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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Tea Party effect becomes apparent in local elections Tea Party activism may have started with national politics in mind, but its themes have filtered down into state and even local races. As a result, Republican candidates at all levels are rushing to embrace the movement as Tuesday's primaries approach. Some have declared themselves "Tea Party approved" on campaign mailings as an overt appeal to Tea Party voters, while others have made state sovereignty a strong part of their message, a more subtle approach. Tea Party leaders say a strong early-voter turnout in much of North Texas is evidence of their impact. "We're very pleased with the early voting data that's coming out," said Dallas Tea Party leader Phillip Dennis, a Frisco resident. "We like to feel we've had an effect." Collin County's early-voting turnout exceeded that for 2008's presidential primary and was more than three times as high as in 2006. Dallas County Republicans are seeing similar turnout, nearly tripling 2006's early-voting numbers and coming close to 2008's. A hotly contested primary for governor and a trend of voters shifting to early voting are factors. But state Rep. Jodie Laubenberg of Parker, who is running unopposed in the GOP primary, sees Tea Party activity as the main cause. "People are fired up," she said. "I'm not thinking the governor's race is playing here in Collin County." Dennis chuckles when he sees candidates taking on the Tea Party label. "We don't endorse candidates," he said. "When I see 'Tea Party approved,' I want to say, 'By who?' There's a lot of people now trying to gain favor with the Tea Party movement." In the GOP primary for Texas House District 66 in West Plano, candidates Mabrie Jackson, Wayne Richard and Van Taylor have all tried to court Tea Party voters. Richard won the endorsement of the Collin County Tea Party and tapped the group's leader, Diane Nusbaum, to direct his campaign. Jackson recently sent out a mailer that declares she "strongly supports Republican and Tea Party values." And Taylor has touted how his campaign is "Tea Party approved" and describes himself as the race's only "true" conservative. Taylor and Richard both were given stamps of approval by the North Texas Tea Party. Candidates running for the Collin County Commissioners Court also have felt the Tea Party effect. Activists who have backed incumbents Keith Self and Kathy Ward contend that their opponents, John Muns and Duncan Webb, are free spenders. Muns and Webb have rejected the criticism and defend their service on the Plano school board. The school system has run on austere budgets, they say. Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University, said most Republicans are trying to win the support of Tea Party members without embracing the movement's extremists to avoid turning off moderates and independents for the fall elections. "They've learned to keep the signs of Obama with a Hitler moustache out of sight," Jillson said. "You want them to fold into your support base." And it's unclear whether Tea Party energy means new voters. "We're not sure what impact they'll have on the election," Muns said. "My observation is that the people representing the Tea Party have been engaged for a long time." Self, however, said an influx of new voters shows the effect Tea Party groups have had. "I know they've had a tremendous influence," Self said. "Our review of who has voted so far shows that a large percentage of the people voting during this early voting period are people who did not vote in the '08 primary." As candidates duke it out to determine who is more conservative, some Tea Party groups are trying to figure out which candidates to back. The Collin County group has endorsed candidates, while the Dallas Tea Party has remained neutral. The North Texas Tea Party, meanwhile, has put out a list of "approved" candidates but made no endorsements. Leaders say there is no single voice of the Tea Party. Dennis, of the Dallas group, said that's by design. His group takes a bottom-up approach, organizing activities by neighborhoods and ZIP codes. "The media is so eager to put someone in charge," Dennis said. "The truth about this movement is, there is no leadership of the Tea Party. We're decentralized, and it works well for us." But one sign of the Tea Party's ballot-box potential: Cathy Fang, a virtual unknown running to fill a vacancy on the Plano City Council, forced a runoff with favorite André Davidson in late January. Observers credited Fang's success, in large part, to the Tea Party. And Rowlett voters will get to see whether the Tea Party matters there in May: Rowlett Tea Party president Michael Gallops is running for a seat on the City Council. The ultimate goal for Tea Party leaders is not just getting people out to vote. It is getting conservative candidates elected. "The movement has gone from a novelty and now it's gone to a force that can affect elections," Dennis said.
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