The last Democrat who outraised Rick Perry in a governor's race — Tony Sanchez — was writing his own checks. But without lifting his own pen, Democrat Bill White raised more money than the Republican incumbent and had $3.1 million more in the bank than the governor at mid-year, according to their campaign finance reports.

Perry raised $7.1 million from his last report through June 30, bringing his campaign's cash on hand at mid-year to $5.9 million. That's less raised and less on hand than Democratic challenger Bill White is showing in his mid-year report; White raised $7.4 million and ended the period with $9 million in the bank — $3.1 million more than the incumbent.

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With this issue in the can, we're taking our annual summer break. Daily News Clips will continue, and the newsletter will return in the first week of August. Until then!

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Perry's campaign notes that their candidate had a financially competitive primary, and their spin on the mid-year numbers is evident in the headline on their press release: "Texans for Rick Perry Raises Over $20 Million for '09-'10 Election Cycle." Perry has a total of 14,837 contributors during that period, and also raised $1.2 million of his total online. White's campaign says more than 16,000 people have contributed so far, more than three-quarters of them giving $100 or less. The reports due today cover the period ending June 30.

If you had doubts, that foretells a well-financed governor's race on both sides. The heavy spending won't start for several weeks, but keep this (loose) rule of thumb in mind: It costs about $1.5 million a week to run television ads in the volume that moves votes in Texas elections. Both candidates have millions now, but they'll need more. The next reports are due 30 days before the November elections.

Perry got eight $100,000 contributions, one at $75,000, and 14 at $50,000. He raised $4.4 million of his total from 182 contributions of $10,000 or more.

White raised $1 million from the Democratic Governors Association, and $575,000 from three labor unions. White's report lists 123 contributions of $10,000 or more, totaling $4.3 million. His campaign claimed the numbers include $1 million from donors who supported U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in this year's GOP primary. We don't have a count from Perry's campaign, but his list is sprinkled with names recognizable from his recent rival's stable of political friends.

The smallest contributions on White's report were from Barbara and Ray Bunch of Mesquite: Each gave 50 cents. Perry got a penny each from three different donors: Michael McAloon of Plano, James Rutherford of Midlothian, and C.W. McDonald of Fort Worth.

Notes from the Finance Filings

You don't have to be very old at all to remember when a $100,000 House race was a big deal, but if a contest is competitive now, that's chump change. And the patterns are changing a little. Challengers often wait until after the mid-year reports to crank up their fundraising — the better to sneak up on incumbents who'd otherwise be alerted, by the reports, to serious challengers. Now, some of the challengers are showing their hands. Some examples and other notes from the mid-year finance reports:

• Jason Isaac, the Republican challenger to Democratic Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, raised $169,000 in the first six months of the year. That had been advertised as a weak challenge — so much so that House Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican, headlined a Rose fundraiser. No more. Isaac is for real, financially. Rose is one of the Legislature's most successful fundraisers; that could be expensive on both sides.

• Rep. Carol Kent, D-Dallas, is defending her seat for the first time and has piled up $253,006 for that effort after raising $193,493 during the first six months of the year. No word yet from her challenger, Republican Stefani Carter.

Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt's challenger, Pati Jacobs, says she raised over $100,000 for her race (he's an R-Livingston; she's a D-Bastrop). His report's not available yet.

• Paul Workman, a Republican challenging Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, raised $100,000 over the last three months (he had an election runoff) and got to mid-year with $67,000 in the account.

• If campaign finance reports are a show of strength, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, is making a muscle. He reported holding cash balances of around $3 million in his two accounts, and another $205,000 in the Texas House Leadership Fund that was set up by him and some of his chairs to hold and grow the GOP majority in the House. We haven't seen or heard the details yet, but his reports will show $259,500 in donations to incumbents and to Republicans running in open seats. Straus has said he won't campaign against incumbent Democrats.

