This woman could turn Texas purple — and it’s not Wendy Davis

[ashling]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/03/14/this-woman-could-turn-texas-purple-and-its-not-wendy-davis/

It turns out that both Van de Putte and Davis used that much tweeted about moment to elevate their profiles. Davis, with her pink sneakers and working class mom turned Harvard Law school graduate storyline, has been much more successful at the public relations part of it.

Even as Davis, who won the Democratic gubernatorial primary last week, has stumbled over the last months, she is still seen by national progressives as someone who could help galvanize Democratic voters in the Lone Star state and make it purple.

But increasingly, on the ground in Texas, attention is shifting to San Antonio’s Van de Putte, who is running for lieutenant governor, a position that is in some ways the more powerful one in Texas, because that official presides over the Senate. Van de Putte is quietly emerging as a favorite among some Democrats, who see the Hispanic businesswoman and mother of seven as the more likely candidate who could help revive her party’s chances.

[WhiteTara]

1. Together they could create a sesmic shift.

[ashling]

2. We may have discovered

the source of the earthquakes in the state.

[FiveGoodMen]

8. Texas had Ann Richards once, too

Then they went for Dubya and then Perry.

Don't mean to be a wet blanket, but we assume way too often that once we sweep out the filth it won't come back.

[WhiteTara]

10. Actually, I would bet that they stole Texas

as well as using dirty tricks. But what is historic is there will 2 women in places of power and that would be a seismic shift.

[FiveGoodMen]

11. I'm all for having two women running Texas

But we've gotten into enough trouble trying to break glass ceilings instead of trying to fix the country that I really don't care about this type of seismic shift.

I only care about a government that's truly by, for, and of the people.

[WhiteTara]

12. That is exactly the shift of which

I am speaking.

[Rstrstx]

19. I guess you weren't here for the 1994 election

It was the first major election where Carl Rove got to debut his dirty tricks campaign. You could smell the stench of low blows and whisper campaigns in the air.

[WhiteTara]

20. No, but I remember the campaign and nastiness

they spewed all over. Ann Richards was a national treasure and they spit on her and mocked her and then ran the state to the ground and gave it to that horrible POS.

Go Wendy Go! Go Leticia Go!

[Thinkingabout]

3. This is going to require a large grass roots campaign to GOTV.

It can be done and it is time to turn Texas blue. If you know someone who does not have the required photo ID to vote then assist them to get the required ID. This would be a way to beat the GOP at their game. The voter fraud is in the mind of "True the Vote" whose leader is lining her pockets with donations while she lies about voter fraud. It is time to back the American Taliban out of Texas, women does not them meddling into decisions women are quiet capable of making themselves. This state has suffered long enough under the miss direction of the governor and his gang. Let's head them up and move them out.

[Dustlawyer]

9. They are pulling every dirty trick in the book too!

My ex-wife changed her name back to her maiden name after our divorce on her driver's license and her voter's registration card. She has voted a couple of times since. She got her new voter's registration card in the mail and they had changed her name back to her former married name. If she hadn't checked she would have found out when she was turned away from voting.

[Thinkingabout]

14. I worked on election day and if there was a problem in not finding the registration our precinct

Judges would call into the registrar office to attempt to locate their registration. We would also if they had made a recent change of names. The records indicate if there is a match to the DPS or if it was a similar name matching the address. If the voter chose they could change their voter registration to match the DPS. Don't run away from a precinct if there is a challenge, if nothing else vote a provisional ballot. Don't let them deny your right to vote.

[Dustlawyer]

17. Trust me, you don't know my ex-wife!

She would never let it go. She would be all over them until they realized they lost! If this is more than some random quirk in the registration as I believe, it will cost us some votes
Thank you for volunteering, this is how change is effected, by getting and staying involved. We are volunteering for Wendy.

[DhhD]

18. If possible bring your old driver's licenses and outdated voter registration cards to the voting

place. This tells a story of the State of Texas issuing and allowing numerous aliases as a way to intimidate you at the voting place. Once your character is defamed, you are stuck with an affidavit and no privacy for your vote. And to drag you through the mud, the State may claim that you are voting fraudulently until proven otherwise, days, maybe even longer, after the election.

[Dustlawyer]

22. I agree. She had it corrected before we voted in the primary.

[shenmue]

4. Yay!

She sounds awesome.

[Tx4obama]

5. Additional info regarding Leticia Van de Putte on the links below...

Senator Van de Putte: "At what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?”

Her remarks resulted in loud applause and cheering from the Senate gallery, which lasted for nearly 15 minutes. The gallery continued to deafen the Texas Senate until shortly after midnight.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/26/watch-texas-state-sen-leticia-van-de-putte-sparks-15-minutes-of-chaos/

Leticia R. San Miguel Van de Putte (born 6 December 1954) is a Democratic member of the Texas Senate representing the 26th District. She was previously a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Family

Van de Putte was born in Tacoma, Washington, and raised in San Antonio, where she currently lives with her husband, Henry P. "Pete" Van De Putte Jr. Van de Putte has six children and six grandchildren.

