Huffman in SD17

We have another contender for the SD17 special election.

Republican Joan Huffman, a former felony court judge in Harris County, announced her candidacy in the Nov. 4 election to fill the vacant District 17 state Senate seat once held by Kyle Janek, who resigned.

Huffman joins Houston lawyer Grant Harpold and Houston businessman Austen Furse as declared candidates in the race.

Democrat Chris Bell, the former congressman who lost the 2006 race for governor, is among those who say they are considering running for the legislative seat.

The underlying dynamic of the race is unlikely to change by this. The Rs have three essentially unknown candidates, though Huffman at least can say she has run for and been elected to public office before; the Dems have a candidate with high name ID and decent poll numbers who right now would be a favorite to lead the pack and maybe win outright. It's not hard to imagine Bell finishing somewhere in the 40s or a smidge over 50%, with Furse, Harpold, and Huffman all getting in the 15-20% range. The entry of a better-known Republican, or Bell deciding against, would obviously change this equation, but that's how it looks right now.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 15, 2008 to Election 2008