• The Associated Republicans of Texas aren't constrained by Straus' pledge to leave incumbents alone. In fact, they're not contributing, at this point, to incumbent Republicans — only to challengers. They gave to Cindy Burkett, who's running against Rep. Robert Miklos, D-Mesquite; to Connie Scott, who's running (again) against Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Corpus Christi; Dee Margo, challenging Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, in a rematch; Erwin Cain, against Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris; Jim Landtroop, against Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton; former Rep. Jim Murphy, trying to get his seat back from Rep. Kristi Thibaut, D-Houston; Jose Aliseda, challenging Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, D-Alice; Sarah Davis, running against Rep. Ellen Cohen, D-Houston; and Stefani Carter, against Rep. Carol Kent, D-Dallas. Each got $20,000 from the PAC. ART also gave $5,000 to Lanham Lyne, the former Wichita Falls mayor running for the seat now held by Democrat David Farabee, who's not seeking reelection.

• Bill Flores, the Republican running against U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, raised $613,142 during the second quarter (federal candidates report every three months) and ended the period with $415,333. That's a little better on the income side than the incumbent, who brought in $609,706. Edwards has a bigger piggy bank, though: His cash-on-hand at mid-year was $2.1 million. It's a target race for the national Republicans; an important defense race for national Democrats.

A New Senate Org Chart

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is reshuffling eight Senate committee chairmanships (and of course, he'll reappoint committees in January and could mix it up all over again).

Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, will replace Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, as chairman of Senate Administration. Williams, in turn, will replace John Carona, R-Dallas, as chairman of Transportation and Homeland Security. Carona will take over Business & Commerce, replacing Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, who now becomes the chairman of Natural Resources, which was previously run by Kip Averitt, R-Waco, who resigned.

Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, will chair the Select Committee on Veterans Health. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, will cease to chair Nominations and will now head up Economic Development, where he will replace Chris Harris, R-Arlington. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, will take over for Jackson on Nominations, and Harris will become the chairman of Jurisprudence, formerly chaired by Wentworth.

About That Last Committee Assignment

Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, says he's talking to the Texas A&M University System about a vice chancellor's job there, but says the issue is "unresolved," and that the public conversation about his intentions "is really premature."

He talked with A&M Chancellor Mike McKinney on Sunday, adding fuel to talk that he might join the university system and leave the Legislature. And Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst shuffled committee assignments yesterday, leaving the veteran senator without a standing committee chairmanship. Wentworth says it's not a done deal, but it sounds pretty far along. "He [McKinney] is interested in having me on board and I'm interested in coming on board," he said this morning.

An interesting side note: Wentworth said he'll remain on the November ballot whether he takes the A&M job or not. Leaving early would leave the nomination in the hands of party officials, and he thinks that's undemocratic. He'd stay on the ballot, presumably win (it's a Republican district, and his only opponent is a Libertarian) and then decline to take the seat. That would set up a special election where the candidates weren't chosen by party elders. "So the people could pick my successor," he said.

As recently as April, he was denying rumors that he might leave the Senate. He was the runner-up — behind former Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano — for the chancellor's job at the Texas State University System. He had been attributing the departure rumors to that episode. And later, he sent a scorching and very public letter to the chairman of the TSUS board, scolding the regents for choosing McCall over him.

Survey Says...

Gov. Rick Perry leads Democrat Bill White 50-41 in the latest poll from Rasmussen Reports. That's comparable to the 48-40 split the same pollsters reported last month, and with the exception of April (when they were four points apart), it's about where Rasmussen has had this race all year.

According to Rasmussen, 55 percent of Texans approve of the job Perry is doing as governor. And he's leading White with men, with women, and with independents, according to the survey. Perry is regarded "very favorably' by 17 percent of voters and "very unfavorably" by 20 percent. The corresponding numbers for White are 24 percent and 18 percent.

More than half of the respondents (51 percent) rated the economy as "poor" and only 12 percent rate it as good or excellent. Two-thirds oppose the federal health care bill, and about that many disagree with the U.S. Justice Department's decision to challenge the Arizona immigration law (Texas has joined other states opposing Justice on that issue).

Rasmussen polled 500 Texans on Tuesday, July 13. The poll's margin of error is +/- 4.5 percent.

Straddling the Border

Gov. Rick Perry won't give his full support to Arizona's new immigration law, but he's all for the 10th Amendment, and said via nighttime press release that he supports Arizona's right to do something. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is joining other state attorneys general to stop federal efforts to undermine the Arizona law. They contend the states have the right to take care of their citizens if the federal government won't; that the Arizona law is an effort to fill the breach left by the feds' failure to enforce immigration laws.

