Texas Dem Chet Edwards Looks Safe, Just Four Years After Surviving Remap

[babylonsister]

Texas Dem Edwards Looks Safe, Just Four Years After Surviving Remap
By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff


The fact that the Republicans were unable to find a top-tier candidate this year to challenge Texas Rep. Chet Edwards — a lapse that has prompted CQ Politics to change its rating on the race to Safe Democratic from Democrat Favored — is a tribute to both the talents and the political survival skills of a nine-term incumbent who has succeeded in building a profile as a conservative-leaning Democrat.

The 2008 Republican nominee is Rob Curnock, the owner of a video production company who lost Republican primaries for the seat in 2000 and 2002. He doesn’t have a statement of candidacy or a statement of organization on file with the Federal Election Commission, which requires such documents of candidates who have raised or spent $5,000. Edwards, on the other hand, had piled up $1.3 million in receipts for this election cycle through Feb. 13 and had more than $1 million in cash on hand as of that date.

What makes Edwards’ rise to political security even more notable is that he is running in a strongly Republican district drawn, prior to his 2004 re-election campaign, with the specific intent of undermining his chances to win. Edwards was the sole survivor among the six House Democrats targeted for general election defeat or forced retirement under an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting plan enacted by the Republicans, who dominated the state’s government, and spearheaded by Texas GOP Rep. Tom DeLay, then the powerful majority leader of the U.S. House, who sought to expand the party’s House majority.

Although Edwards had experience overcoming a Republican lean in his former House constituency — which already included President George W. Bush ’s ranch in the town of Crawford — the degree of difficulty appeared much greater in his redrawn 17th District, which extended far south into strongly Republican turf surrounding the cities of College Station and Bryan. But Edwards ran a skillful campaign emphasizing his stands on which he differed from the liberal orientation of the national Democratic Party, his priority issue of improving benefits for military veterans, and his undying loyalty to his alma mater, Texas A&M University in College Station, which helped him offset some of the general unfriendliness to Democratic candidates in that part of the district.

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002690397

[nacdemocrat18]

1. TX 22

If the democrats lose TX 22 (Sugar Land-Delay's old district) they only have themselves to blame. The democrat they picked to run for the vacant seat was Nick Lampson. He is unelectable in that district. It is heavy Republican anyway. We need a conservative democrat down there if (probably) Lampson loses this time.

[sonias]

2. Welcome to the DU Texas forum nacdemocrat18!

:hi:


Sonia

[efhmc]

4. You don't think Lampson is conservative enough?

[efhmc]

3. When Chet was still my congressman, his opponent said of

him (when Chet first was redistricted) that he(Chest's opponent) hopes to win on his first attempt because once the constituents had Chet as their Congressman and realized he was there to represent ALL the people and not the party that he would win again and again." As he did the next time when he re-redistricted out of our area. Now we have conaway ( a perfect name for that repuke and those of his delay loving ilk) who represents big monied repukes and right wing religious nut cases.

That is why threads like this one burn me up: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x48618