Education

Senator Van de Putte was a Kellogg Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1993. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, and she is a 1973 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, Texas).

Career before politics

She was and still is a practicing pharmacist.

-snip-

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leticia_R._Van_de_Putte

An additional bio page, here: http://www.vandeputte.senate.state.tx.us/

[SunSeeker]

6. Wow, I remember that line. Thanks for reminding us that was her. nt

[Gothmog]

7. Juanita Jean agrees with you about Senator van de Putte

http://www.juanitajean.com/2014/03/14/honey-shes-like-gold-dipped-in-frosting/

[sheshe2]

13. Kicked and Recommending!

[blkmusclmachine]

15. 7 kids, huh?! She's got a quiver full.

[onecent]

16. KICK and Recommend!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[Rstrstx]

21. I agree, she has the best chance

Honestly Davis has been mildly disappointing, not for her positions, but rather from her wishy washy stands on abortion to her mild response to attacks from Republicans (or even the Dallas newspaper's hit job). To beat a Repub here you have to not only play them at their own game you need to throw it back in their face. Be a junkyard dog on the political playground. I also can't seem to feel "the love" from minorities that she needs to win the state; if she doesn't get a high minority turnout for her she'd have to win a lot of soccer mom votes to have a chance (possible if Abbott makes enough gaffes, but I bet Rove has a shock collar attached to Abbott's neck to keep him from making Clayton Williams-type idiotic statements). I also would have expected more money flowing to her campaign. In short, I like her, but am not so sure she's ready to win at state hardball politics yet.

I see a better chance with Leticia, she's been in state politics long enough, she's popular in the Hispanic community, and most importantly, it looks like she'll be running against a true wingnut on the other side instead of a traditional Repub. A David Dewhurst would have been hard to beat, this other clown (can't remember his name) is so far to the right Leticia has a chance to build a winning coalition of traditional Democrats (with a surge in Hispanic turnout), independents, and even a few old-school republicans who are mortified at the hostile takeover of the state party by Cruz's teabaggers. As soon as Dirty David goes down in the runoff I would hope the Democratic party and their allies start taking Leticia seriously and open up the warchest.

[Gothmog]

23. Here is an interesting analysis from Off the Kuff

Patrick is a nut case and is alienating the sane portion of the GOP base. Van de Putte is a very effective senator and I think that she can beat Patrick. Here is a decent piece of analysis from Off the Kuff http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=59416

I’ve noted before how Democrats are rooting for Patrick to win the runoff since he is viewed as being more beatable in November. Some people have expressed skepticism of this, partly on the belief that there are no ticket-splitters any more. I get that, but there are plenty of such people left in Texas. We saw a great example of it in 2010. Bill White received over 387,000 more votes than Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Linda Chavez-Thompson, while Rick Perry collected over 311,000 fewer votes than David Dewhurst. That’s nearly a 700,000 vote swing towards White. People often don’t realize how big the swing was towards White because the Republican tidal wave of 2010 was too big for it to matter, but in a more normal year, 700,000 votes is more than enough to make a difference.

Consider this scenario: Turnout in November is 4.9 million voters – a bit less than 2010, but more than any other off year. The average statewide Republican wins with a 57-43 margin, which I think we can agree is healthy enough to invite plenty of post-electoral scoffing at Battleground Texas and any thought of a blue state in the foreseeable future. Well, in this scenario a Bill White-sized swing is just about what it would take to tip an election, since the average vote tally would be 2.8 million to 2.1 million. If there’s any Republican candidate capable of inspiring that kind of disloyalty among his fellow Republicans, it’s Dan Patrick.

Van de Putte should pick up more votes than Wendy Davis and may win the Lt. Governor's race even if Wendy loses. I would prefer for both Wendy and Leticia to win but I would be happy to get control of the Texas senate.

[Gothmog]

24. Here is a good analysis from Off the Kuff

Here is a good analysis from Off the Kuff http://blog.chron.com/kuffsworld/2014/03/its-as-much-about-leticia-as-it-is-about-dan/

As I noted before, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario in which LVdP wins. It won’t take all that many crossover voters, especially if Democrats finally manage to get their base turnout level up. LVdP will be a big asset in that. As Molly Ivins would have said, she has a lot of Elvis in her, and she has the experience and sensibleness to be an acceptable choice to the kind of Republican that can’t bear the thought of voting for Dan Patrick. The main thing she needs right now is financial support so she can get her name and her message out. If you’re supporting Wendy Davis – which of course you should be – you also need to be supporting Leticia Van de Putte. We’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time. Let’s not let it go by without giving it all we’ve got.