Perry's with Abbott, but as he's done in recent appearances (as recently as this week in an appearance on FOX), he didn't endorse the Arizona law. He supports Abbott, he says, on the 10th Amendment argument.

• Perry also has made overtures of support to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, saying he would only attend an annual conference for border governors if it stayed in Arizona. Brewer cancelled the meeting after every Mexican governor invited backed out in protest of the state's law.

• A large majority of conservative Hispanics who identify themselves as Republicans or Libertarians disapprove of Arizona's immigration bill and want immigration reform with a path to citizenship. Seventy percent firmly oppose the measure, according to a recent poll conducted by LatinoMetrics and commissioned by LULAC and the Hispanic Federation. The data was collected from 504 respondents in late May and early June and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.

About 70 percent favor federal immigration legislation with a pathway to citizenship, compared with 85 percent of Democrats or Independents. And 75 percent favor the immediate deportation of immigrant felons. About half also support increased law enforcement on the border and physical barriers or fences. The numbers come as Democrats and Republicans ramp their attempts to court the Latino vote. About 60 percent of the respondents are registered voters and a quarter of those who are not intend to register before the November election.

• According to 2009 census data, Hispanics are already the largest ethnic group in three of Texas' five largest counties (Harris, Dallas, and in Bexar, where they are in the majority) and hold large majorities in the seventh and eighth largest, El Paso and Hidalgo, respectively.

No Foolin' Bipartisanship

A Third Court of Appeals race has the GOP endorsing over party lines. Former Republican Supreme Court Justices Tom Phillips, Craig Enoch, and Scott Brister — all Republicans — came out in support of Kurt Kuhn, a Democrat running for the seat Jan Patterson will leave on the Austin-based court.

Phillips, who served as chief justice on the state's highest civil court from 1988 to 2004, declines to attach any importance to the cross-party nods. "Most of us believe the judiciary ought to be nonpartisan anyway," he says, adding, "The only thing significant about it is that people actually think it's news."

Kuhn faces Melissa Goodwin, a Republican who has served as a criminal district judge and as staff attorney for the Court of Criminal Appeals. Phillips cited her mostly criminal background, compared with Kuhn's extensive appellate experience (he is a former assistant solicitor general and currently chairs Brown McCarroll's appellate practice) as the reason for his endorsement. "It's nothing against Judge Goodwin," he says.

When asked about the former justices' endorsements by Texas Lawyer, Goodwin said: "They're going to do what they are going to do."

Thank You for Holding...

Almost two years into his administration, President Barack Obama has made his first nomination to a federal district bench in Texas. He recommended Diana Saldaña for the open seat for the Southern District Court, and if confirmed, the current U.S. magistrate judge will fill one of two vacancies on the Houston-based court. Four more seats on federal courts stand open in San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Beaumont.

To date, all of Texas' four U.S. Attorney spots remain unfilled, too. The party divide between the state's Republican senators, who traditionally recommend candidates for the spots, and the Obama administration, has members of the Democratic congressional delegation striving for control of the process. In Saldaña, however, the two sides have reached a consensus. Cornyn, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he supports her nomination and "will urge [his] Senate colleagues to expedite a confirmation vote." U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, whose constituents live in part of the Southern District, said she also has the backing of Democrats.

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Before the polling and the fundraising you already read about, Rick Perry and Bill White were courting the Texas Farm Bureau — the group that helped Perry win statewide office in 1990 and fell out with him over highways and eminent domain and a hotly contested 1998 race for Lite Guv against Democrat John Sharp. Perry made a showing. White's hoping they'll endorse him, or at least stay out.

BP might perhaps possibly hopefully be getting a lid on its Gulf oil leak. Meantime, the science department reports that tar balls that showed up on Texas beaches were, in fact, from the BP spill.

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott says he's willing to drop a "Growth Measure" that upgrades the apparent performance of public schools based on projections of how currently failing students might do in the future. If people are confused and unhappy about it, he says, he'd be "happy to scrap it."

Gambling might be fun or popular but it won't solve the state's fiscal problems, the state's chief revenue estimator told a House committee last week. Promoters are hoping the $11 billion to $18 billion hole in the state's purse will make it easier to expand legal gaming in the state to include more bingo, slot machines, casinos, or some combination.

