Quick take on the presidential debate in Austin: Hillary Clinton didn't halt or reverse Barack Obama's momentum, and that's what she needed to do.

She had more good moments, probably, than he did (notably her answer to a question about hard moments in her life). But nothing in the Austin debate seemed strong enough to change the relative positions or perceptions of the two candidates. No real change in climate is good for Obama, who's on a winning streak, and bad for Clinton, who needs a couple of wins to remain in contention.

The hot commodity in the Weird Politics market is the way Texas Democrats choose their delegates, and there's no denying that this is a strange thing in a democracy.

But it might not matter.

A month ago, the political mob congregated around the idea that the Democrats would surely be done on Super Tuesday, but that Texas and Ohio could decide the GOP race for president. That's just a current reminder of the wisdom of that particular crowd.

One story idea of the moment, now, is that one candidate might win the popular vote in Texas while the other wins more delegates. Or that superdelegates will finally be called upon to decide the whole thing, in line with or in spite of the popular vote.

Maybe. It's possible. But it's more likely that the three big states ahead — the one we're in, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — will make it clear to the candidates and everyone else who the nominee will be. That's the usual way of things: When the going gets weird in politics, it usually snaps back to normal pretty quickly. There's not enough money in politics to carry two national Democratic candidates all the way to Denver, not in full battle dress. The voters will give a signal. The political financiers, who provide the fuel for these things, will make some decisions. One campaign will flourish and the other will dry up.

It happens fast, too. Look at John McCain. Dead last to last man standing in a matter of weeks. Obama's wave could carry him to the nomination. Clinton could stage a comeback, breaking his win streak and forcing the smart money back to where it started — where it was back when McCain was an impossibility. But she didn't do it in Thursday night's Texas debate, and voters are already voting, in big numbers. If her lead is intact — the polls are mixed on that point, though she had an eight-point margin a week ago — it's no big deal. But if the Obama surge in Texas is reality and not hype, it's trouble.

It's Busy Out There

Primary voting four years ago was nothing compared with what it is this year, but you'd expect that: The presidential candidates in 2004 were chosen long before the show got to Texas.

Still, the numbers are big for a primary. On the first two days four years ago, 34,047 people voted. On the first two days of early voting this year (Tuesday and Wednesday), 168,339 showed up. Those are combined numbers for both parties.

Democrats have outvoted Republicans 122,446 to 45,893 so far — that's 2.7 Democratic votes for each Republican vote. And they've outvoted them even in some reliably Republican counties, like Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Tarrant, and Williamson. In fact, Republicans are outvoting Democrats in only one of the state's biggest counties (Montgomery).

We'll update our chart as the numbers come in. The Texas Secretary of State is tracking the 15 largest counties, measured by voter registration, and you can get those results online. (You might notice our chart has just 14 counties on it. Jefferson County was in the mix four years ago and has been replaced in the top 15 by Cameron County. Since we didn't have four-year-old daily numbers to compare, we took it off the chart.)

Waltz Across Texas

Texas started the presidential primary season as a wallflower. Now it's the star everyone wants to dance with.

Barack Obama began his personal push for Texas votes this week, with rallies in San Antonio and Houston, Dallas, the debate in Austin, events on Friday in Edinburg, Corpus Christi, and Austin, and a stop in El Paso on Saturday. U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, campaigned for Obama in Corpus Christi, Edinburg, and Laredo, then in San Marcos and San Antonio. All but one of those was a university stop.

Hillary Clinton was in Hidalgo and Brownsville, then in Laredo before coming to Austin for the debate. She ends the week with stops in Dallas and Fort Worth before leaving for Ohio, the other big state on the table on March 4. Former President Bill Clinton, meanwhile, had stops in Galveston, Beaumont, Victoria, and Houston; later, he campaigned for his wife in Odessa, San Angelo, and San Antonio (a post-debate event). On Saturday, the former president will stop in Corpus Christi, Killeen, and El Paso. And their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, is on the road here, too, stopping in Richardson, Arlington, and Denton (all Republican spots, but more importantly, college towns). She hit Pasadena and Austin, and on Friday, will headline events in San Marcos, San Antonio, and El Paso.

Both candidates were to appear after the debate at an Austin debate watching party sponsored by the Texas Democratic Party. That sold out quick. The Democrats gave away just 100 seats in the debate to the public — more than 40,000 people applied. And the debate party had a maximum load of 1,000, each paying $50 to watch the candidates on TV. It sold out just after it was clear that both Clinton and Obama would make appearances there.

The air war is fully underway.

Obama's campaign is up with Spanish-language TV ads in selected markets (Houston, San Antonio, Harlingen-McAllen, Corpus Christi and Laredo). They're running statewide radio ads aimed at Black voters. Another is aimed at young voters and voters-to-be.

Not all of the ads are targeted. He's got a TV ad called "Enough" that says companies moving jobs overseas shouldn't get tax breaks, that those breaks should go to companies investing in the U.S. (Whaddya wanna bet that's running in Ohio, too?) Another, called "Chances I Had" promotes education. There's a general feel-good ad with a full dose of Obama's rhetoric and a call for change in Washington.

Clinton's also has her air force engaged. One ad — running in English and in Spanish, features former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, who was also a member of Bill Clinton's cabinet. The pitch is simple: "Vote for our friend Hillary today, and we’ll all have a better life." Another TV spot features her support for veterans and their benefits.

The ground war is underway, too.

Mundane stuff wins elections, if not headlines, and both campaigns are busy training people who will, in various ways, try to drag their voters to the polls. They're also training precinct types who'll show up after the primaries to vote in the caucuses that pick some of the state's delegates. That's the real reason behind the campaigns opening offices all over the state. They're building networks, in some cases, where Democratic networks have atrophied. The Obama camp says they've trained 4,000 folks across the state (all in one weekend, they say). And they claim to have 38,000 interested Texans signed up to support their guy via their website.

