Joe Jaworski says now that his campaign isn't worried about funds received from Dallas lawyer Fred Baron, isn't returning it or donating the money, and that the reason for the mixup is that one of the Galveston Democrat's campaign consultants got it wrong when telling us about it.

So the check that he wrote for cancer research at the University of Texas Medical Branch has nothing to do with the check he received for the same amount from Baron, Jaworski says, and he's got no problem taking the Dallas attorney's money.

"I was happy to take his money in 2007 and I daresay I spent it fairly quickly," Jaworski says. "I would accept it again. Fred Baron is a good Democrat and his heart is in the right place."

Jaworski, who's running for the Texas Senate, is one of two legislative candidates who received direct contributions from Baron in this campaign cycle; most of Baron's donations go to Democratic groups and political action committees.

Earlier, a campaign consultant had sought us out to make sure we knew that the Monday check to UTMB was a result of stories describing Baron's help to former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. Baron told The Dallas Morning News last week that he paid to relocate a woman with whom Edwards had an affair during his campaign, as well as another campaign worker who now claims to be the father of that woman's child.

Republicans have started pushing Democratic candidates to disavow the money now that Baron has been tied to Edwards' problems. Jaworski says he's not going to do that.

We mentioned Jaworski and Carol Kent of Dallas in earlier reports as a couple of legislative Democratic candidates who got money directly from Baron in this election cycle. We left out a few state candidates with competition, to wit: Jim Jordan, challenging Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, $5,000; Emil Reichstadt, who's running against Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, $2,500; Chris Turner, challenging Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, $5,000; and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who's trying to fend off Republican Louis Bruni Jr., $2,500. Out of harm's way, at least in November, but on Baron's list: Reps. Rafael Anchia of Dallas, $2,500; Jim Dunnam of Waco, $2,500; and Richard Raymond of Laredo, $5,000; and Sen. Royce West of Dallas, $5,000.

This week, bloggers in Denver for the Democratic National Convention wrote so much that we could barely keep up. We've highlighted what we thought were the best posts — if you want to see everything they wrote, click on the names of the blogs. In related news, bloggers are also paying attention to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, just starting, while just one blog attends the alternative gathering across town held by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson. And some bloggers don't get to go any conventions at all, but that doesn't stop them from churning out copy.

* * * * *

Colorado Kool-Aid

Texas Observer Blog : Says nearly no one showed up for the Rural Council Caucus. Listened to former Rep. Charlie Wilson speak out against war at an event sponsored by Lockheed Martin at Denver's Hard Rock Cafe.

Texas Blue : Posts video of the convention's best speeches.

Tex Parte Blog : Says that Fred Baron says he didn't know the John Edwards was cheating on his wife. Here's what they saw at the beginning of the convention.

In the Pink Texas : Danced as if she were Hillary Clinton and posted the footage on YouTube. Then she did it again. In between the bouts of dancing, Pink Lady posted at her other blog, Texas Monthly's Poll Dancing .

Houtopia : Had to blog quickly about the second and third days of the DNCC.

Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac : Contended Barack Obama had 10 things to accomplish at the convention. Assessed the presidential campaign state-by-state. Takes photos at breakfast. Reported that AT&T paid a lot for parties. Listed Obama's Texan pals. Said U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, implemented a "no Mohawk" policy for his kids. Created a podcast on the state of the presidential race. Said the Texas House Speaker race reached Denver. Hosted guest bloggers like young person Grace Powell (here, here and here) and Houston delegate Terrel Shepherd. Gave out awards for best political buttons here and here. And got Obama girl Amber Lee Ettinger to star in a couple of videos for the blog, here and here.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram's PoliTex : Talked to two Tarrant County Hispanics for Obama. Got a quote from Cyndi Lauper. Interviewed a nonagenarian delegate. Read that former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes took a letter meant for Obama from Iraqi veterans. Said Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, got emotional about Obama's nomination. Didn't smell any funny stuff at Invesco, despite being surrounded by Democrats. And, spoke with one of U.S. Sen. Clinton's best Texan friends.