U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, is the latest politician to get caught on camera blowing his stack after an audience member taunted him during a town hall meeting on the federal health plan and prodded him to "tell the truth." He's in a competitive race this year and Republican Francisco "Quico" Canseco has been busy promoting the video. Rodriguez apologized publicly for losing his temper.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll has the president at a new low in terms of public opinion — only four in ten voters have faith in Barack Obama to make the right decisions for the country. He's not on the ballot, but other Democrats are warily watching numbers like those. Incumbents, too: The same poll says six in ten Americans are ready to "look around" when it comes to who they're supporting in November.

Political People and Their Moves

After ten sessions as a Senate staffer, Joe Morris is retiring and says he'll become a lobbyist. Morris is currently Sen. Jeff Wentworth's chief of staff (his decision to depart — and the internal announcement of it — preceded talk that Wentworth might resign to work at the Texas A&M University System), and worked for Bill Sims before that. James Morris, his dad, was the Senate doorkeeper for years, and his late mother, Jeanne, worked for then-Gov. Coke Stevenson and got the family started in the government business. Morris is a free man on August 1.

New Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, announced the formation of Helms, Johnson & Diaz LLP, a Dallas-based law firm with his new partners Manuel Diaz and John M. Helms, Jr.

Gov. Rick Perry has been busy appointing people:

• Robert Davis Jr. of Coppell, Malachi Boyuls of Dallas, and Sheryl Swift of Galveston to the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board.

• Robert J. Choate of Wiergate as the Newton County Criminal District Attorney for a term to expire at the next general election.

• Laura Duran, the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium, and Diana Juarez, director of staff development and interim director of elementary education for the Laredo Independent School District, to the Communities in Schools Advisory Committee.

• Margaret Barnes as judge of the 367th District Court in Denton County for a term to expire at the next general election.

• Beverly Ashley-Fridie of Edinburg, Aranda Cooper of Nacogdoches, Charlotte Keany, Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott of Austin, and Charles Wall of San Antonio to the OneStar National Service Commission.

• Three new members to the Advisory Council on Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Nora Castaneda-Rivas of Harlingen is marketing director of Treasure Hill Imaging Center. Ryan Matthews of Holliday is president of Trans Star Inc. and director of Trans Star Ambulance. Robert Vezzetti of Austin is a physician at Emergency Service Partners.

• And three to the State Board of Trustees of the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System. Gracie Flores of Corpus Christi is a pension plan administrator for the Corpus Christi Firefighter's Retirement System. Virginia "Jenny” Moore of Lake Jackson is an office manager for Starboard Industries. Dennis Rice of Canyon is a sergeant and fire marshal for the Randall County Sheriff's Office.

Quotes of the Week

Oil magnate T. Boone Pickens, on the consequences of failing to use natural gas as an energy source, quoted in the Texas Tribune: "We will go down as the absolute dumbest crowd that ever came on the streets."

Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg, on the results of a survey she conducted for Texas Freedom Network, which found most Texans want schools to teach contraception and separation of church and state, quoted in the San Antonio Express-News: "People are actually quite practical. They want the best education for their kids."

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on why he won't support Elena Kagan's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court: "Solicitor General Kagan's testimony before the Judiciary Committee did not assure me that she agrees with the traditional understanding of the proper role of a judge. Judges should strictly interpret the written Constitution."

Accused hit man Cristian Rosado Mendoza, on how the shooting death of Chihuahua Assistant Attorney General Sandra Ivonne Salas Garcia was allegedly facilitated by someone from her office, reported by the Associated Press: "Somebody on the inside who was with her, someone close to her, told us at certain times she would go out ...We didn't know if it was a person in her (bodyguard) escort or someone close to her in that department."

Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, on whispers around the capitol that he might be retiring to take a job at Texas A&M: "The rumor mill in Austin is very efficient."

El Paso Mayor John Cook to the Texas Tribune on the economic effects of Mexicans fleeing Juárez for El Paso: "While the rest of the country is calling this the ‘Great Recession,' we're calling it the ‘recession that's making us great.'”

Gov. Rick Perry on his relationship with the White House in an appearance with FOX News' Neil Cavuto: "We don't get a lot of calls from this White House. I have frankly never had a call from them ... This is an Administration that clearly has Texas on its radar, and it's in a bad way.”

