."

Stop Kinky looked at some polls: "Perry is inescapably trapped near mid-30%, and he is vulnerable, and this fact is apparent no matter how you collect the data. Bell is the lone break-away challenger and has strong momentum as confirmed by all three polls and this status is also born out regardless of the data collection method. (Carole Keeton) Strayhorn seems destined for a third place finish, and (Richard "Kinky") Friedman is flushing out as every election analyst has predicted since day one."

Paul Burka at Texas Monthly's BurkaBlog reports on the latest Zogby poll that shows Democrat Chris Bell within eight points of Perry, but he says it appears Bell is chipping away at Strayhorn's support, not Perry's. "No less significant than Bell's surprisingly high percentage is that Perry's numbers continue to creep upward. I don't see any hope for Strayhorn, not just because of the number but also because of the failure of her campaign to develop any message other than Perry Stinks."

Evan at Rick Perry vs. The World has a transcript and a link to the audio of a radio ad the Perry campaign created about Bell. It's called "Mr. Way Too Liberal for Texas Guy." Evan said, ". . . it made me laugh and I was impressed at how many issues they managed to cram into one ad."

If this year's election season makes you nostalgic for the past, you've got to see a series of Perry commercials Pink Dome posted, dating back to his first campaign for Agriculture Commissioner. One common theme binds the ads throughout the years — riding a horse and wearing a cowboy hat must appeal to voters.

* * * * *

Help From On High

President George W. Bush returned to Texas to campaign for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, the Republican write-in candidate for CD-22. Mark, who writes a blog called The View from 22, was amused by the president's advice to voters: "Bush speaks in Sugar Land, tells the crowd to bring pencils into the voting booth with them to write-in Shelley. And he's dead serious. Nobody told him about eSlates. You could hear murmurs of uncomfortable laughter, and the look on Shelley's face was priceless."

* * * * *

Why They Voted That Way

Like the mainstream media, some blogs are coming out with endorsements and recommendations for voters. Lone Star Times, a conservative Houston-based site, is encouraging its readers to vote for Friedman for governor. David Benzion wrote, "The simple fact is that on a lot of issues Kinky is quite conservative — most notably on controlling the border, appraisal caps, the 'Trans-Texas Corridor' (of which we have diverse opinions at LST), prayer in school and — broadly speaking — the 'de-Wussification of Texas.'"

Timothy at Burnt Orange Report explains why he voted for Bell instead of his first choice, Friedman. "He is the only candidate, besides the Libertarian (James) Werner, who doesn't insult the voter's intelligence with lies and/or too many jokes and/or slogans. Kinky has no practical experience in politics beyond campaigning, and Chris Bell does, so Bell would most likely be more effective than Kinky would."

* * * * *

Going Postal

T.J. Shroat analyzed a piece of direct mail that landed in his mailbox for readers of In The Pink Texas. It criticized Independent candidate for governor Carole Keeton Strayhorn and was paid for by "Texans For Rick Perry." Shroat said, "Why are Perry supporters going to the trouble of attacking Strayhorn two weeks before the election? Whether you support the current empty suit or you think one million Jewish cowboys are going to materialize and vote for Kinky or you think every black person in Texas is going to vote for Bell, we can all probably agree that Strayhorn is going to finish in back of the pack with the Libertarian candidate (weather vane shill) and Andy Brown (write-in)."

Ed. note: Andy Brown (if you're not from Austin) is a favorite punch line on In The Pink Texas after his candidacy for state representative.

* * * * *

Lights. . . Camera. . .

Several blogs picked up a report by WFAA-TV in Dallas alleging that Attorney General Greg Abbott improperly used state equipment and employees to create campaign commercials. Perry Dorrell of Brains and Eggs said, "I can't really add any outrage to this except to ask, 'Have you had enough?'" After the blogs added fuel, papers started picking up the TV station's story.

* * * * *

Vo-Heflin II: Vote Now and Save

Houston-based Lone Star Times reported on former state representative/now a challenger Talmadge Heflin's claim that the Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinity, Inc. was handing out coupons to individuals after they left the voting booth, allegedly to favor incumbent Rep. Hubert Vo. A judge quickly put a stop to the practice. "If the Heflin-Vo race proves to be a close one," Jeremy Weidenhof said, "this incident could result in a contentious post-election battle over the results."

