Analyzing recent election returns, Kuff looks toward 2010 and speculates that
Houston's First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeal could see Democratic sweeps in two years similar to the raft of new Dem judges elected in Harris County last month and in Dallas in 2006.
I'd like to think so, but I don't see it happening. The minority voters would have to maintain their enthusiasm for a ballot that didn't have Obama on it. Some of this year's Houston judicial races were won by razor thin margins, and that was Houston only. The 1st and 14th appellate districts include several other redneck counties that make this an uphill battle, for sure.
ReplyDelete2008 turnout didn't wind up being that big overall at the end of the day, rage, though much of it shifted from election day to early voting. The judges' percentages in Houston, razor thin as they were, were more or less what was predicted in 2006 when nobody knew the identity of the presidential nominee.
ReplyDeleteAlso, those were countywide spots, not just Houston, and they were going R until very recently.
Kuff argues that pro-D trends in Fort Bend and Galveston Counties may shift enough to counteract overwhelming R majorities in Brazoria County, e.g.. From the numbers he presents it's obvious that the trend is headed that way, the question is whether it arrives by 2010.
We can only hope.
ReplyDeleteThe cynic in me says that unless the level of excitement for the 2010 race remains the same it won't happen.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, this years race was the beginning of fundamental change.
This biggest problem as I see it is that people don't know these judges or what they stand for. What is their view ont he death penalty...how do they feel about minor drug charges, techanical revocations, substance abuse programs. Unless they make themselves and their views know, people will vote based on a name that they are familar with and have no idea of what the standards or beliefs of the person are.
ReplyDelete