El Paso Times' Vaqueros & Wonkeros : Got " this close " to Dan Rather.

Dallas Morning News's Trail Blazers : Directed readers to a picture gallery by staff photographers. Wrote about breakfast. Posted the 57-page party platform. Said U.S. Sen. Chuck Shumer of New York didn't know what elected position senatorial hopeful Rick Noriega holds (not a good sign for the Houston state rep). Reported that the song "Addicted to Love" began playing soon after former Pres. Bill Clinton exited the stage. And criticized "the wors[t] fireworks show ever."

Capitol Annex : Snagged the full text of remarks by Cecile Richards, the daughter of former Gov. Ann Richards. Also listened to a speech by U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes.

Burnt Orange Report : Was there for days One, Two, Three and Four. Click here to watch eight videos from Denver. And here's some multimedia.

BurkaBlog : Says the first day of the convention was a waste. Thinks Clinton successfully stole the spotlight with her speech. Posts that Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, "looked and sounded great" on PBS talking about Obama.

Austin American-Statesman's Postcards from the Lege : Had three " John Sharp moments " in Denver. Said U.S. Senate candidate Noriega showed up late in Denver because he had to drop his son off at school. Learned what happens when anarchists confront a traffic light. Recorded remarks on Clinton and Obama by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston. Cut in front of the poor plebes to find a press entrance to a packed Invesco Field. And reported that Texas Democrats got really good seats for Obama's speech.

ABC 13's Houston Political Blog : Spotted state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, wearing what appears to be some sort of wetsuit. Found Clinton supporters who will vote for McCain. And here's a post summing up the week's activities.

A Capitol Blog : Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, met AFL-CIO co-founder Dolores Huerta at the DNC. Bloggers played a prominent role at the convention. And here's a photo of Invesco Field filling up with folks.

* * * * *

St. Paul Girls (and Guys)

Trail Blazers: Profiled a young GOP delegate. Has further proof that U.S. Rep. Pete Session, R-Dallas, "likes to get down." Kept an eye on National Guard troops, who've been busy thus far battling anarchists and protestors.

Potomac: Said getting inside the GOP convention was almost like Spinal Tap. Listed McCain's Texan advisers. Twittered. Hosted guest bloggers like Katy delegate Michael A. Franks and young person Zoe Schwartz. Did a photo essay on Texas GOP delegates. And highlighted GOP political buttons.

Postcards: Heard from U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, that Hutchison is running for governor in 2010. Posted a Republican fight song. Said that each Texas delegate got a cowboy hat. Talked to a Paul supporter fighting the "fairness doctrine." And, went to a breakfast keynoted by First Lady Laura Bush.

PoliTex: Said Texas Republicans got much nicer convention digs than their blue counterparts. Informed readers that U.S. Sen. John Cornyn talked to GOP delegates at a Monday breakfast and then went back to Texas. Heard from the First Lady that Palin is "tough" and is a "reformer." And, conversed with a really conservative Texan about McCain's picking of Palin.

Patriot Writer : Said there's a civil war going on in the GOP. Thinks TV personality Greta Van Susteren was being rude during a talk by Barry Goldwater Jr. And predicted that the younger Paul supporters will eventually gain control of the GOP.

Observer: Reported that the first day of the GOP convention was "underwhelming."

Austin Chronicle's Newsdesk: Noted the music preceding John McCain's announcement of Palin as his running mate — "Van Halen's "Right Now," from their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge."

* * * * *

Letters from (Ron) Paul to the Republicans

PoliTex: Took a photo of a billboard for Paul. And wrote that some Paul supporters are splitting time between the two functions.

* * * * *

No Place Like Home

Libertarian Republican: Posts video of Alex Jones (of Infowars.com and Austin public access television fame) haranguing conservative pundit Michelle Malkin.