* * * * *

Off Most Radar Screens

Bay Area Houston, which has been hounding Republican incumbent Rep. John Davis, R-Houston, like a (insert Texas colloquialism or favorite Dan Rather phrase), covered a debate between Davis and his Democratic challenger, Sherrie Matula that was organized by the Clear Lake High School debate club. Two lines by blogger John Cobarruvius sum it up: "All in all, Davis sounded good but was short on substance. Sherrie had a clear understanding of every issue." But read the whole thing if you want more detail.

* * * * *

Visions of Sugar Plums

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex was encouraged by a Houston Chronicle story that said Speaker Tom Craddick may be in trouble if a handful of incumbents lose on Election Night. "Personally, I'm at the point where I believe that if we pick off Gene Seaman, then Craddick's ship is sunk," Leibowitz said. "If we add Goodman and Wong to that list, then we can officially start calling him 'Titanic Tom.'"

* * * * *

They Must Not Be From Here

CNET News, a technology news service, came up with a collection of "Worst Political Websites." Only one Texan made the list, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, because she has a margarita recipe on her website.

We think a margarita recipe is just good constituent service. You want atrocious? "Indiana Bob" fully deserves to be on the list.

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Robyn Hadley cherry-picks the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. Robyn, a veteran of both journalism and the state Capitol, is the owner of Capitol Crowd, a networking site for people who work in and around state government. The opinions she quotes belong to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Robyn at robyn@capitolcrowd.com, or to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey, at ramsey@texasweekly.com.

One pollster. Two polls. Two clients. Two methodologies. Two results.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, seeking reelection, is still dominating the polls. The latest from The Wall Street Journal/Zogby: Hutchison 55 percent; Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, 36 percent. The Libertarian is pulling big numbers for someone from his party; Scott Jameson is at 6.4 percent. Overall, that's a big improvement for Radnofsky, but the survey still has her 19 points back with a week to go.

In the race for Guv, that same polls has Republican Rick Perry at 37 percent, Democrat Chris Bell at 29 percent, independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn at 15 percent, independent Kinky Friedman at 14 percent, and Libertarian James Werner at 2 percent. This survey was done October 23-27, and has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points.

A Zogby poll done for and published by the Houston Chronicle and KHOU-TV had the governor's race at Perry, 38 percent; Bell, 22 percent; Strayhorn, 21 percent; Friedman, 11 percent; and Werner, 1 percent.

The Senate race in that survey looked like this: Hutchison, 61 percent; Radnofsky, 27 percent, and Jameson, 5 percent.

The Chronicle/KHOU poll was done October 23-25, and had a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points.

The Chronicle's poll was done with phone calls; the Journal's with a combination of online and phone surveying. Zogby told the paper (for its Texas Politics blog) that the online survey polls more partisan voters, while the telephone survey aims at likely voters. Different pools yielded different results. He also said the interactive (online) poll might be "a slightly better predictor" because the people surveyed have made up their minds, while the traditional poll includes more undecided voters and those whose support for a particular candidate is "soft." His finale: "We stand by both polls."

Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, was the target of mailers from the Planned Parenthood of North Texas Action Fund, the political action committee affiliated with that national group's regional chapter there.

This radio ad, aimed at Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, has her calling Perry a sexist who's making gender part of his closing attack on her.

The Rick Perry campaign has another knock-off of the beer ads you hear on the radio. This one's a shot at Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and keys off a report from the State Auditor that raised questions about her taking money from taxpayers and their representatives while deciding their tax cases before the state. Like a previous ad swatting Chris Bell, this one's running on Texas radio stations. The script: Singer: "Real feats of corruption." Announcer: "Today we salute you, Mrs. Corrupt Comptroller Politician Woman." Singer: "Mrs. Corrupt Comptroller Politician Woman." Announcer: "Only you, Carole Strayhorn, could take $300,000 from your top tax consultant contributor, grant them a $50 million payday and claim you knew nothing about it." Singer: "A crazy coinky-dink!" Announcer: "When contributors come calling, tax refunds come falling. Comptroller Strayhorn, you didn’t just give one refund to a contributor. No, you did it thirty-six hundred times." Singer: "That’s a whole lotta coinky-dinks!" Announcer: "And when the state auditor told you to stop taking tax-tainted contributions, you went ahead and took a million dollars more." Singer: "Not that anyone is counting." Announcer: "So here’s to you Carole Strayhorn. You not only sold your office — you did it 3,600 times." Singer: "Mrs. Corrupt Comptroller Politician Woman."

