This e-mail from the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Bud Kennedy contains his cogent analysis of the Barrett-Shelton race. It is great fun to pontificate from Austin, but every once in a while it is nice to hear from people who actually know something.
Hi Paul,
I see many comments about Dan Barrett’s victory.
I saw more forums in the race and covered more events than any other
journalist.
Two points:
1–Voting in the outlying, newer, conservative subdivisions dropped to
nearly nothing in the runoff. Some boxes that Shelton won in the first
election turned out only a handful of voters.
2–I realize there is a debate over whether local voters know who
Craddick is. But Leonard had made it a point to criticize him.
If you add up the November results for the anti-Craddick candidates —
Barrett, Hatch, and Leonard — it miirrors the final result.
–Bud Kennedy
