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September 19, 2007
Party Hopping
Seasoned observers of Texas politics will recall that during the national Republican ascendency in the 1980s and '90s, a slew of conservative Democratic elected officials in the state followed the macro political trend, switched parties and became Republicans. The GOP claimed electoral dominance over Texas in 1994 when George W. Bush bested Ann Richards for the governorship, and have maintained it ever since.
The last year or two, however, have not been kind to the Republican brand -- even here. A Texas Lyceum poll from earlier in the summer which generated press coverage for its findings on the school voucher issue, was also notable for the tie among respondents on political party self-identification. The 28% surveyed who self-identified as Republicans vs. 27% as Democrats was remarkable not for Democratic gains, but GOP erosion.
The Iraq War, public fatigue with the Bush presidency, and a series of scandals have clearly taken their toll on Republican fortunes nationally. Here in Texas, add in an unpopular GOP governor and state legislature, and Republicans' once huge advantage in the state has slipped noticably -- for how long or to what extent is not yet clear.
Something, however, is clearly going on. Late this afternoon Burnt Orange Report broke the news that Republican State Representative Kirk England of Grand Prairie is leaving the GOP and will run for reelection as a Democrat. That's right folks, you heard correctly -- A Texas Republican officeholder is switching parties to run as a Democrat. Wow.
As a Republican in 2006, England barely squeaked by, defeating Democrat Katy Hubener by 235 votes out of 21,274 cast. Wi th the increased minority vote coming in the 2008 presidential election, England may have figured he was a dead duck running as a Republican.
Whatever England's reasons, we say welcome. Now, he will face Hubener again in the Democratic primary, and who knows what the result will be. But for the moment, we can only consider the magnitude of his action. That an incumbent Texas Republican officeholder would abandon the GOP to run as a Democrat is nothing short of stunning.
Posted by houtopia at September 19, 2007 11:18 PM