And the campaigns are touting endorsements, hoping to prove their alliances with people and institutions voters already like.

Obama picked up an endorsement from the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, and the campaign will try to turn that into part of its ground organization. He's got these newspapers, too, though the power of editorial endorsements has diminished in recent years: Austin American-Statesman, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, The Dallas Morning News, El Paso Times, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, and San Antonio Express-News. And he won the support of U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco; that's a two-fer, since Edwards is also a superdelegate. He also got former Denver Mayor and Clinton Administration Energy Secretary Federico Peña's endorsement. Peña was born in Laredo and reared in Brownsville.

Clinton picked up an endorsement from Bob Gammage, the former congressman and Texas Supreme Court justice who lost 2006's Democratic gubernatorial primary to Chris Bell. A day later, she got Bell's endorsement, too. And she got nods from former U.S. Rep. and Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox of Dripping Springs, former U.S. Rep. Jim Chapman of Sulphur Springs, and former state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos of Austin. Barrientos retired. Mattox lost races for governor and U.S. Senate before quitting electoral politics, and Chapman lost a bid for Senate before leaving politics and becoming a lobbyist.

She nearly swept the official persons endorsement list in South Texas, grabbing state, county, and local officials all along the Texas-Mexico border. Clinton doesn't have everyone, but she's got almost everyone who holds office and has made an endorsement.

The Republicans are way down here at the bottom of the story because they're not campaigning in Texas like the Democrats are. That said, Mike Huckabee made stops in Plano and Houston, and John McCain came to Houston to accept an endorsement from former President George H.W. Bush.

Trouble at Home

These ratings are based on our reporting of the various races. They're not meant to be predictions of the outcomes, but assessments of the competitiveness of each race. It's entirely possible that incumbents in the red zone will win easily, and that those in the yellow will get involuntary retirements on March 4. But this is where the big fights are.

Gambling, Light Bulbs, Sheep, and an Ostrich

Texans for Economic Development, a political action committee funded by gambling advocates, is running TV and mail attacks on Reps. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, Phil King, R-Weatherford, and Nathan Macias, R-Bulverde. View them here, here, and here.

The ads started late last week in each legislator's district. None of them mentions the candidates running against the incumbents in those three primaries. And there's at least a question about the group's use of corporate money.

King is shooting back. At a forum last week, he asked Tison to disavow the ads (Tison, according to the Weatherford Democrat, said he didn't have anything to do with them).

King attributes the ads to "Democrat party operatives and casino interests" and released a list of Republicans who support him. He didn't name the operatives he suspects.

King singled out the LaMantia family as Democratic supporters. Members of that clan own beer distributorships along the border and have an interest in a racing license in Laredo.

If the LaMantias are Democrats, they're impure Democrats. The family's contributions since the start of 2003 have been split between the parties. Democratic officeholders and candidates took in $309,140 from the family in the last five years. About that much — $309,140 — was given to PACs or to candidates whose parties weren't immediately available. And $374,799 went to Republicans, depending on how you want to count former Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who ran as an independent against Gov. Rick Perry in 2006. She got $231,150 from the LaMantias over that five-year period. But they also gave to Perry ($15,000), to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst ($51,500), Attorney General Greg Abbott ($8,649), and Comptroller Susan Combs ($3,500), Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson ($5,000), Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones ($1,000), former Secretary of State Roger Williams ($2,000), and House Speaker Tom Craddick ($7,000). A handful of King's Republican colleagues in the Legislature also were on the list of the LaMantia family's political beneficiaries; the most significant of those were Sen. Kim Brimer of Fort Worth, who got $13,500 in contributions, and Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, who got $5,000. Both of those lawmakers are in tough reelection battles this year.

King is also blasting Tison's campaign consultant, Roy Fletcher, who he says is a consultant to casinos and gambling interests in Louisiana.

Brown's response to the gambling ad is an ad of her own, starting with three little pictures of the ad against her lined up in a row, with other graphics that turn it into the screen of a video lottery terminal. Clever, huh? The announcer says, "Big gambling interests are running this false attack ad against Betty Brown. Don't believe it..."

The Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission complained to the Texas Ethics Commission about the use of corporate money in a political action committee that's trying to influence legislative races. But Tommy Azopardi, the treasurer for the PAC, says it was a filing mistake. They amended their report with the state with a note saying the corporate money was being used, legally, for administrative expenses.

Lobbyist Reggie Bashur dropped a gaming client in the wake of the campaign. He represented the Texas Horseman's Partnership, which was, in turn, a member of Texans for Economic Development. He lobbied for that second group during the last session, but says that relationship ended with the session in June. But with TED running ads against incumbent Republicans, Bashur says he's ending his deal with the horsemen. "I just don't think it's right to attack Republicans like that," he says. And Bashur denies rumors of his involvement that began when the ads did. "I didn't know they were doing this, and I wasn't in on the planning."

Political Notes

In which we resort to old-style, triple-dot journalism to clear the room of paper and email and sticky notes and notebooks, fill the trash cans, and put this issue to bed...

