The Races That Weren’t Meant To Be - Show Me The Money Part II
I think that we are all familiar with the phrase, not living up to the hype. Well, consider that the theme of this post, as I will be commenting on the races that - one way or another - we were lead to believe would be in play, yet the early on fundraising numbers dictate otherwise.
Specifically, I’m talking about the HD 134’s of the world, where some would say Republicans were going to make a push to get that seat back. However, after Ellen Cohen posted impressive numbers that concluded with 231K cash on hand and her opponent, Joe Agris, is showing less on hand than what I make in a month (3K), I think we can move this race into the foregone conclusion category.
Lets move on. How about Truitt v Moffatt round 3? Who amongst us wasn’t quietly hoping for a good old fashion cat fight here? Well, I hate to disappoint but it does not look like it is going to happen. Vicki Truitt is holding on to better than 175K cash on hand, and Nancy Moffat literally does not have enough cash (35 dollars) to buy a tank of gas. Total shame, this one could have been fun to watch.
I’ve also heard crazy theories that a favorite son of ours, Dan Branch, could quietly be in trouble. Let me quickly put those rumors to rest for good. Mr. Branch pulled in better than 200K for the period, putting his total cash on hand north of 600K. His opponent, not so much. That dude with the funny last name has only 18K in the bank, which won’t buy him as much as a charity spot in the Dallas media market. And as an added side note, given that Mr. Branch quadrupled his contributions received for the period when compared to this time last cycle, he is showing that he can (and will) climb the fundraising ladder along with the legislative one.
So what of Travis County? Absolutely nothing. Though it pains me to say, hats off to Valinda Bolton and Donna Howard who posted cash on hand of 86K and 161K respectively. Their opponents combined have only 45K in their pockets to spend. Likewise, it does not appear as though we will see the white pick-up truck magic from Victor Morales either. His 3K cash on hand is not ready to compete with the likes of Betty Brown, even though she is only showing 46K in the bank.
All of you who were saying that Myra Crownover was the sleeper of the cycle can now bow your heads in disgrace, at least after her opponent showed 2K in the bank compared to her 166K. Seriously, 2K? I guess that Where Is Myra add didn’t quite have the buzz effect that it was going for. And this one is for you, McBlogger. Don’t think I have forgotten your comments on how Phil King will lose in the general. Well, if that is to be, then his opponent is going to have to raise more than the 330 total dollars that he did for this 6 month period. For real, you can get more than that selling Girl Scout cookies.
Moving down the list we see that would be vulnerable freshman Kelly Hancock’s opponent posted only 2K in the bank, compared to his 93K. Again, another race that the liberal bloggers tried to create. In his quest to go after a democrat freshman, Bill Burch posted a disappointing 14K raised and only 20K in the bank. Frankly, that is not going to play against Paula Pierson’s 104K cash on hand.
This one is on me. I am the one who said that Linda Harper-Brown could be the sleeper. Well, if that is to be then her opponent is going to have to do that from the cheap seats, as Bob Romano only shows 13K on hand, compared to her 85K. And likewise, if Karen Wiegman is to get back the seat that Kirk England stole from Republicans when he switched sides, she’s going to have to vastly improve on her 12K in the bank. Currently, she finds herself better than 100K in the hole. I don’t care if your polling numbers show you in a dead heat with Mr. England. If you don’t have the funds to carry your race all the way to November then you’re a lost cause.
And that goes for the rest of you in this post who were victims to my ugly humor. For all practical purposes, your races are dead to me.
Quick question for the audience, though. If one underfunded candidate from this list was to win in November, who do you think it will be?