KVUE's Political Junkie: Took video of an Obama watch party in Austin.

Half Empty: Took pictures of a Fort Bend Democrats watch party.

Election Law Blog: Sent out a memo that National Public Radio has a new project on 527s, et al.

Castle Hills Democrat: Posted a "word cloud" of Obama's DNC speech.

Blue Dot Blues: Livebloged Obama's speech.

Blogs of War: Followed the Democratic convention via Twitterati member Alice_H.

BeldarBlog: Compiled an index of entries on the Alaskan governor.

Our Headline of the Week goes to North Texas Conservative who commits an unintentional double entendre by titling a post, "McCain Tags Palin."

---

This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is semi-settled in Austin. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.

Two late entrants — a Democrat and a Republican — signed up at the deadline for the SD-17 contest to replace Kyle Janek — one of them prompting a lawsuit in the process.

That's one of three special elections on the November ballot, and the only one that'll determine a term of more than a few weeks. Janek, a Houston Republican, resigned earlier this summer. The race for the remaining two years of his term now includes four Republicans and two Democrats.

And one of the Democrats, Chris Bell, filed suit challenging the residency of the other, Stephanie Simmons, saying she voted in Harris County in March but said on her candidate forms that she has lived in Fort Bend County for at least 11 months. Her voting record, according to Bell, has been tied to a Harris County address for at least 14 years. More to the point, the Fort Bend address is in the Senate district and the Harris County address is not. That, according to Bell's suit, is a disqualifier that ought to knock her off the special election ballot. Simmons didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

That would make him the only Democrat in the race, which also features Republicans Austen Furse, Grant Harpold, Joan Huffman, and Ken Sherman (the other late entrant). Unlike the general election races on the same day, this will go to a runoff if no candidate breaks 50 percent on Election Day.

State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky set a hearing on all that for Monday in Austin.

The other two specials are for House seats and the winners will hold them only until new legislative terms begin in January. Still, they could get a small edge over the rest of the freshman class if they win — an edge that could result in stuff like better furniture, parking spaces and offices. And if you don't think that matters in a body formed on pecking orders, you've never watched chickens.

In HD-81, Republican Tryon Lewis of Odessa is the only candidate who signed up for the special election. He defeated the late Rep. George "Buddy" West in the March GOP primary. West, who was already ailing at the time, died several weeks later. Lewis is on the ballot for the general election, too, running against Libertarian Elmo Hockman of Odessa.

And in HD-55, where Rep. Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple, resigned, three candidates will compete for the remaining weeks of her term. That field includes R. "Danny" Daniel, an independent; Sam Murphey, a Democrat; and Ralph Sheffield, a Republican. Daniel isn't in the regular election for that seat, which will be held the same day and will determine the winner of a full term in the seat. And Chris Lane, the Libertarian on the general election ballot, didn't sign up for the special.

An Austin judge set a post-election trial date for the Texas Association of Business, which is accused of illegal electioneering in two dozen 2002 legislative races. The timing could have an effect in this year's elections, as almost a dozen candidates have their names on this year's ballots and also in the indictments.

The case, winding through the courts for the last six years, is over TAB's efforts on behalf of Republican legislative candidates that year. The business group's political action committee issued a slew of mailings touting those candidates and/or criticizing their opponents, and they used corporate money doing so. TAB's lawyers say the advertising was legal "educational material" that didn't direct voters what to do with the information. Prosecutors contend the adverts were intended to influence the election and, because corporate money was used, were illegal.

It's hard to tell whether that's good or bad news for the candidates whose names have been linked — directly or indirectly — to the case. But some of their opponents are already teeing up on the names listed in the latest version of the indictment. None are charged — they're just listed, by name, as the candidates TAB was assisting in that election six year ago. Still, that's enough content for political mail.