Contributors: Morgan Smith, Reeve Hamilton, Julian Aguilar

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Texas Weekly: Volume 27, Issue 27, 19 July 2010. Ross Ramsey, Editor. Copyright 2010 by The Texas Tribune. 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) 716-8600 or email biz@texasweekly.com. For news, email ramsey@texasweekly.com, or call (512) 716-8611.

Much anticipated and somewhat controversial public school ratings were released this week. They're based on a number of things, including a "projection measure" that allows schools to take credit for kids who don't pass if those kids are expected to do well later on. That has boosted school ratings for the last two years and drawn considerable criticism in the process. Although the TEA has defended the practice and lauded the number of schools receiving the highest ratings of exemplary and recognized, Education Commissioner Robert Scott has acknowledged that the program could be modified or even scrapped next year.

Sharon Keller isn't done. Offered a chance to accept a sanction and remain on the court, the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals instead filed a petition with the Texas Supreme Court questioning the legality of the action against her by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Keller’s petition alleges that the Commission does not have the constitutional authority to issue a public warning and followed a procedural rule that conflicts with the state constitution. The commission's response to the court was due as this was published.

The campaigns are warming up. Bill White again accused Rick Perry of getting a Texas Enterprise Fund grant to benefit someone whose land dealings had benefited the governor. Perry's defense? The grant money referenced was never paid out. Perry bought the land in question from Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, who had purchased it from Doug Jaffe, an investor in the company that received the TEF grant. An independent appraiser has stated that the purchase price was under market value to the tune of about $150,000.

Big donors to a Republican candidate don't usually appear on fundraising reports for Democratic candidates. But this year’s gubernatorial race has been unusual from the beginning, and the challenge to the governor from within his own party, in the form of Kay Bailey Hutchison, created a wedge that Bill White’s campaign has successfully mined for general election funds. Perry's still ahead. But Hutchison’s supporters have split their support, with White receiving about 60 percent of the amount given to Perry.

A hot topic in the desert Southwest this summer, illegal immigration cannot be addressed without border security, according to Gov. Perry. He has repeatedly said that Texas does not need an Arizona-style immigration law and continues to stress the need for increased patrolling of the border. More National Guard troops have been sent to the border area, but Perry’s contention is that the 250 allotted to Texas are not nearly enough to secure the border.

As the state of Texas moves forward with its lawsuit against the EPA, local officials in Fort Worth are doing their own environmental testing. The city has contracted with Eastern Research Group to conduct tests and compile a report that will provide a picture of the impact of natural gas drilling in the area and the resulting air quality. Concern over the emissions generated at the more than 1,200 wells in the area was heightened in May when the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality admitted that it had suppressed results of tests in January that showed high levels of benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer.

The purchasing power of Latinos and Asians living in Texas increased by more than 400 percent since 1990, totaling more than $208 billion in 2009, according to a recent report compiled by the Immigration Policy Center.

For Latinos, that's an increase of about 430 percent from two decades ago, to $175.3 billion; it's a 626 percent increase for Asians, to $33.5 billion.

The populations of the two groups have increased enough to collectively be about 40 percent of the Texas’ population. Latinos in Texas currently make up about 37 percent of the population, about 8.9 million people, according to U.S. Census Bureau data for 2008. That represents a jump from 25.5 percent of the population in 1990. Asians are now 3.5 percent of the population, about 851,000 people, an increase of almost 100 percent from 1990.

The surge in population also translates at the polls, according to the study. An estimated 1.7 million Latinos cast ballots in 2008, representing about 20 percent of all voters. About 118,000 Asians, or 1.4 percent of the voting public, also flexed their civic muscles at the voting booths in 2008.

Immigrants in Texas made up a fifth of the state’s workforce in 2008 with about 2.5 million enjoying steady employment. Immigrants accounted for about 21 and 16 percent of the economic output in the Houston and Dallas metropolitan areas, respectively. And look at the economic contributions from the undocumented workforce. According to the Perryman Group, removing every undocumented immigrant from Texas would result in a loss of $69.3 billion in economic activity, about $31 billion in gross domestic product and a loss of more than 403,000 jobs.

Whether the University of Texas' admission policy passes constitutional muster is now in the hands of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The New Orleans-based court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. Texas this week, the suit two white students brought against the school when they were denied entry to its undergraduate program.

