The short-lived candidacy of Seth McKinney, son of the former legislator and Texas A&M Chancellor, Mike McKinney, is an interesting story. Within hours after longtime incumbent Fred Brown announced his retirement on the House floor, Mike McKinney’s son, Seth, announced that he was running for Brown’s seat. Somebody had coordinated the announcement. Seth McKinney already had a campaign logo. The next thing you know, the Quorum Report was announcing that young McKinney wasn’t running after all. What happened? The consultant for another candidate, business woman Rebecca Boenigk, suspects that somebody had a poll in the field, and apparently the McKinney name was viewed none too favorably in the district. Another casualty of Perry’s war against higher ed.