The first such shot is from Democrat Ernie Casbeer of Oglesby, who's challenging Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville. Miller's one of the candidates who benefitted from (but like the others, isn't accused of coordinating his efforts with) TAB. Here's the headline on a recent press release from the Democrat's camp: "Sid Miller Named In Criminal Indictment For Illegal Campaign Cash." We haven't seen other mailers, but there are several current officeholders in the list of 24 candidates TAB helped in 2002: Reps. Betty Brown of Terrell, Mike Hamilton of Mauriceville, Dan Flynn of Van, Bryan Hughes of Mineola, Byron Cook of Corsicana, Miller, Wayne Christian of Center, Larry Taylor of Friendswood, Rick Hardcastle of Vernon, Bill Zedler of Arlington, and Sen. Bob Deuell of Greenville (who's not on the ballot this year). The rest of the candidates on the list have either left the Legislature or never got in.

That trial is tentatively set for November 10, a date that takes the court out of the election cycle while leaving the issue right in the middle of it. While there won't be a trial to muddy the campaign season, there won't be a verdict that could possibly clear (or sink) everyone involved before voters do their business.

Auditors found holes in the payrolls of some of the biggest state agencies.

Five Health and Human Services agencies: Department of Aging and Disability Services, Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Family and Protective Services, Department of State Health Services, and the Health and Human Services Commission.

Five numbers: 5.77 percent, 7.31 percent, 10.09 percent, 2.95 percent, and 6.55 percent.

Connect those lists respectively and you have the percentage of terminated employees who were overpaid in each of those agencies in fiscal years 2007 and 2008, according to the State Auditor's Office.

The agencies employ around 50,000 people and have a combined annual payroll of $2.2 billion. The agencies, according to SAO, paid $738,192 to 1,229 people after those folks were no longer employed by the state. That's an average of $600.64 per person.

In their official response, which is part of the SAO report, HHSC officials said they've recovered $414,427 of the overpaid money and are in pursuit of the balance.

It's starting to be debate season, by which we mean that the candidates are throwing sand over whether and when and how frequently they'll appear together in public so voters and political voyeurs can compare and contrast the competitors.

Pete Olson, running against U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, says it's not right that Lampson has agreed to only one debate, and in Clear Lake. That's an affront, according to the Republican challenger, to Fort Bend, Brazoria, and Galveston. Olson wants to debate in all four districts in the county.

Ernie Casbeer wants to debate Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, so he can ask him in public about the Texas Association of Business indictments in which Miller is mentioned along with 24 other candidates. No resolution there yet.

And Rep. Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi, says former Rep. Todd Hunter, his Republican challenger, backed out of a debate scheduled for September 22.

• Garcia's campaign (along with others) is touting a match offered by Austin Sen. Kirk Watson, who's taking sort of a Sally Struthers approach to legislative elections. He's got a website — AdoptAHouseCandidate.com — listing 26 Texas House candidates and offering to match small donations. He's capping his matches at $5,000 and is asking donors to give $20.08. They're all Democrats, as he is, and his list includes four challengers, six open set candidates and 16 incumbents. That's a way, among other things, to stack up favors if you want to someday run for statewide office. Not that anyone's saying anything like that.

• Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst already has a statewide office, but he, like U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, is helping Texas statehouse candidates raise money. His latest assist goes to Mike Anderson, the former Mesquite mayor who beat Rep. Thomas Latham in the primaries. Anderson has a Democratic opponent, Robert Miklos, in a contest targeted by both parties.

• A Republican consultant fired up a website taunting Democrats who've received contributions from Dallas attorney Fred Baron. GiveTheMoneyBack.com belongs to Anthony Holm, who works for the Austin-based Patriot Group and also is the media rep for Houston homebuilder Bob Perry. Baron is the biggest contributor to Texas Democrats; Perry is the biggest contributor to Texas Republicans. He says candidates who got money from Baron ought to pay it back now that Baron has admitted paying to relocate a woman who had an affair with former presidential candidate John Edwards. Baron's money overwhelmingly goes to Democrats (see here and here), but there are a couple of other names on his list from a couple of election cycles back: Baron gave $2,000 to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in 2003, and Baron & Budd, his law firm (he's sold his interest) gave $5,000 each to Dewhurst and to House Speaker Tom Craddick in 2003 and 2002, respectively.

