Democrats losing clout in Texas Senate

Texas Tribune:

Sometimes, it's the non-announcement that gets the political headline. Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns won’t run for the Senate seat left open by Wendy Davis’ decision to run for governor, greatly increasing already high odds that the seat will go from the Democrats to the Republicans.

That would put the Republicans just one seat away from a controlling two-thirds majority in the Texas Senate, a bit of math that increases their chances of getting their way on most issues even as it incrementally increases the clout of each of the Senate’s 11 Democrats.

That power comes from the ability to be the swing vote on issues that would otherwise be blocked. If any one senator is the difference between one outcome or another, that senator’s power — at least in that moment — rises dramatically.

On the other hand, the majority in such a case would only need one more vote. It all makes for some interesting wheeling and dealing. And it means the Democrats in the Senate can't afford to lose a single vote on partisan issues. In the current configuration, with 12 Democrats, they can afford to let someone with personal or political reasons side with the GOP.

Unless someone pulls off an upset in Tarrant County, that's over.
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No one is running because they don't think they can win.  That would probably have been the case if Davis were running for reelection.  She had burned her bridges with her windy performance in favor of abortion.