The case is the first to challenge affirmative action policies at an undergraduate university since Grutter v. Bollinger — the seminal 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision on the University of Michigan Law School's affirmative action policy. It attracted 30 amicus briefs from around the country, including one from the Obama administration in support of the state's arguments.

Burt Rein, the D.C.-based attorney for the plaintiffs, Solicitor General James Ho, who argued the case for the state, and Joshua Civin, the attorney for UT's Black Student Alliance, answered questions from the three judges for more than an hour. The plaintiffs, Abigail Fisher of Sugar Land and Rachel Michalewicz of Buda, believe the school violated the constitution's equal protection clause and violated the precedent set forth in Grutter.

Rein argued that UT had achieved diversity with a race-neutral policy — referring to the top 10 percent rule, which the Legislature instituted in 1998 — and that Grutter did not allow it to return to using race as a factor in the admissions policy in 2004. Ho called Rein's criticism of UT's policy as "white versus nonwhite binary conception of race that the Supreme Court rejected in Grutter," saying Rein's argument turned the case "on its head."

Supporters of affirmative action fear the case could provide an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to narrow the Grutter decision to exclude more forms of race-based admission. The makeup of the court has changed, and Grutter was a close vote that went against the court's more conservative justices at the time.

Fisher and Michalewicz now both attend other universities, and avoid contact with the press. Edward Blum, founder of the D.C.-based Project for Fair Representation, the group that handpicked Fisher and Michalewicz as plaintiffs and is paying their attorneys, told the Texas Tribune that's because they aren't out to become "national figures in their cause."

The three hottest races in the state, from a national standpoint, are the contests for governor and the reelection bids of incumbent U.S. Reps. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, and Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

So, when the star of the Democratic Party also has abysmal approval ratings and is coming to a state he didn't carry at his most popular, there are three places he's not going: Houston, where Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White was mayor, and Waco and San Antonio. Instead, President Barack Obama will make stops in Austin and Dallas, hitting the state capital for a fundraiser and then a speech at the University of Texas before visiting Dallas for another fundraiser.

Fundraiser number one is for the Democratic National Committee, which has promised the Texas Democratic Party $250,000 of the haul, according to a TDP spokeswoman. The Dallas stop, at the home of attorney Russell Budd (of Baron and Budd, which made its name on asbestos lawsuits) is to raise money for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. That particular layover isn't about candidates — neither of the Texas seats in the U.S. Senate is on the ballot.

Bill Flores, the Republican challenging Waco Democrat U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, is so eager for President Barack Obama to visit his district that he’s willing to pay for it.

Obama, who Edwards supports in the 2008 elections, will be visiting Texas on Monday, and Flores would like to see the two Democrats hold a joint town hall. His campaign has even offered to cover the “reasonable cost of the venue.”

“Congressman Edwards sold Obama to Texas by citing his ‘judgment,’” Flores said in a statement. “It is time for them to explain to the voters why they have repeatedly forced a failing liberal agenda on Americans who do not want what the Pelosi-Obama-Edwards crowd is selling.”

Flores spokesman Matt Mackowiak says the campaign will consider the reasonableness of any proposal, but cautions that the offer only stands if Obama and Edwards appear together. Topics he figures they might cover include jobs, record deficits, out of control spending, and specific examples of good judgment on the part of Obama.

Mackowiak admits that the chances of such an event actually happening are not good. “Congressman Edwards hasn't held a town hall meeting in almost a year, so the chances are not good,” he says, using the opportunity to point out the Flores pledges to hold town hall meetings in the district at least twice a year if he is elected.

The Edwards campaign has been less than enthusiastic about the offer. Campaign spokeswoman Megan Jacobs shrugged it off as a cheap publicity stunt on the part of the Flores campaign.

There couldn't be more difference between the two candidates for an open spot on the Texas Railroad Commission. If you see them one after the other, it's hard to conclude that Republican David Porter is the better choice. He's timid, uncomfortable in public, shows no signs of leadership and has apparently been through a quick political charm school curriculum designed to make him risk-averse and to keep him from making a mistake that would put the seat in Democratic hands.

Democrat Jeff Weems, on the other hand, comes on too strong. He's loud, talks too fast, includes lots of arcane details and tangential arguments and observations that don't make sense to people outside of the oil and gas business, and comes off like a guy who's afraid you'll cut him off before he finishes his pitch.

