This is a big surprise.
Democrat Jack McDonald, who was going to challenge Republican incumbent Mike McCaul for District 10, will no longer be running for the seat. He never filed.
McDonald’s press release is beneath the fold. I’m stunned by this because McDonald had been very successful at fundraising, and had over $800K in the bank as of the third quarter reporting deadline. I confess I’m too cynical to take an announcement like this at face value, but I’m not sufficiently plugged into the Travis County scene to know any more about what may have been going on. If anyone knows some details, please leave a comment. BOR has more.
“In February, after receiving strong encouragement from friends and supporters throughout Texas to consider running for United States Congress, we formed an Exploratory Committee to evaluate the race.
My wife, Carla, and I have been humbled by the broad and deep support and kindness we’ve received over the last 10 months from fellow Texans, including business, community and political leaders, Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike.
However, after careful consideration, and with the January 4 filing deadline approaching, I have decided that this is not the right time for me to run and I will not be filing to enter the race. This was a difficult decision for me and one I did not make lightly. I approached the decision in the same way I have approached my business decisions over the years—in an informed, realistic and fiscally-responsible way. In the next few weeks, we will be offering to return the contributions made to our committee.
For Carla and me, the last 10 months have provided some of the best and most enriching moments of our lives—with so many wonderful people from throughout the district and state sharing with us their hopes and concerns. As we look ahead, I remain more committed than ever to public service, to the need for more people in government who can put aside partisanship to do what’s right for Texas and America and to my work with the State of Texas’ Emerging Technology Fund and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce to create more good jobs in the state.”
[...] As we know, Jack McDonald has backed out of running for CD10 next year, which left the Democrats without a candidate for that race. For a few minutes, it looked like 2008 candidate Larry Joe Doherty might be ready to gear it up again. Mean Rachel, who was a big supporter of LJD’s candidacy in 2008, reported that he was thinking about it – as he put it in an email to her, “You may tell all interested that I’m interested.” Unfortunately, that was followed up by another email saying he had decided against it. Barring a late surprise, that means incumbent Mike McCaul will get a free pass, which is a damn shame. (For those of you wondering about the other 2008 Democratic hopeful from CD10, Dan Grant released a statement just before Christmas saying he would not be running, as he and his wife are expecting their first child shortly.) Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s how it looks. [...]