Now that Sen. Wendy Davis will abandon her re-election in SD10 to run for Governor, Democrats need to find a candidate that might be able to hold her seat.
Joel Burns
The Republican field is already crowded with four candidates in the race. Names of potential Democratic candidates are swirling, but no contender has officially announced. And since Fort Worth will be home base for Davis’ newly-announced gubernatorial campaign, insiders say the eventual Democratic candidate for the Senate seat could ride her campaign coattails.
Among Democrats, Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns’ name has come up as a potential candidate to succeed Davis. Burns previously said he thought about running for the seat but that it wasn’t open yet.
Davis is officially in the gubernatorial race now, but Burns said he remains undecided about whether he’ll jump into the Senate race despite urging from friends and supporters.
“I will be talking with my family, constituents and with Tarrant County business and community leaders over the coming days and weeks about our future together and how we can best keep strong representation for Tarrant County neighborhoods while moving Texas forward,” Burns said in a statement.
Burns is a longtime friend of Davis and succeeded her on the city council in 2008 when she stepped down to run for the Senate. His partner, J.D. Angle, is a longtime Davis consultant and is expected to run her gubernatorial campaign.
Deborah Peoples, Tarrant County Democratic Party chairwoman, said others have expressed interest in the race, but the potential contenders were waiting for Davis’ announcement.
I’m already in the tank for Burns, but if there are other good Democrats who’d like to take a shot at it, I say go for it. Just keep it positive and on topic in the primary, that’s all I ask. Fort Worth Weekly suggests Burns may be leaning towards a run. I suspect that he and many other will-they-or-won’t-they candidates will be announcing decisions soon.
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