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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: State Senate campaigns getting more expensive - $2 million now the price of the game, candidates say, and many worry about donor influence. This could easily be titled; What is Really Wrong with America, and it would come very close to the Truth. $2 million -- for a state senate seat. Amazing. And it does not take a very smart individual to understand what is going on; whose Senate salaries are $7,200 a year plus expenses, ... Tuesday, December 11, 2007 In Fort Worth, Wendy Davis says she'll need a war chest of $2 million to successfully challenge state Sen. Kim Brimer, meaning Brimer will need the same. In Laredo, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, who usually wins re-election by wide margins, faces two challengers. She figures she'll need $2 million to keep her seat. "It's a lot of money, but I have no choice," Zaffirini said. A week into the filing period, with six races for Senate seats probably in play — four of them serious challenges — the price of campaigning is going up. And that worries some politicians and donors alike. As campaigns become more expensive, politicians must rely more on big-ticket donors who could carry more sway with those they fund. "If you can't raise $2 million now, you shouldn't run," said Houston Democrat John Whitmire, the Senate's longest-serving member. He recalls spending $350,000 in his first Senate race in 1983 and $500,000 to fend off his last serious challenge in 1992. "If you've got any serious opposition, you've got to have that much to get in the game now," Whitmire said. The reasons, say political strategists and observers, are more than just increased costs of everything from gasoline to TV advertising to consultants. Areas in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth that have voted strongly Republican are now leaning more Democratic. South Texas areas that have voted for Democrats are trending more Republican — meaning more serious challenges, when both sides are prone to spend more. "There are less (incumbents) getting free rides," said Dana Chiodo, a government affairs consultant and author of the Source Book, which analyzes legislative races. "There will probably be more candidates this time, more challenges." Unlike the 150-member Texas House — where scrappy, every-two-year campaigns for office are the norm and a dozen or more new lawmakers must be elected to change things — the clubby, 31-member upper chamber can shift politically with just one new senator, who could mean the difference between what legislation gets considered and what gets blocked. The Senate's arcane two-thirds rule allows 12 members to block consideration of a bill. At present, there are 11 Democrats. "One vote can make a big difference," said Sen. Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican and radio talk show host who got elected a year ago for about $500,000. So far, six senators have drawn opponents — although, for two, the opponents are Libertarians, whose party has yet to win a state office. Last year, Chiodo said, six senators had opponents, six ran unopposed and four chose not to seek re-election."There's no question some senators are vulnerable this election," said Matt Angle, director of the Democratic-leaning Lone Star Project, which monitors the Texas races. "The political atmosphere in Texas has changed dramatically, and this shows that," Angle said. "Incumbents, especially Republicans, are going to be walking into the wind, not with it." Republican strategists disagree, attributing the boastful predictions to the usual political noise from challengers. But little will come of it, they say. It appears the political landscape in some parts of Texas could be shifting. And the emerging Senate races will test how that will play out. Example A: Brimer's Senate District 10, a politically diverse zone that stretches from western Fort Worth through downtown to southern Tarrant County and Arlington. Affluent, working class, poor, white, Hispanic, black: The district has them all, Chiodo and other analysts say. In the last elections, it voted 55 percent Republican, meaning it's a "swing district" that could go for a Democrat if the circumstances are right, according to Chiodo. And that could be now, observers say, because it is a presidential election year, with the GOP's fortunes arguably on the wane over the war in Iraq, the shaky economy and the mortgage crisis, among other factors. "This will be the first (election) cycle in 22 years where there won't be a Bush on the ballot or sitting in office after the election is over. That will make a difference, too," Angle said. In many respects, Brimer and Davis are opposites. With his trademark white hair and familiar cigar, the Republican Brimer, 62, is an insurance man and fifth-generation Texan with almost two decades in the Legislature, 14 years in the House. Davis, 44, a Democrat, is a Harvard-educated lawyer and former Fort Worth City Council member who represented many of the working-class neighborhoods that she hopes turn out against Brimer — neighborhoods like the ones she grew up in. In many ways, the early stages of their battle highlight the issues in other races as well. The incumbent has become too close to Austin lobbyists, spends too much time in Austin, has lost touch with his or her district. For Brimer, that translates into criticism of his purchase with campaign funds of an Austin condominium, debate about a poll touted by the Davis campaign showing that most folks in his district didn't know who he was, and discussion of the changing political flavor of his district. "The Democratic candidate for DA ran against a longtime Republican and got 48 percent of the vote, even spending only $50,000," Davis said. "That's a real tell-tale sign. ... The juxtaposition between us could not be more extreme: He's been in office 20 years and almost no one knows who he is, and I've been in office eight years and have an eight-year record on the council of working very hard for this district that everyone knows me for." Brimer did not return a phone call for comment. His initial reaction to Davis' candidacy has been silence, much like his low-key manner in the Senate. South of Houston, in Senate District 11, also considered a swing district by many, Sen. Mike Jackson, a La Porte Republican and owner of an industrial construction firm who has served since 1999, faces an announced challenger, attorney and former Galveston City Council member Joe Jaworski, a Democrat. "There are plenty of politicians in Austin. What we need now are a few more leaders," Jaworski says on his Web site, calling for "independent leadership for a new direction." In North Texas, state Sen. Craig Estes, a two-term Republican and owner of a Wichita Falls chemical wholesale company, will face Denton developer Charles Stafford in a GOP primary. In launching his race, Stafford has criticized legislative missteps on key education issues such as school finance, school accountability standards and unfunded mandates. In far south Texas, Zaffirini faces two announced challengers: former Webb County Judge Louis Bruni and San Antonio trial lawyer Rene Barrientos. Zaffirini has faced challengers in every re-election race but one since she joined the Senate in 1987, she said. As before, she's taking no chances. "This election is different, and I need your help," she said in a recent fundraising letter. "I face two opponents, each of whom is independently wealthy and pledges to spend $2 million of personal funds and to focus on negative advertising and personal attacks on my family and me." For Patrick — who is not up for re-election next year — and other senators, whose Senate salaries are $7,200 a year plus expenses, the spiraling cost of Senate elections is worrisome. So, too, worry lobbyists and political donors, a growing chorus of whom say that as campaigns grow costlier, so does the need for large donors who could carry too much clout once a candidate is elected. "This shows why we need campaign finance reform," Patrick said. "Senate districts have 700,000 people in them now, and it's costing $2 million to run. What are we going to do in not so many years when each district has a million or more? "At some point, only those who have a lot of money will be able to hold office." Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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