In the deluge of "He/She won't debate me" notes that always pile up in the last two weeks of a campaign comes a gem from Chris Peden that we might otherwise have missed. Peden's a Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, in CD-14. He's been busy while Paul's been out, and he got a big endorsement: The Victoria Advocate likes the challenger over the incumbent... Gov. Rick Perry flew to El Paso to endorse Republican Dee Margo, an event that wouldn't be news except that Margo is running against a Republican incumbent, Rep. Pat Haggerty. Haggerty's response, via The El Paso Times: "I hope that this is as successful as the (Rudy) Giuliani endorsement." Haggerty is up with radio ads that attack Margo for moving into the district to run, and slam him as a political recruit of House Speaker Tom Craddick and also for contributions he made to U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy 25 years ago. Margo TV spanks Haggerty for supporting nursing home and gasoline tax increases. Dueling polls in that district have Margo ahead 43%-31% (El Paso Times/News Channel 9, 2/11-12, +/-3%), or behind 42%-48% (Haggerty campaign tracking poll, no details provided)... Larry Joe Doherty, one of two Democrats vying for a shot at U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Austin, says he raised $66,975 during the first six weeks of the year; they have about $100,000 on hand. Dan Grant, the other Democrat in that primary, has a TV ad running that calls Doherty a TV judge (true) and also features the late Anna Nicole Smith. Politics isn't boring... Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, got hit with news reports of late business tax payments and filings and late payments (since made current) on her car. Democratic challenger Brian Thompson rolled that, some missed votes while she was in Paris and Vegas, and her past support for Republican Speaker Tom Craddick into a very busy TV ad now running. Another tidbit from that contest: She promised last year — when we wrote about it — that she'd remedy campaign finance filings that don't detail expenses paid on her credit card. Those amended records won't be filed before voters go to the polls... That Texas Credit Union League poll we covered last week had a tidbit we missed: Clinton lead Obama in Texas 52%-35% in rural areas and small cities. In urban and suburban areas, Obama was in front 50%-37%... The special election in HD-119 — that's the spot emptied when Rep. Robert Puente, D-San Antonio, retired early — will be on May 10. Only one candidate, Roland Gutierrez, is on the ballot for the full term that starts next January, but the door's open until March 4 for anyone who wants it from May to the end of the year... Texans for Lawsuit Reform endorsed a lawyer accused of forum shopping? They sent folks to Aledo to give Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, the group's Civil Justice Leadership Award... King's opponent, former Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison, capitalizes on third-party ads by calling on voters to send copies of their utility bills to King. The ads in question blame King — chairman of the House Committee on Regulated Industries — for increases in electric bills... Texans for Lawsuit Reform was legally out of business for a minute there, having lost its papers of incorporation for not making a mandatory routine filing with the Secretary of State. Embarrassing, but not fatal. The tort reformers changed their address, according to an SOS spokesman, and didn't get the form they were supposed to fill out. After they were outed — a rival group sent out a press release — they filed their reports and got good with the state. The legal blooper didn't involve the group's political action committee or its tax-exempt research foundation, each of which also fly the TLR flag... U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega has a TV ad touting his military and legislative experience; it debuted during the presidential debates, while some number of Democrats were watching TV... After dropping its inquiry into the continued public service of Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, who stepped down, Attorney General Greg Abbott's office sent a letter to his interim replacement, offering "assistance with any further potential action involving Charles A. Rosenthal Jr." Not over yet... Jonathan Sibley says in a letter to Craddick — our version was embedded in a press release — that he's decided not to vote for the speaker's reelection if Sibley makes it to the House. That's what it says, but that's not its purpose: It's an attack on Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, who Sibley accuses of supporting Craddick at the expense of the district... Brian Klock, one of the GOP multitude running in CD-22, plans to unveil a billboard showing a view, through crosshairs, of the Houston Ship Channel with the downtown skyline in flames behind it. His tagline: "The Threat is Real." Houston builder Bob Perry of Swift Boat fame (he was the main financier) is scheduled to appear with him... And the video of the week has to be Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, muffing a question posed by Chris Matthews of MSNBC. Ouch!

Political People and Their Moves

Alberto "Beto" Cardenas Jr. is coming back to Texas for a job with Vinson & Elkins in Houston. He was the Texas Tech guy in Washington, D.C. and most recently worked for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Ralph Duggins, senior partner at Cantey Hanger in Fort Worth, is the newest addition to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission. Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to replace Philip Montgomery of Dallas.

Deaths: Former Rep. Arves Jones, R-El Paso, who served three terms in the 1980s and later won a spot on the El Paso City Council, of heart disease. He was 82.

Quotes of the Week

Tom Annunziato, an optometrist running for state representative, quoted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "I'm looking at this as a career change. You try sitting in a dark room for 30 years saying, 'Which is better — one, or two?' You'd get tired of it, too."

Jerry Polinard of the University of Texas-Pan American, quoted on the South Texas political climate in Newsweek: "We're the bluest part of a Red State. When we talk about building a fence down here, we talk about building one on the north to keep the Republicans out."

David Hardt of Dallas, president of the Young Democrats of America, member of the Democratic National Committee, and a superdelegate, in the Houston Chronicle: "When we're in the middle of a down time, and everybody thinks the party is dead in a state or in the nation, and we have no electeds, someone's got to keep that party together. It's usually people like us. So we have earned our right to sit at the table."

Theresa Caballero, a candidate for district attorney in El Paso County, comparing her experience in the private sector with that of her opponent, a government employee, quoted in The Newspaper Tree: "I eat what I kill."

Former president Bill Clinton, stumping for Hillary Clinton in Beaumont, quoted by the Associated Press: "If she wins in Texas and Ohio, I think she'll be the nominee. If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be."

GOP candidate Mike Huckabee, quoted in The Dallas Morning News after someone suggested he's staying in the race because he enjoys flying around the country: "What an idiot. I'm living the life of Yasser Arafat. I sleep in a different place every night."

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Texas Weekly: Volume 25, Issue 8, 25 February 2008. Ross Ramsey, Editor. Copyright 2008 by Printing Production Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. One-year online subscription: $250. For information about your subscription, call (512) 302-5703 or email biz@texasweekly.com. For news, email ramsey@texasweekly.com, or call (512) 288-6598.

Republican U.S. Reps. Sam Johnson and Ralph Hall are accustomed to winning. And in spite of their advanced years — Johnson is 77 and Hall is 84 — neither is throwing in the towel this year.

That didn't stop a crowd from signing up to run against them. Eight Republicans and four Democrats are saying, in effect, that after 18 years in the House for Johnson and 28 for Hall, time's up.

The two have gotten used to people wondering if they'll retire, but both reps say their work is never done. The races are worth watching because each candidate has more than one primary opponent, meaning more chances to split the vote. There's a chance lightning will strike. And there's a chance that, even in losing, this year's candidates are positioning themselves for the day when the two incumbents move on.