It's been a while, but remember that poll that said a Republican should be able to beat a Democrat in CD-22? The assumption then was that Democrat Nick Lampson had a huge advantage over Republican Shelley Sekula-Gibbs because his name would be on the ballot and hers wouldn't. Polls still show that race is tight — the Houston Chronicle says it's a statistical tie — and the ballot thing is still the big question in the race for former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's seat. All other things being equal, it's GOP turf. But all other things aren't equal. Sekula-Gibbs' campaign has focused almost exclusively on tutorials on how to vote for her in the special election where her name appears and Lampson's doesn't, and how to write her in for the full term, where his name appears and hers does not. That's a big hurdle, and pollsters tell us there's no really great way for them to figure out how many points it's worth.

• Roll Call — a newspaper that covers federal government and politics — bought Austin-based Gallery Watch, an Internet-based company that tracks legislative and regulatory goings-on in Austin and Washington. They didn't disclose the price.

• Republican Van Taylor got a cabinet member in for a joint appearance with a week to go in his challenge to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco. But you have to wonder about the visitor's name ID in Texas and in CD-17: It's Carlos Gutierrez, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, the former chairman and CEO of Kellogg. He's been in that federal gig for almost two years, replacing Texan Don Evans in that post.

• This is getting suspicious: About a week before the 2004 election, Judge Bob Pemberton's wife, Becky, delivered their first child. And she's done it again, eight days before this election (again), giving birth to Harrison Yates Pemberton.

• Cindy Gonzalez, a former advisor to Gov. Rick Perry on higher education issues, endorsed Democratic Chris Bell over her former boss, saying rapid tuition deregulation has put college out of reach for some Texans.

• Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott took a political hit for using video shot by his state staff in political ads to promote his reelection. Democrat David Van Os — the Democrat trying to wrest the seat away — says it's a violation of state law. Abbott contends it's kosher.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn responds, on TV, to recent mail and radio swipes she's taken from Gov. Rick Perry.

David Dewhurst, defending the Lite Guv post against nearly invisible opposition, has been keeping his advertising folks busy. Two recent offerings from the Dewhurst camp:

In the mailbox the same day:

We stole that line from the accountants who present the books of big corporations, but it fits. Herewith, some interesting tidbits from the candidates' 8-day and telegram reports (The first is required for anyone in the November elections; telegram reports list contributions received during the last week of a campaign).

• Associated Republicans of Texas gave Kirby Hollingsworth $21,100. The Republican Party of Texas kicked in $35,104 for direct mail and other campaign expenses. Together, the two groups accounted for 91 percent of the money he raised in October.

• Republican Larry Durrett paid $447,841 to Anthem Media during October to produce and air his television commercials.  That's extraordinary spending in a House race, particularly in one that's not in a major television market. He spent another $29,444 on campaign mailers, and gave $13,200 for "mailing" to the Texas Right to Life PAC. On the other side of race, Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, was spending big with Rindy Miller Media, writing checks totaling $328,266 — also huge for a House race — during the month for broadcast ads.

• Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi, filed a telegram report this week that included $47,497 in contributions — more than many House candidates raise in a month or more. Houston builder Bob Perry gave $30,000.

• Perry also showed up on a telegram report from Republican Senate candidate Dee Margo of El Paso, who got $10,000 from Perry.

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform sent Talmadge Heflin $30,000 after the 8-day reports.

• George Antuna's telegram report for November 1 shows a $65,000 media buy on his behalf paid for by James Leininger.

In October, Texans for Lawsuit Reform dwarfed most (but not all) other political action committees.

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform raised $988,683, spent $1,298,657 and ended October with $398,170 on hand. Their big donors were James Leininger of San Antonio, $365,000; Bob McNair and Richard Weekley of Houston, who each gave $100,000; Michael Stevens of Houston, $42,000; and at the $25,000 level, three Houstonians: Stevan Hammond, Michael Manners, and John Speer.

The group supported a mess of candidates in October, but some got astonishing amounts of money and help: Bill Welch of Austin, $321,513; Jody Anderson of Lufkin, $230,076; George Antuna of San Antonio, $164,666; Michael Esparza of Alice, $131,568; and Jim Landtroop of Plainview, $124,500. That's two challengers and three open seats. Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi, got $75,000 from TLR. Former Rep. Talmadge Heflin, R-Houston, got $44,015. Rep. Bill Keffer, R-Dallas, got $27,958, in effect: about half in contributions and half in mail attacking his opponent, Allen Vaught. A dozen more candidates got $20,000 or less from the group. 

