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October 23, 2007
Watts Withdraws
Obviously the big political news in Texas today was Mikal Watts' decision to withdraw from the campaign for the Democratic nomination to challenge John Cornyn next year.
Watts' explained his sudden exit by citing the toll running for statewide office would take on his family. His departure from the race clears the field (for the moment) for one Rick Noriega, who released a short and classy statement of his own.
Whatever Watts' reasons for exiting the race, his presence made Noriega a stronger candidate. By putting up and raising substantial money early on, Watts forced Noriega to quickly ramp up his own fundraising operation, and begin answering the most significant question observers had about his nascent campaign -- can he raise the money necessary to compete with Cornyn?
That question will not be answered for many months, but one thing is clear. If Noriega can raise adequate funds -- likely at least $10-12 million -- to run a full-fledged statewide campaign, he will be a formidable challenger to Cornyn. Noriega's compelling biography and impressive public service record match up nicely with Texas' junior senator's rubberstamp voting record for failed Bush administration policies. It's shaping up to be a helluva race.
Posted by houtopia at October 23, 2007 11:55 PM