It's like the two guys walked into a room and someone handed Weems an amphetamine and Porter a muscle relaxant. Or the story of Goldilocks without the Baby Bear's porridge; the "too hot" and the "too cold" without the "just right."

That said, Weems clearly has a better command of the material, a firmer opinion of where he'd like the commission to go, and isn't bashful about saying where the agency that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas doesn't measure up.

An oil and gas lobbyist who watched both men at a forum in Fort Worth last week said Weems will win overwhelming among voters who see both men talking about the campaign and the office they seek. That seemed a fair assessment of the crowd watching the forum. The problem? "He won't be able to see enough people before the election," the lobbyist said.

Porter's strategy seems designed around that very idea. Don't create any sharp differences with the opposition that might show voters there's a choice to be made. Rely instead on the fact that this contest will be on the lower part of the statewide ballot and that, with no other information available to most voters, the unknown Republican should beat the unknown Democrat by at least five percentage points.

The Weems strategy? Talk to anyone who'll listen, try to bring attention to the race, and try to find differences that matter to people in the business, who largely fund races like this — and the people outside the business, who actually cast the ballots.

You can get a sense of the personalities involved by watching a "Faceoff" put together by The Texas Tribune and available online here.

In the longer format forum in Fort Worth, the differences were even more apparent. Porter stumbled on several questions, notably when an oil exec asked his opinion about non-perforation zones —the sort of arcane stuff the RRC regulates. Weems brought up the subject himself in response to another question and seemed conversant enough to satisfy a room full of experts. Porter couldn't come up with any differences between himself and the current Republican commissioners — Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams — except that he doesn't think the name of the agency should be changed, and they do (he says it would be too expensive to change signs and letterhead and so on). He agrees with Weems that the agency should regulate air and gas emissions from wells, and says the agency should have more field inspectors flagging problems in the oil and gas fields of the state. He opposes federal environmental and cap and trade proposals, but offers no solutions, alternatives, or remedies that could be applied to those troubles from a spot on the Railroad Commission. He did say it would be a good forum for talking about those things and educating the public.

Porter certainly isn't the first candidate to reach prime time before he's ready, and given the current politics of the state and the low visibility of the race, he's got a good chance of joining the Texas Railroad Commission just because he's on the right ticket — even if he doesn't improve the quality of his stump appearances. Tony Sanchez was a political tenderfoot and got better (without actually getting good) and lost. George W. Bush went on a long tour of the state's smaller markets until he became presentable (and it was pretty rough back there in '93) and went all the way up the ladder. Porter doesn't appear to have that ambition, but you never know. For now, his best chance lies in remaining anonymous, and in a funny twist, his opponent's best chance lies in getting him some attention.

Greg Abbott named Daniel Hodge his first assistant attorney general and David Morales as deputy first assistant attorney general. Hodge and Morales will assume their new roles when the current first assistant, Andrew Weber, departs the agency and returns to private practice next week. Morales’ current position as deputy attorney general for civil litigation will be filled by William Cobb III. Cobb currently serves as senior counsel to the AG. Abbott also filled a vacancy that has remained open since Jonathan Frels departed the agency in June, and appointed David Schenck as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel. Clete Buckaloo will serve as Director of Law Enforcement in the Criminal Investigative Division, a region on the org chart established by Abbott for the agency’s more than 140 peace officers, whose divisions currently report up to the criminal litigation folks.

Jason Robinson is the new, and first, rural ombudsman at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. His job is to help smaller cities link up with the agency. He was previous director of public works for the city of Ovilla, in Ellis County.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Callie Vivion-Matthews of Fort Worth and reappointed Stephanie Sokolosky of Lubbock, Glenn Roque-Jackson of Plano and Pam Rollins of Dallas to the Texas Council on Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

Perry appointed James Wade Birdwell of Mansfield to preside in the 342nd District Court in Tarrant County. He's an attorney at Wallach and Andrews, and the brother of Brian Birdwell, the new senator in SD-22. Both brothers will be on the November ballot.

Josh Meeks, most recently found in the offices of former Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor, moves to Ross Communications, an Austin-based public affairs firm.

Deaths: Former Rep. Lynn Nabers, who served as a Democrat from Brownwood for 14 years starting in 1969, then worked as a lawyer and lobbyist in Austin, later joining Strategic Partnerships, the firm founded by his wife, Mary Scott Nabers, from cancer.

