Texas Governors races gets Kinky with Strayhorn

Houston Chronicle:

It's official. Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and satirical musician-author Kinky Friedman will be on the November ballot in a five-way race for governor, the state's chief elections official said Thursday.

"Let the race begin," Strayhorn said after Secretary of State Roger Williams' announcement that she and Friedman had submitted far more than the 45,540 valid signatures that each needed to secure ballot spots as independent challengers to Gov. Rick Perry.

"This tells us what we've long suspected. The two-party system has failed our state. Only an independent candidate — one who is not owned by special interests — can restore Texas," Friedman said.

Former Houston congressman Chris Bell is the Democratic nominee for governor, and Libertarian James Werner also will be on the ballot.

With four high-profile candidates in the race, the winner likely will be decided by a plurality, rather than a majority, of votes. The last time that happened was in 1990, when Democrat Ann Richards defeated Republican Clayton Williams with less than half of the vote, thanks to a third candidate, Libertarian Jeff Daiell.

And it's been a while since an independent was elected to the state's top office. Sam Houston, a hero of the war for independence from Mexico, was the last independent to be elected Texas governor — in 1859.

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What this does reflect is the abject weakness of the Democrat party in Texas. It is very likely that Chris Bell will come in fourth in this race. Strayhorn's candidacy reflects her weakness in the Republican Party where she knew she could not defeat Perry for the nomination. Kinky is just Kinky. He is an interesting character who will probably attract a lot of voters who want something different and he can certainly deliver on that promise. I think Perry is the front runner at this point.