• The Stars Over Texas PAC raised $687,039, spent $818,758, and had $188,359 left a week before Election Day. Their candidate list includes some incumbents and some open-seat Republicans, including the late Rep. Glenda Dawson, $15,000; and Reps. Tuffy Hamilton of Mauriceville, $25,000; Gene Seaman of Corpus Christi, $182,268; Toby Goodman of Arlington, $45,000; Tony Goolsby of Dallas, $25,000; Kirk England of Grand Prairie, $10,000; Bill Keffer of Dallas, $45,000; and Martha Wong of Houston, $43,197. The non-officeholders on the list include Bill Welch of Austin, $185,000; Jimmie Don Aycock of Killeen, $5,000; Jim Landtroop of Plainview, $150,000; George Antuna of San Antonio, $55,000; and Susan King of Abilene, $22,500. The amounts include contributions as well as money spent on behalf of the candidates.

The group had a large number of $10,000 contributors. The political action committee of Grande Communications gave $25,000, as did the PAC Ryan & Co., the Dallas-based tax consultancy that's been making headlines as a contributor to Carole Keeton Strayhorn in the governor's race. That same PAC gave Stars $50,000 in September, as did House Speaker Tom Craddick and Houston homebuilder Bob Perry. San Antonio's James Leininger was the biggest donor in October, giving $135,000. Houston's Bob McNair was next, at $100,000.

• The Texas 20/20 PAC spent $95,000 on Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville; $15,000 on Rep. David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls; $10,000 on Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin; $15,000 on Mark Homer, D-Paris; and $15,000 on Robby Cook, D-Eagle Lake.

The contributors included Houston's Bob Perry, $25,000 and Dallas City Limits LLC, which has been advocating expansion of the state's gambling laws, $25,000. 

• Associated Republicans of Texas is out in force this year after falling into the second tier of PACs in the last couple of elections. They brought in $394,023 in October, spent $478,570, and still had $114,392 at the end of the month. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who's been collecting and spending on his own campaign this year, gave $10,000 to ART. James Leininger gave $275,000, dominating the report. Bob Perry contributed $25,000.

The beneficiaries? George Antuna, R-San Antonio, $50,000; Jeff Fleece of Austin, $10,000; Jody Anderson of Lufkin, $50,000; Joe McComb of Corpus Christi, $10,000; Kirby Hollingsworth of Mt. Vernon, $20,100; Larry Durrett of Jacksonville, $10,000; Michael Esparza of Alice, $50,000; Nelson Balido of San Antonio, $60,000; Shirley Craft of Wichita Falls, $35,100; Sylvia Spivey of Houston (running against Rep. Scott Hochberg in HD-137), $8,000; Talmadge Heflin of Houston, $10,000; and Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington, $130,100.

• The Republican Party of Texas spent $406,054 during October, bringing in $289,332 and ending with $275,542 to play with. Bob Perry gave $150,000. James Leininger was there with $50,000. Boone Pickens of Dallas gave $25,000. The Texas Friends of Time Warner Cable gave $25,000 (there's a phone vs. cable fight brewing in the Legislature).

The party spent $246,267 at Arlington-based Murphy Turner & Associates for direct mail for candidates and the party itself. The beneficiaries of those and other mailings included Shirley Craft of Wichita Falls, $21,238; Bill Welch of Austin, $14,429; Kirby Hollingsworth of Mt. Vernon, $33,095; Joe McComb of Corpus Christi, $15,460; Larry Durrett of Jacksonville, $17,181; Michael Esparza of Alice, $24,552; Talmadge Heflin of Houston, $32,799; and Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington, $24,170.

• The House Democratic Campaign Committee brought in $306,000, spent $418,920, and had $99,892 on hand at the time of their 8-day report. They spent $92,438 according to a telegram report filed later, but that noted only the vendor and not any candidates who might be direct beneficiaries. Most of the incoming money came from the Texas Democratic Trust, which gave $239,500.

The HDCC's favored candidates include Allen Vaught of Dallas, $5,000; Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville, $14,500; David Farabee of Wichita Falls, $14,500; Ellen Cohen of Houston, $10,500; Harriett Miller of Dallas, $16,000; Hubert Vo of Houston, $9,500; Jim McReynolds, $5,000; Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, $7,000; Joe Farias of San Antonio, $14,500; Joe Heflin of Crosbyton, $14,500; Juan Garcia of Corpus Christi, $15,500; Mark Homer of Paris, $9,500; Paula Hightower Pierson of Arlington, $17,100; Valinda Bolton of Austin, $14,500; and Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles of Alice, $7,000. They spent $54,236 with Austin-based Jeff Crosby Direct Mail, and $172,613 with Washington, D.C.-based Mammen Pritchard for direct mail, but their report didn't specify which candidates benefited.

