The significance of his decision is not only that he has passed on the governor’s race. It is that he will not be a candidate for attorney general — the office he sought in 2002 and was said to have been considering this year. This increases the likelihood that the Democrats will not field a competitive candidate for an open office whose occupant will sit on the Legislative Redistricting Board.

The situation is getting very serious for Democrats. They have no candidates who are willing to run for high state office, except possibly Ronnie Earle, whose nomination would lead to one of the all-time wipeouts in Texas political history. They are going to have to fall back on the strategy of trying to win a majority in the House of Representatives and maybe pick up a congressional seat here and there. It is impossible to predict what the political climate will be like a year from now, but if it is anything like what it is at this stage of the political cycle, Democrats are more likely to lose seats in the state House than gain — especially since 2011 is a redistricting year, and the process will surely be controlled by Republicans — and this election could set the Democrats back by a full decade. I see no signs of life.

Tagged: attorney general, governor, kirk watson

The Quorum Report today reports that the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call has a story saying that John Cornyn is encouraging Greg Abbott to join the Senate race to serve out the remainder of Kay Bailey Hutchison’s term. I was surprised to see this. Abbott supposedly has ruled out a Senate race because traveling back and forth to Washington would be difficult due to his physical condition. In fact, he said this to me a couple of years ago. Furthermore, he has had his sights set on running for lieutenant governor and governor. The considerable warchest he has amassed could not be transferred to a federal campaign, although I believe it is lawful to return the money and ask donors to resubmit it under the federal campaign limitations. The obvious question here is whether the encouragement of Abbot reveals that national Republicans are worried that their current lineup of Senate hopefuls is not strong enough to retain the seat. Can the answer be anything but Yes?

Tagged: attorney general, greg abbott, john cornyn, kay bailey hutchison, senate race, texas