Texas GOP building on down ballot races

Houston Chronicle:

As Republican John McCain's presidential campaign struggles nationally, Texas Republicans are working to make sure that uncertainty at the top of the ticket doesn't hurt down-ballot races across the state.

The Republican Party of Texas' Victory committee already has sent out early voting applications to 700,000 people over age 65 with a history of voting Republican.

A fly-around for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and other statewide Republican office-holders who are up for re-election is planned for later this month.

And Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams, who faces a nominal Democratic opponent, began a 35-city bus tour of Texas on Monday.

Williams said the tour is not only meant to re-introduce himself to state voters but also to get some publicity for Texas House Republicans who have been targeted for defeat by the Democrats.

Victory committee Chairman Roger Williams said he is sure McCain will carry Texas and that Cornyn will defeat Democratic challenger Rick Noriega. But it's the down-ballot races where an anemic turnout can make a difference that has Williams worried.

"We've got a lot of races across the state where there's no question that they are going to be close in many instances: Our Supreme Court races. (Legislative races in) Tarrant County, Harris County," Williams said. "We must turn the vote out."

Democratic Party spokesman Hector Nieto said the Texas party is focused on direct mail and telephone banks to prompt straight-ticket voting, particularly aimed at legislative and congressional races.

"Regardless of what happens at the top of the ticket, Texans already are making clear that the Republican ship has sunk," Nieto said. "Texans are fed-up with one-party rule."

Two national Internet sites that aggregate poll results — Pollster.com and RealClearPolitics.com — Monday showed voters nationally are trending toward Democrat Barack Obama for president. And Obama has a lead in enough states at the moment to collect more than the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

But the average of national polls that have sampled Texas show McCain has a commanding lead here with an average of more than 13 percentage points over Obama.

The last time Texas Republicans faced this situation was 1996, when then-presidential nominee Bob Dole was trailing President Clinton badly nationally but still enjoyed a lead in Texas. Dole carried Texas while losing the presidency.

Texas Republicans had less to worry about in that election, though, because their party was on the ascendancy.

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The state GOP goes into this election having dominated state politics for a decade, creating the possibility of voter fatigue. And two voting blocs with poor turnout histories — young people and African-Americans — appear to be energized by Obama's campaign.

"There is no doubt that there is an unknown in this race, unknown in terms of how, if at all, younger voters will vote, and there is an unknown as to whether there will be a dramatic increase in the African-American vote," said railroad Commissioner Williams.

Williams, who is in a contest with little-known Democratic opponent Mark Thompson, said he believes concerns about Republicans not voting in Texas due to a dispirited McCain campaign were washed away when McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

"There's no doubt that there was an intensity gap between Democrats and Republicans prior to the conventions," Williams said. "With the selection of Governor Palin as Senator McCain's running mate, the intensity gap closed significantly."

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Mike Williams is a rising star in the Texas GOP and is a great spokesman on energy issues. He also knows the importance of energizing the Republican base. I am sure there are areas where Obama has strong support in Texas, but those areas do not appear to be in Washington County where the GOP appears to be the party with enthusiasm.