Can a Leppert change his spots?
Back in July, the Dallas Observer broke the news that mayor Tom Leppert was considering joining the free-for-all that would be the race to fill the seat that Kay Bailey Hutchison has said she will vacate, although she has appeared to back away somewhat from that pronouncement. To this point I have ignored Leppert’s prospects, as the history of mayors in statewide races is not in his favor. The most recent to try were Ron Kirk (Dallas) and Kirk Watson (Austin) in 2002, Kirk #1 losing to John Cornyn in the race to succeed Phil Gramm in the U.S. Senate, and Kirk #2 losing to Greg Abbott in the race for attorney general.
Still, it is not too far-fetched to envision a runoff between Leppert and Bill White, the mayors of the two largest cities in the state, with bases in the two largest media markets as well. Of course, Perry will have a lot to say about that, and David Dewhurst may as well. Both Leppert and White have deep pockets, but it remains to be seen how deep they are willing to reach.
Tagged: bill white, tom leppert.
Anonymous says:
Ummm, what happened to the previous post about Hutchison’s latest attack?
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Eileen Smith Reply:
September 1st, 2009 at 11:53 am
The gremlins got it? Burka’s working on it.
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Mike Orren says:
You mean “Leppert,” right?
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confused says:
Lepperts… its just Leppert last I checked.
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Eileen Smith says:
Yes. Leppert. We regret the error.
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Rollie the JBC operator says:
Lefferts? The former lefty reliever with the Padres, Giants, and Rangers? Who knew?
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Chris H says:
I hope Texans have something to say about that kind of runoff. A mayor of a city about to declare bankruptcy versus a mayor who envisions Babylon over the Trinity.
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windmill says:
Leppert’s not that popular and I promise you the people of Fort worth don’t know who he is. What an ego!
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elizabeth says:
windmill: I’m pretty sure that anyone in Ft. Worth who reads a newspaper- even the Ft. Worth Star- knows who Leppert is and understands his politics. If you don’t know who Bill White is, that’s understandable.
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asmith says:
Leppert has followed the bi-partisan dallas tradition of most of our Mayors except for Laura Miller; have the support of the downtown business establishment (Dallas Citizens Council, Greater Dallas chamber, and their voting base in north dallas) and the support of the black political leadership in southern dallas.
He’s testing the waters because he knows these seats don’t open up too often.
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Chris says:
A White-Leppert runoff woul require Leppert to run as a Democrat.
Leppert has voted Repubican in every single primary he has voted in.
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