Still, it's hard to ignore their victorious history. In 2006, Johnson won close to 63 percent against Democrat Dan Dodd and Libertarian Christopher Claytor. Hall won almost 65 percent that year against Democrat Glenn Melançon and Libertarian Kurt Helm. Their winning numbers have been even higher in previous years.

Johnson's CD-3 includes Plano, McKinney and Richardson. He's been in the House since 1991 and did six years in the Texas House before that. He was a POW in Vietnam. He's got two opponents in the upcoming Republican primary: financial wizard and self-proclaimed "dweeb" Wayne Avellanet and retired pilot Harry Pierce, both from Plano. Attorney Tom Daley and retired teacher and broker Ronald Minkow are vying for the Democratic spot. Claytor, an engineer, returns as the sole Libertarian. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Johnson has almost $800,000 in campaign funds — far more than his opponents could hope to rake in.

At 84 years old, Hall has been in the House since 1981. He was a state senator for ten years — then a private citizen for eight years — before winning his spot in Congress. The World War II veteran represents CD-4, which includes parts of Mesquite and Rockwall. Four Republican hopefuls are also running in the primary: businessmen Gene Christensen and Kevin George, Joshua Kowart and former Frisco Mayor Kathy Seei. The Democrats are VaLinda Hathcox, who challenged Jerry Patterson for land commissioner in 2006, and repeat candidate Melançon. The CRP says Hall has about $350,000.

Hall doesn't need a lot of money to get the word out. The same theory should hold for Johnson. And the congressmen aren't worried about their gray hairs, either. (The average age of a rep is 55, according to the Congressional Research Service.)

"I've always felt like the tenure in Congress is important to getting stuff done up here," says Johnson. "I think there's a lot to do and I'll stay up here as long as I can beat people over the head and make things happen."

Hall, who says he runs at least a mile every morning and does about 50 sit-ups before bed, says he "still has something to give."

(His wife Mary Ellen is the driving force behind his choice to run again, he says. Hall says she thought having his name on the ballot would help their son, Brett Hall, win his third term as district judge in Rockwall. But Hall the Younger doesn't have an opponent.)

"This may be my last go round," says Hall. "But the president might need one old geezer. Still, I don't recommend a floor full of 84-year-old guys."

His opponents — and Johnson's — agree completely.

Minkow, one of the Democrats in Johnson's race, is 70 years old. "Johnson has lost touch with his electorate," he says.

"A lot of people just stick with the status quo," says Pierce, one of Johnson's Republican opponents. "It takes courage to vote for someone new."

Avellanet, who has a big family rooted in Plano, is more optimistic about his own chances but jokes that he'll probably be proven wrong. "If I don't get elected, that's fine. I'll be around for another 30 years and Sam Johnson won't."

But Karl Voigtsberger, vice-chairman of the Collin County Republicans and candidate for county tax assessor, says he hasn't seen Johnson's opponents around town and he doesn't think he ever will. "There are always people who decide one day they want to be a congressman and that's the last we hear from them."

Ready to challenge Hall again, Melançon says the Congressman has lost touch with his district. "I don't think its good for anybody to be in Washington that long, it has a way of corrupting people," he says.

Bill Broderick, chairman of the Rockwall Country Republican Party, says, "Rockwall County is Hall country." He's not sure if Hall can carry 50 percent of the vote with four opponents in the primary, but he says none of the other Republicans stand out. As far as Hall's age, Broderick says, "You'd never know how old the guy is. When I get around Sam Johnson, I feel his age, but I don't get that feeling with Hall."

Hall opponent Christensen is 53 years old. He says if he won, he'd put a term limit on himself at 10 years. "You've gotta know when to get on the train and when to get off."

Democrat Hathcox says the economy is the biggest issue in her district, mentioning that the Popeye's and KFC nearby closed recently. But Hathcox says that's just increased business for the Chicken Express.

In this "chicken war," as she puts it, there are winners and losers. It's kind of like the races — someone is always hoping someone else will close their doors.

— by Karie Meltzer

Igor looks out the window of the castle and quickly reports back to Dr. Frankenstein. Igor: "There's a large crowd outside." Frankenstein: "Friendly or hostile?" Igor: "I can't tell you." Frankenstein: "Who is it? Gravediggers? Townies? Vampires?" Igor: "I don't know." That's what the early voting tsunami looks like to Texas politicians. It's big, but it's impossible right now to know who's voting and how. For incumbents, that sort of uncertainty is maddening. With a couple of days still to go, early voting numbers are off the charts. Compared to four years ago, five times as many Democrats have voted. GOP voting isn't up as much, but it's up a lot: almost three times as many Republicans have voted, compared to the last presidential election. Based on those numbers, Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson thinks we'll break the 1988 turnout record of 2.7 million; he's guessing 3.3 million Texans will vote. Credit the presidential election, particularly on the Democratic side. What had been shaping up as a humdrum primary year — local contests sprinkled around the state but no marquee races — has turned into the best statewide primary contest since 1990, when three serious Democrats and four serious Republicans were running for governor and taking over our TV sets and mailboxes with ads. That makes some incumbents for other offices on the ballot nervous. When the regulars show up to vote, the results are more predictable. Polling is better, because the pollsters know who to talk to, and who will vote. It's easier to know what to talk to the voters about — which positions and ideas will turn them on or off. New voters might be voting for the incumbents, but if they are, they've never done it before (they're new voters, right?). And they might be there to vote just for the presidential race and nothing else. Or for change. Or against change. The mob of early Texas voters is huge — maybe historic — but what they want won't be clear until Tuesday.