If your campaign plan depends on something that has never happened before, you're a long shot.

That's one of our favorite political axioms because it's usually right. When it's wrong, it's often as much a surprise to the winners as anyone else.

But there's always an enticing theory out there, like Tony Sanchez's wager that the state's demographics had changed enough to elect an Hispanic Democrat with a bottomless bank account. Or Carole Keeton Strayhorn's bet that Republicans and Democrats were tired enough of their own parties to go for an independent for governor. Or the nutty idea that the Democrats could sweep the Dallas County elections... the one shocker in that trio that actually came true.

The voting boom in the Texas primaries is the source of this year's pipe dreams. Who were all those people? Will they come back? Are Democrats resurrecting themselves after years in the political wilderness or was that Clinton-Obama thing just a bump in the road?

There's no knowing until the returns are in. But there are theories:

• Democrats got a rare chance to boost interest, voter registration, and the quality of their voter databases and should be able to convert that into bigger than normal numbers in November.

• Republican numbers will hold up better in November because their March turnout wasn't artificially driven up by a one-time fight or by the sort of political spending that goes with that kind of fight. The national Democratic candiates were working the state, staging massive ground wars, and won't be back for a similar fight in November. This is basically the idea that March was a glitch and that things will mostly snap back to normal in November.

• Democratic turnout will hold up, but will do better in places where Obama won in March than in places where Clinton was the favorite in the primaries.

• It doesn't matter if more Democrats come to the polls in November, because the number who vote for president and then stop voting was so high in March; downballot Democrats won't get any love.

• Much of the turnout in the primaries — the Democrats got all the attention, but the Republican numbers set records, too — were borrowed from November. The primary looked like a balloon, according to this one, because November Democrats and November Republicans came out in March. The November numbers will be closer to normal.

We started picking apart some primary numbers last month, when statewide district-by-district numbers became available from the Texas Legislative Council. It's the first publicly available look at how the Democratic and Republican primaries went, sliced by congressional, Senate, and House districts.

We knew the day after the election, for example, that Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama in all but 24 of the state's 254 counties. But that's based on geography and not population. So when you look at political districts based on population, the view changes. Obama won in 13 of the state Senate districts. He won in 14 of the 32 congressional districts. And he won in 69 of the 150 House districts.

McCain got more votes than Obama in 29 House districts, six Senate districts, and two congressional districts. He got more votes than Clinton in 20 districts, two Senate districts, and one congressional district. All of those are held by Republican lawmakers.

Republicans outvoted Democrats in 16 of the state's House districts (Berman, Merritt, Eissler, Hilderbran, Creighton, Delisi, Keffer, King, Macias, West, Craddick, Jones, Smithee, Swinford, Chisum, and Van Arsdale), though they were getting outvoted statewide by a better than 2-to-1 margin. That happened in two Senate districts (Fraser, Seliger), and in three congressional districts (Conaway, Neugebauer, Thornberry). Not surprisingly, each lawmaker in office from those districts is a Republican.

In 32 House districts — all held by Democrats — the turnout in the Democratic primary exceeded the total turnout in the 2006 general election. More people in those districts voted in this year's Democratic primary than in the last general election for governor. In one House district, the primary vote also exceeded turnout in the 2004 presidential general election; that was HD-31, Guillen. And in 54 House districts, the combined Republican/Democratic primary turnouts exceeded the 2006 general election turnout. Democratic voters outdid 2006 voters in seven congressional districts and seven Senate districts.

We charted the numbers for the House, Senate, and Congress. For the true political nerds, we put the whole spreadsheet online so you can fool with the numbers. Holler if you find something interesting.