• The Texas Democratic Party brought in $197,110 in contributions, spent $226,905 and had $129,304 on hand with a week to go. Half was from the Texas Democratic Trust. The Dallas County Democratic Party gave $15,000; and the Texas Values in Action PAC gave $35,000.

The party's biggest single expenditure was to something called the Texas Litigation Fund, based in Washington, D.C. That's got the same address as the Lone Star Fund and the Lone Star Project, all started by Matt Angle, a Democratic consultant long involved in Texas politics and a leader in current efforts to turn the party's fortunes around in Texas.

• Annie's List raised $87,475 and spent $155,792, ending the month with $110,769 on hand. That PAC's focused on helping five Democratic women: Harriett Miller of Dallas, $28,500; Paula Hightower Pierson of Arlington, $33,500; Kristi Thibaut of Houston, $11,000; Valinda Bolton of Austin, $47,000; and Ellen Cohen of Houston, $11,000.

• The Texas Parent PAC, created this year to support anti-voucher candidates of both parties, raised $180,011, spent $187,496 and ended with $23,888. Their biggest contributor was Charles Butt, who gave $135,000 in October. Joseph Phillips of Mission gave $25,000. They list 20 candidates they support, but two got most of their financial attention: $83,763 for Juan Garcia of Corpus Christi, and $25,975 to Joe Farias of San Antonio.

• Texans for Insurance Reform, a trial lawyer PAC, raised $405,380, spent $412,300 and had $75,885 at the end of the month. Big contributions came from Provost & Umphrey of Beaumont, $100,000; Brent Coon & Associates of Beaumont, $50,000; Clark Depew & Tracy of Houston, $25,000;  Johnson Burnet & Chang of Houston, $25,000; and the Law offices of E. Todd Tracy in Dallas, $25,000. Their biggest beneficiary was Valinda Bolton of Austin, $70,343, followed by Joe Farias of San Antonio, $67,033; Joe Heflin of Crosbyton, $48,511; Hubert Vo of Houston, 41,452; Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles of Alice, $34,800; Allen Vaught of Dallas, $33,829; and Juan Garcia of Corpus Christi, $32,008.

• Corpus Christi's Good Government PAC is funded almost entirely by the Watts Law Firm. They've been trying to help Juan Garcia unseat Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi. A telegram report filed in the last week had them spending $14,904 on mail attacking Seaman at the same time they were spending $12,500 on a "voter contact program" on Garcia's behalf. It also said they were spending $2,500 on Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, who's in a battle to hold his seat. The PAC brought in $325,000 in October — all from Mikal Watts' firm, spent $339,211 and ended with $5,950. All but $64,000 of their spending in October was directed for Garcia or against Seaman.

Add Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, to the Legislative Budget Board. He'll replace Vilma Luna, who quit the Lege to become a lobbyist.

Peggy Romberg will retire in December after 26 years with the Women's Health and Family Planning Association of Texas and will be replaced by Fran Hagerty, who they describe as someone with a long history of non-profit management.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed David Wellington Chew of El Paso as chief justice of the 8th Court of Appeals. Chew, a Democrat, is already on that court and on the ballot for the post he's already got. He'll be on the ballot for chief next time around. The governor named Kenneth Carr to Chew's spot. He's an attorney and another El Pasoan.

Lisa Hughes is half-joining The Eppstein Group in their Austin offices and half-soloing. Hughes will keep her telecom and other private clients, but will also join the Fort Worth-based firm to help rep some of its non-telecom clients. She'll work out of their offices.

Harvey Kronberg, the proprietor of what we refer to around here as Brand Q, has signed a deal with the Washington, D.C.-based National Journal to include his Quorum Report in a national package of state political news sites led by The Hotline — the National Journal's daily digest of politics around the U.S.

Terry Franks, legislative director for Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, is leaving that post to work for "incoming Sen. Dan Patrick," R-Houston. He'll remain in Estes' office until the new boss is elected, assuming that happens.