The first weekend of early voting brought crazy numbers of people to the polls. With a week of early voting still to come, voters in the state's biggest counties have already swamped their 2004 early turnout. That's true with voters in both primaries, but it's most striking among the Democrats. With three days left before the end of early voting, 497,830 people cast Democratic ballots this year; in 2004, the total number of Democratic ballots for all of early voting was 154,950. Comparable numbers on the GOP side: 171,429 so far this year as against 104,878 in the 2004 primaries. The daily pace is higher this year, too. At this point in early voting four years ago, 161,327 people had voted in the primaries in the state's 14 largest counties. Democrats have outvoted Republicans so far — at a pace of about 2.9 Democratic votes for each Republican vote. And they've outvoted them in reliably Republican counties like Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Tarrant, and Williamson. Republicans are outvoting Democrats in only one of the state's biggest counties (Montgomery). Not all of the boost in turnout is on the Democratic side. Voting there is up 398 percent from four years ago. But Republican voting is up 180 percent. Another tidbit, from the Democratic ledger: The smallest increase on a percentage basis is in Hidalgo County, where it's up 58 percent. On the other hand, that's one of the best turnout counties for Democrats in a normal year, so the bar is set higher. In raw numbers, most of the increase is in the state's five biggest counties: Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis. And this is unusual for the Democrats: The five biggest counties in population are also the five biggest in total votes. Usually, the more populous border counties outvote their bigger urban siblings. On the Republican side, Tarrant, up 402 percent, leads in terms of percentage increases. Bexar, up 396 percent, is right behind. We'll update our chart as the numbers come in. The Texas Secretary of State is tracking the 15 largest counties, measured by voter registration, and you can get those results online. (You might notice our chart has just 14 counties on it. Jefferson County was in the mix four years ago and has been replaced in the top 15 by Cameron County. Since we didn't have four-year-old daily numbers to compare, we took it off the chart.)

Bloggers can't post enough on the Austin debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and other presidential happenings. They're also talking about the surge in early voting, endorsing candidates and giving politicians a forum to talk about themselves. And then there are some miscellaneous postings.

* * * * *

De-bate! De-bate!

Capitol Annex has a portal page to all of their debate-related posts, while Eye On Williamson's initial reaction was "ZZZZZZ." Greg's Opinion thought it was a sleeper, too, but at least "this one did have a certain sense of finality to it." In the Pink Texas' live blogging of the debate can be found here. PinkDome's wrap-up is here. Texas Blue's take is here and live blog here.

BurkaBlog calls the debate a "stalemate," and KVUE's Political Junkie posts on the debate: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Meanwhile, Texas Parte reports on lawyerly spinning after the debate.

If Burnt Orange was running the debate, these are the questions they would have asked. And at a post-debate party, state Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Fort Worth, demonstrated how to rally the Democratic faithful, says PoliTex, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's blog.

PoliTex has the rundown on fence-sitting Democratic superdelegates — consultant Kelly Fero said, "I feel around me a momentum for Obama here in Texas." (U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett didn't get the memo, according to Burnt Orange.)

ABC13's Houston Political Blog has a video tutorial on superdelegates, and Burnt Orange has a "MEGA FAQ" on the Texas primary process. BurkaBlog's explanation is here. And state Democratic chair Boyd Ritchie is instructing county and precinct chairs to just say no to media requests for interpretation of primary results, according to Annex. Meanwhile, Texas Kaos makes a second detailed analysis of Texas delegates, deciding this time that Obama will win 130 to 63 for Clinton.

Houston Political Blog has pictures from the Obama rally in Houston, while Texas Blue has film of Clinton in Fort Worth, video of Obama's campaign manager in Austin and a live blog of Chelsea Clinton at the University of North Texas. And Burnt Orange reports on the Obama rally in Dallas, while Chronic, the Austin Chronicle's blog, has the skinny on Obama's Austin rally.

An Obama phoner courted the vote of Postcards, the Austin American-Statesman's blog, while Annex asks, "Dear DNC: Will You Still Respect Us On March 5? Or Call? Or Visit?"

* * * * *

Early Risers

Texas Democrats are destroying Republicans in early voting turnout for any of three reasons: the close Texas Democratic presidential primary, the GOPers are at work during early voting hours, and/or Republicans are voting for the weaker Democratic presidential candidate, muses Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.

Texas Cloverleaf has the info on where to vote in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Greg has a map of Harris and Montgomery County poll locations.

A Burnt Orange reader analyzes county-by-county early voting data, finding a negative correlation between the percentage of increase in voting totals and the percentage of Hispanics in the county. Meanwhile, Brains and Eggs alleges suppression of Democratic caucusers by the Harris County GOP folks running the elections.

Half-Empty has a report from a Fort Bend County polling location. And buried within this analysis of early voting totals, BurkaBlog says that Ron Paul possesses "idiosyncratic wisdom."

"Where are the Republicans?" wonders Off the Kuff, and Burnt Orange says that the heightened interest in Texas politics is boosting its readership. Meanwhile, Grits for Breakfast has a couple of criminal-justice-related resolutions for readers to keep in mind when they attend precinct conventions.

* * * * *

Love or Something Like It

Cloverleaf is going all in for Obama, saying that Clinton "still exudes so much negativity." Another Obamanian is Rhetoric & Rhythm.

Annex is endorsing Clinton, Rick Noriega and a host of others for Texas races up and down the ballot. In the Pink Texas is split between the Clinton camp (here, here and here) and the Obama congregation (here, here and here). And McBlogger endorses candidates inside Travis County and without.

Kuff's endorsements are here. Via Blue, Annie's List endorses various female Democratic candidates. Texas-Democrats has video of Henry Cisneros endorsing Clinton. And Wilco Wise's picks are here.

Dos Centavos likes Susan Criss for the Texas Supreme Court. The full list of Centavos endorsement is here. African-Americans like Obama, confirms Postcards. And Chronic writes that conservative PACers heart them some Mike Huckabee.

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Speaking Candid(ate)ly

Baltasar Cruz writes why he's running as a Democrat for the Texas Supreme Court, via Castle Hills Democrat.

CD-10 Democrats Dan Grant'sand Larry Joe Doherty's new TV commercials, via Burnt Orange. Also from Burnt Orange, ads from challenger Brian Thompson in HD-97's Democratic primary.