Democratic officials in SD-22 got together in a Hillsboro restaurant Thursday evening and nominated John Cullar to run for the Senate seat now held by Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury. Cullar is a Waco attorney, former McLennan County Democratic chairman (until earlier this year), and a former member of the State Democratic Executive Committee.

The nomination gives Waco another opportunity to try to hold its place as the political anchor of the ten-county district. That used to be a clear role based on its population, but the counties on the northern end of the district that edge the DFW Metroplex have more people and more voters now. Birdwell's success in this year's special election is partly a testament to that population shift. And it's a consequential issue this year; lawmakers will redraw the political maps in 2011, after the Census numbers are available, and Waco leaders fear they'll lose more clout if those cartographers don't include someone who lives in McLennan County.

The Democrats didn't have a candidate in that race until now and wouldn't have one at all if Kip Averitt hadn't resigned from the seat, and the race, after winning the Republican nomination last March. Birdwell won the special election for the remainder of his term. But because he quit after winning the nomination, the law allows both parties to appoint nominees for the general election. No Democrat ran in that party's March primary, but the Averitt resignation gave them another shot. Some Democrats in the area hesitated, fearing that a vigorous race for Senate might turn out more Republican voters and that those voters might also vote against U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who faces a difficult reelection bid. They apparently decided that wasn't a deal-breaker.

Now the question is whether Democrats will take a shot at Birdwell on residency questions before the general election. He's got two interesting items in his voting record. The first is that official ballot records in Prince William County, Virginia show him voting in the November 2004 election there; official records in Tarrant County, Texas, show him voting in the same election there. Voting twice in the same election is a felony. Birdwell says the Tarrant County records mixed him up with his brother and that he didn't vote in Texas that year — a possibility brought to our attention initially by Tarrant County election officials. But the sheets that voters sign when they vote can be destroyed after only 22 months under state law, and the only record still standing is the one showing the newest state senator cast a ballot in Tarrant County that year.

The second issue is more pertinent to this particular election. Birdwell voted in Virginia in November 2006. Texas law requires senators to live here for the five years before they take office. If a court were to say voting is an act of residency, it would have to conclude that Birdwell can't take office until after November 2011. Birdwell has said he remained in Virginia for treatment of burns he suffered in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and that he always intended to return to Texas and always considered it his true residence. But he voted in Texas in 2002 — 14 months after the attack — before registering as a Virginia voter in early 2004.

The clock is ticking on this: August 20 is the last day parties are allowed to replace candidates who drop off the ballot (though the courts can fiddle with those dates), and there's no time for a case to wind through a district court and up the appellate chain. In all likelihood, any challenge would have to be made directly to the Texas Supreme Court. Judges generally don't like messing with elections and with candidates chosen by voters. But voting is an act of citizenship, and has a way of legally locating a voter in a particular place. So was Birdwell a Texas resident voting in a Virginia election, or a Virginian who's not eligible to serve in the Texas Senate? At this point, that's a question only the courts can answer, and only one guy — Cullar, the new Democratic candidate — has the legal standing to ask for a ruling. He'll have to make a decision quickly.

John Cullar, the Democrat nominated yesterday to challenge Sen. Brian Birdwell in the November elections, went to court this morning to question whether Birdwell meets the residency requirements to serve in the state Senate.In his lawsuit, Cullar says Birdwell hasn't resided in Texas for the required five years. Cullar filed that complaint directly with the Court of Appeals in Fort Worth. And in a press release, he made this comment:

“I’m going to run a comprehensive campaign, and part of that is analyzing if my opponent is eligible to represent the people of SD 22. I look forward to seeing that question resolved by the court. In the meantime, I’ll be out talking with the voters of the district I’ve been proud to call home for 26 years.”

No comment yet from the Birdwell camp. The case hinges, apparently, on Birdwell's Virginia voting records, which show him voting in the November 2006 election there. Texas law requires senators to live in this state for the five years before they serve. If voting in Virginia constitutes residency there in the eyes of the courts, then Birdwell would be ineligible. August 20 is the last day the parties can replace candidates on the November ballot; that's why the Democrats fast-tracked their lawsuit by going straight to the appellate court.