Houston City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado is the new president of the Texas Municipal League's board. That'll put her in the middle of the battle over appraisal and revenue caps next session. Some lawmakers want caps on local governments; the locals want the state to stay out of their business.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees apparently wants nothing to do with his mom's campaign for the state's 3rd Court of Appeals. Democrat Mina Brees is running against Republican David Puryear, and had an ad up saying she's the sister of former University of Texas quarterback Marty Akins and the mother of the Saint's quarterback. It included pictures of the two athletes.

But she got a letter from her son — which is now being forwarded around in Republican press releases — demanding she cease and desist from using his name and likeness in her ads. The letter, from an attorney with the company that represents him, ends with a threat of legal action: "should you and your campaign fail to comply with the terms of this letter, Mr. Brees will be forced to explore all available remedies, both at law and inequity against you and your campaign. Govern yourself accordingly." 

Dr. Mike McKinney, the former legislator, chief of staff to the governor, head of state health and human services, lobbyist, and football-inspired whacker of Texas Tech fans, is the new chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. The board of regents there picked McKinney to replace Robert McTeer, who's leaving in a couple of months. McKinney's not an alum, but his sons Sean and Seth — now professional football players — attended school and played football for A&M. Dr. McKinney is currently the chief operating officer at the UT Health Science Center at Houston; he's been in various jobs in the UT System since 2002. He's the sole finalist for the chancellor job; it'll be a done deal before the end of the year.

Lobbyist Jeff Clark joins the Texas wing of the American Electronics Association as director of public and legislative affairs.

Appointments: Gov. Rick Perry named Patrick Pirtle of Amarillo to the 7th Court of Appeals. Pirtle, currently a district judge there, will replace Don Reavis, who retired earlier this year. Pirtle's already on the ballot (without opposition) for that spot; the appointment covers the remainder of Reavis' term.

Recovering: Democratic political consultant Ed Martin, after a heart attack in Chicago. Friends say all signs are good at this point.

Dave Lieber at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a new gubernatorial candidate, and the kid shows some promise. . . The video for Austin James Lieber, candidate for governor.Link here.

The biggest names in Texas politics? Leininger, Perry (the other one), Butt, and Baron

• Dr. James Leininger of San Antonio continues to be a financial wellspring for Texas conservatives. He gave $1,040,908 in October, to Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the Republican Party of Texas, Stars Over Texas, Associated Republicans of Texas (details below) and to some candidates: Talmadge Heflin of Houston, $83,000; Michael Esparza of Alice, $50,000, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, $50,000; and Nelson Balido of San Antonio, $15,000. Leininger and his wife Cecilia Leininger have contributed $4,747,453 so far this year, according to records at the Texas Ethics Commission.

• Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his wife, Doylene Perry, have given $4,409,000 to political causes this year, including $718,500 since the late September 30-day reports were filed. Their biggest donations were to Gov. Rick Perry and the Republican Party of Texas; they wrote $150,000 checks to each. Houston Senate candidate Dan Patrick got $50,000. James Landtroop of Plainview and Gene Seaman of Corpus each got $40,000. George Antuna of San Antonio and the Harris County GOP each got $30,000.

• Charles Butt, CEO of the HEB Grocery Co. in San Antonio, gave at least $237,500 during October, according to campaign finance reports that have been put online by the Texas Ethics Commission. The beneficiaries include the Texas Parent PAC, $135,000; Stars Over Texas PAC, $5,000; Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville; Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, $25,000; $10,000 each to Reps. Robby Cook, D-Eagle Lake, Mark Homer, D-Paris, and Hubert Vo, D-Houston; and smaller amounts to a handful of House and State Board of Education candidates.

• The Texas Democratic Trust brought in $415,000 and spent $419,974, leaving $6,155 in the bank. Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron contributed $335,000. Russell Budd, cofounder of the Baron & Budd law firm in Dallas, gave $80,000. Those two accounted for all the money that came in during October. During the July-September period, the trust brought in $460,000, all but $25,000 of it from Baron. The other donor was Bernard Rapoport of Waco. While we're on a roll, the first half of the year saw $780,000 in donations, including $655,000 from Baron, $100,000 from Budd, and $12,500 each from Amy Fikes and Lee Fikes of Dallas. If you weren't adding along the way, Baron has given $1,425,000 to the trust so far this year; Budd's tab is at $180,000. If you add in Baron's contributions to other candidates and PACs, his total for the year is $1,479,560.

Their report shows $264,500 in contributions to the HDCC in October — $25,000 more than HDCC reported receiving. Watch the telegram reports for that check. The trust gave $95,500 to the Texas Democratic Party, and $28,140 to the Texas Progress Council PAC.