Audio of the Ray McMurrey-Noriega debate, via Burnt Orange, and Noriega's first TV commercial from Kuff.

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Extra!

University of Houston Prof. Richard Murray has a new blog called Prof13, according to fellow UH political scientists, Professors-R-Squared. Greg adds that writer Andrei Cherny has a blog now, too.

"The Top Private Prison Lobbyists in Texas," from Texas Prison Bid'ness.

Capitol Crowd's Person of the Week is Michael Goldstein, a hotshot Brooklyn-bred lobbyist for Meals on Wheels and More in Austin.

State Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, faces a serious challenge from Armando Walle, says Burnt Orange, and CD-7 incumbent John Culberson is in trouble, too. (Kuff's report on the CD-7 race is here.)

And Chronic wins Headline of the Week Award for a post on the richest man in the world, titled, "Gates Speaks at UT, Laymen Everywhere Confused."

The Texas Youth Commission's Youth Rights division can't seem to get around to processing inmates' complaints, says Grits.

Swiftboat Veterans for Truth's John O'Neill is stumping for CD-22's Shelley Sekula Gibbs, says Half-Empty.

Half-Empty thinks the next House Speaker will be state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. And Blue interviews Democratic strategist Ed Martin, while BurkaBlog takes a look at House races featuring "Craddick Ds."

Vaqueros & Wonkeros tracks the battle in HD-78 between incumbent Pat Haggerty and challenger Dee Margo in this series of posts: here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

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This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is spending the spring in the mid-Atlantic region. 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.

The gambler attack on Rep. Phil King — through the Texans for Economic Development PAC — continues with new TV and mail advertising.The group was temporarily knocked out of commission in another race, but kept up its advertising assault on King. They're also betting heavily against reelection bids by Reps. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, and Nathan Macias, R-Bulverde. Macias won a court order that kept the group off the air over the weekend, but that was tossed by a second judge and the fight's back on. (That judge added insult to injury, ordering Macias to pay $1,000 to the lawyers on the other side.) King's opponent in the primary is former Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison, and Tison's ties to the gambling folk is King's new tack. His camp is pulling out quotes from Tison disavowing ties to the gaming people and their Texans for Economic Development PAC. He told the Weatherford Democrat last week that he's got no relationship with TEDPAC, and said at a Republican candidate forum last week that there's no gaming money in his treasury: "You need to check my record," he told the group, according to a transcript provided by King's campaign. "You need to look at the campaign finance report that will be coming out on February 25th. You will see no contributions from the gambling industry." That's true — TEDPAC didn't give directly to Tison, but according to his report, they're acting to his campaign's benefit. According to the PAC's report, they've thrown nearliy $75,000 into broadcast advertising and mail pieces attacking King. And for King's camp, that's enough to call Tison the Gambler's Favorite. For his part, Tison told that same GOP crowd that he's not for gaming. According to the King-provided transcript, he hit the incumbent for taking money from utility companies and others. "I have expected no money from gambling," Tison said. "Yes, those people did approach me early on, and I refused to take them money, because I told them I do not support gambling."

And the most recent mailer:

 

A federal judge says the state can't enforce laws that prevent outside groups from meddling in races for speakers of the Texas House.U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel issued a temporary restraining order that, in effect, allows outsiders to try to influence the outcome of the next speaker race. A copy of his order is available here. The groups that sued say the law designed to keep outsiders from spending money to influence speaker elections — and to lobby and debate with House members who elect their leader every two years — prevents Texans from voicing their own opinions. The law effectively blocks voters and groups from voicing their views on a major bit of legislative business: Who runs the show. That, the suit says, is a violation of four rights protected in the U.S. Constitution: speech, association, petition, and equal protection. The lawsuit was filed by an unusual coalition of lefties and righties: The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the Free Market Foundation, and the Texas Eagle Forum PAC. We wrote about this when the case was filed a couple of weeks ago. Check here for our original story on the lawsuit.

Texans have never seen this many commercials for presidential candidates — being in the mix is a mixed blessing, no? Here's a sampling of what's on (it'll take a few seconds to load).

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's got a TV ad — "Stand Up" — running in parts of the state.

Mike Huckabee: "Stand Up":

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Barack Obama has new ads running, including "Need," a spot about the economy and taxes; one called "Voices," about ethics and lobby reform; and a Spanish-language spot called "Opportunidad," about abating the costs of college.

Barack Obama: "Need"

Barack Obama: "Voices"

Barack Obama: "Opportunidad"

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Hillary Clinton's ads include "Deliver," touting her ability to get things done, and "Resolved," an ad that pulls from her quotes at the end of the Austin debate last week.

Oh, and her campaign has something we haven't seen from the Obama gang. A campaign song, linked here. It was written and performed by Walter Suhr and the Mango Punch, according to the campaign.

Hillary Clinton: "Resolved"

Hillary Clinton: "Deliver"

 

These ratings are based on our reporting of the various races. They're not meant to be predictions of the outcomes, but assessments of the competitiveness of each race. It's entirely possible that incumbents in the red zone will win easily, and that those in the yellow will get involuntary retirements on March 4. But this is where the big fights are.

With a week to go, the faucets are open. The Texas Home School Coalition PAC tossed $10,000 to Randy Dunning after the 8-day reports. He's one of three Republicans hoping to succeed Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson...

The latest reports have some legislators giving to legislators. Rep. Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, gave $5,000 each to Reps. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, and Jerry Madden, R-Richardson. And Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, gave $10,000 to Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, who's in a reelection battle. All three of those guys have challengers in the primary. And Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, contributed $5,000 to Mike Anderson, the former Mesquite mayor who's challenging incumbent Rep. Thomas Latham, R-Sunnyvale.

