I don’t think he can win a Democratic primary against someone of equal or greater stature, and if he does win the Democratic primary, he has no chance in a general election. He won’t get a single Republican crossover vote. Republicans don’t believe that Earle was a fair prosecutor as head of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, which has responsibility for overseeing ethics issues at the Capitol. I did think that he was fair: Earle prosecuted high-profile Democrats, most famously then-speaker Gib Lewis, who chose to resign, and attorney general Jim Mattox, who served two terms and went on to run for governor against Ann Richards in 1994, losing in the Democratic primary. But Republicans will never forgive him for what they regarded as an overzealous prosecution of then-treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison, bringing felony charges for offenses that were more in the nature of misdemeanors. Nor are they likely to forgive his prosecution of Tom DeLay. Both prosecutions were ultimately unsuccessful, although DeLay did have to step down as U.S. House Majority Leader. The point is, Earle has zero crossover appeal, and the Democrats must field a candidate who can win over Republicans who are not enamored of Rick Perry. This is a doomed candidacy.