Alas. The Democrats had the votes in November, but thanks to the Republican ringer, that wasn't good enough. My sincere thanks to Chris Bell for all he did. He deserved better. Congratulations for Sen.-elect Joan Huffman on her victory. May she be unlike so many of her fellow Republicans and respect the people who voted for her by serving her full term in office.
UPDATE: Here's Bell's statement:
"I entered this race because I truly believe it is vital for us to change the overall direction of our state. Though we came up short tonight, I am very proud of the campaign we have run - a campaign that focused on the issues that matter to the people of Texas and Senate District 17.I traveled across this district and visited with so many of its residents about the concerns they face. It only reinforced my belief that in order to create a brighter future for our kids, we must act now to implement real education and health care reform.
I want to thank all of my supporters and campaign volunteers who worked tirelessly to bring real reform to the Texas Senate. We could not have made it without your time, energy and commitment to this campaign and to the future of Texas."
Democrats never clued in that McCain and Cornyn both carried the district and that there were over 50,000 under votes in the State Senate race in Round 1.
Also when you look at the number of votes Simmons gots in certain GOP Precincts, it is obvious that there some confusion among Republicans about which woman to vote for - so not all of Simmons vote was African American Democrat.
The outcome should not be that much of a surprise.
Posted by: Dano on December 17, 2008 11:08 PM