Gov. Rick Perry is playing in legislative races this year, giving $25,000 each to Latham, Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, Rep. Nathan Macias, R-Bulverde, and Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco; $10,000 each to Dee Margo of El Paso and Rep. Bill Zedler of Arlington; and $5,000 to Rep. Joe Crabb, R-Atascocita. Former Gov. Dolph Briscoe gave $10,000 to Doug Miller, who's challenging Macias. And Clayton Williams Jr., who ran for governor in 1990, gave $6,000 checks to Macias, Anderson, Shelton, and, twice, to Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg. Peña's opponent is already shooting at him for taking Republican money.

The two biggest checks in Texas politics in February came from two of the state's best-known trial lawyer firms. Provost & Umphrey, and Williams Kherkher Hart and Boundas each gave $125,000 to the Texans for Insurance Reform PAC. That PAC has given to Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, $20,000; Wade Gent, $62,316; Armando Walle, $17,640; Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, $30,000; Sandra Rodriguez, $115,000; and Ron Reynolds, $10,350. The Texas Trial Lawyer PAC gave $46,040 to Walle; $10,000 to Rep. Juan Escobar, D-Kingsville; and $8,000 to Rep. Paul Moreno, D-El Paso.

Their counterparts, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, gave $60,733 to Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell (Gent is her challenger); $40,000 to Peña; $51,500 to Tara Rios Ybarra, challenger to Escobar; to Zedler, $20,000; Madden, $20,000; Macias, $10,000; Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, R-Tomball, $26,038; King, $25,000; Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, $25,000; Marisa Marquez (challenging Moreno), $14,218; and Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, $5,000.

Look for your persons of boogie where you will. Charles Butt of San Antonio gave $40,000 to the Texas Parent PAC. Dr. James Leininger, also of San Antonio, gave out $305,500 in contributions this month, according to campaign finance reports. Anderson received $50,000, as did the Texas Right to Life PAC. Other contributions from Leininger and his wife included $100,000 to the Empower Texas PAC, $40,000 to Macias, $25,000 to King, and $10,000 each to Dunning, Shelton, and Zedler. Tim Dunn of Midland also gave Empower Texas $100,000 on that outfit's way to $325,000 in receipts. In turn, Empower gave to a number of candidates: $75,000 to Macias, $58,400 to Tom Annunziato, who's challenging Geren in Fort Worth; and to Dr. Joe Hnatek of Lubbock, who's challenging Rep. Delwin Jones, $7,112.

Houston Broadcasting gave $21,853 in airtime to Allen Fletcher, a former cop who, with support from Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is challenging Van Arsdale.

John Steven Mostyn of Austin made a splash, giving $56,285 to Brian Thompson, who's challenging Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin and another $30,000 to Sandra Rodriguez, who's after the seat held by Kino Flores, D-Palmview.

Houston builder Bob Perry and his wife gave $237,000 to candidates, according to available reports at the Texas Ethics Commission. They gave Anderson $32,000; Empower PAC and the Patriot PAC $25,000 each; King, $30,000; Rios, $25,000; and Shelton, $20,500. Carol Alvarado, a Democrat running for the seat left by Senate candidate Rick Noriega, got $10,000 from Perry.

We've written about the new kids on the block. The Texans for Economic Development PAC — formed by gambling interests in Texas — spent $356,863. The biggest spoonfuls went against King, Macias, and Brown. That war's still going on, but as of the last report, TEDPAC had spent $53,606 against Brown, $45,763 against Macias, and just under $75,000 against King.

We'll end this blizzard of numbers with two PACs that have everyone's attention. The Texas Parent PAC gave $15,000 to Joe Tison, King's challenger; $10,000 to Geren; $7,500 to Gent; and $5,000 each to Paula Stansell, who's challenging Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, and Jim Shepherd, who's in a race for an open seat in Richardson.

The Texas Builds JOBS PAC gave $10,000 checks to Shelton, Macias, Peña, King and Anderson. Brown and Van Arsdale each got $15,000 from that PAC, and Zedler, Corte, and Latham each got $5,000.

This is quick and dirty and about as scientific as the average advertising buy, but interesting just the same.

If you list every political contribution over $5,000 for the month of February, you can pull together a list of the campaigns that led the pack in big donations. A caveat is in order: The Texas Ethics Commission only has online what's been filed, and more stuff will filter in during the next few days. There were 444 over $5k contributions when we looked.

The candidates and the total of their big February contributions: Rep. Nathan Macias, R-Bulverde, $273,500; Sandra Rodriguez, D-McAllen, $198,000; Reps. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, and Phil King, R-Weatherford, $170,000; Dee Margo, R-El Paso, $145,000; Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, $136,000; Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, $126,235; Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, $114,000; Tom Annunziato, R-Fort Worth, $108,000; Rep. Pat Haggerty, R-El Paso, $105,000; and Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, $104,500.

Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, switched her superdelegate vote to Barack Obama. She had been on Hillary Clinton's team.

Gov. Rick Perry is raising money for Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Waco, but he's not doing it in Waco. That's one area of the state where Perry's numbers — even with Republicans — are suspect. The funder's in Austin. And it's a late one, coming after the eight-day campaign finance reports are due. The voters won't be able to see what happens with that money until mid-July (though they'll see receipts via telegram reports).

He already did a fundraiser for Rep. Pat Haggerty. Now, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has made an "official" endorsement, meaning that he took the trip to El Paso to offer his support in a way that might get some media coverage. That's a counter to Gov. Rick Perry's endorsement of the GOP primary challenger, Dee Margo.

Perry opened the week at the top of... The Washington Post's bestseller list. That's for his book On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Work Fighting For, the proceeds of which go to the Boy Scouts. On Amazon's list, which is nationwide, it's number 329.

Rep. Paul Moreno's confederates complain that Marisa Marquez, his challenger, left a word off of her campaign materials. There's no "for," they say, as in "Marquez for House." They contend that's a no-no and they've filed a complaint, saying she's trying to make herself look like an incumbent.

Fox News' Bill O'Reilly has Perry on his list of potential vice presidential candidates for U.S. Sen. John McCain. Perry's professed a lack of interest in federal politics; on the other hand, several of his confederates made sure we got the O'Reilly write-up. Perry's got one more legislative session left as governor and hasn't said whether he'll seek another term in 2010, after ten years in office.

Pete Olson answers attacks that he didn't vote in three primaries with this bit: He was in the Navy, serving out of state. Olson, one of ten candidates running the CD-22 GOP primary, says there weren't Republican primaries where he was living in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

The pollster for Democrat Rick Noriega says he's probably headed for a runoff against an opponent who's never held public office. But in a conference call with reporters, Celinda Lake said she thinks Noriega will win that runoff and that he poses a serious threat in November to incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Noriega is skipping a reelection bid to take a shot at federal office. But he's in a four-way primary with political neophyte Ray McMurrey, a Corpus Christi teacher, and ballot perennials Gene Kelly of Universal City and Rhett Smith of San Antonio. Because of the swollen Democratic primary vote and the fact that none of the four Democrats is well-known statewide, Lake thinks there could be a runoff. Her admittedly one-sided analysis is that the issues are lined up for Democrats so far this year, that there's unprecedented energy among that parties voters, and that a long-expected shift in the state's demographics has real influence this year. Lake says her polling shows Cornyn is less well-known than he ought to be, and that that opens an opportunity for Noriega (provided he can afford to run what she says will be a $5 million to $6 million campaign). She admits Texas is a tough place to fight. No Democrat has won statewide since 1994, and in her words, "trying to break through in Texas is like trying to break through in Western Europe." That said, Lake thinks the economy will continue to worsen, that veterans issues, health care, and energy policy will favor the Democrat, and that changes evident in early voting will last into the general election. But first, they have to get out of the primaries, and perhaps, a runoff.

Hillary Clinton has a 3 a.m. ad on TV, and so does Barack Obama.Hers: "It's 3am and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing. Something's happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military — someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It's 3am and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?" His: "It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone ringing in the White House. Something's happening in the world. When that call gets answered, shouldn't the president be the one — the only one — who had judgment and courage to oppose the Iraq war from the start... Who understood the real threat to America was al-Qaeda, in Afghanistan, not Iraq. Who led the effort to secure loose nuclear weapons around the globe... In a dangerous world, it's judgment that matters."

The Texas-Ohio juggling continues through Tuesday, when the presidential candidates will ditch those states like last year's prom date. Until then, we're one of the hotties at this dance, and you can tell from the schedules. Lookit:

• Hillary Clinton will be in Texas through the last weekend, hitting Houston on Thursday, San Antonio and Waco on Friday and then headlining rallies in Fort Worth and Dallas. After a Sunday in Ohio, she'll be back in Austin on Monday for a "Texas-sized town hall" broadcast on the Internet and on TV in eight Texas markets.

Bill Clinton knocked around the state — in Austin, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Dallas, and Houston — while the candidate was in Ohio. And he will be the Texas closer, making the rounds on Sunday in Houston, Beaumont, Marshall, Wichita Falls, Abilene, and College Station, and then on Monday — Election Eve — in Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Edinburg, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio and El Paso.

And Chelsea Clinton hit campuses for her mom with rallies at Texas State University in San Marcos and Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

• Barack Obama did a town hall meeting Thursday morning at the Austin Convention Center, testing how big a crowd you can draw when everybody's supposed to be at work. He also had stops planned in Beaumont, San Marcos, Fort Worth, and San Antonio, and Duncanville. And while they haven't provided any details, his campaign says he'll be in Texas on March 4 to watch the results come in.

Michelle Obama made her first Texas foray this week with stops in Beaumont, Galveston, and Houston.

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus — anybody in Texas know this guy? — came in for a Dallas-East Texas swing this week. He was scheduled to make stops in Texarkana, Longview, and Tyler. After that: College Station, Waco, Killeen, and Abilene. How about Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty? Heard of him? He knocked on doors in Houston for Obama.

Comedian George Lopez is the latest Obama agent to hit South Texas, making appearances in El Paso, McAllen, and Harlingen on Wednesday and Thursday. Actor Samuel L. Jackson campaigned in Longview, Tyler, and Texarkana, and actors Ben McKenzie and Kerry Washington hit college campuses in Georgetown and Austin. Actors Sophia Bush and Adam Rodriguez rallied on campuses in Richardson and Dallas.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, who lost to George W. Bush in 2004, hit Dallas, Galveston, Brownsville and Del Rio for Obama. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late president, made Obama stops in Austin, San Antonio, Brownsville, and Harlingen.

Former Texas Gov. Mark White endorsed Obama.

• U.S. Sen. John McCain is making Texas stops in the less-competitive Republican primary. He's appearing at Rice University in Houston on Thursday in an event that'll be webcast live and then archived for those who miss the live version. He's already been to San Antonio and will cover Dallas, Round Rock, and Austin by the end of the week, raising money and speechifying. Monday evening, he'll be in Waco for a town hall meeting.

• And Mike Huckabee, traveling with TV celeb Chuck Norris, will make a stop in Waco this week, and then appears at the Reagan Day Celebration in Houston on Friday night.

Sada Cumber, an Austin tech executive and a native of Pakistan, is President George W. Bush's choice to be envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Cumber is a partner in Texas Global (with former Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor) and the CEO of SozoTek.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed former Rep. Gene Seaman, R-Corpus Christi, to the Texas State Technical College System Board of Regents, along with two others: Micheal Northcutt, president of Southside Bank's Longview branch, and Cesar Maldonado, vice president of Maverick Engineering in Harlingen.

Perry named Lamont Meauz of Stowell to the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority Board of Directors. He's the owner of Seabreeze Culvert, Seabreeze Chemical and Seabreeze Farm.

The governor picked James Lee, president of a private investments firm in Houston, to chair the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, reappointing him to another term on the board in the process. He also tapped Charlotte Renee Masters Clifton, a teacher in the Snyder school district, and Robert Gauntt of Houston, founding partner of Avalon Advisors.