Posted on 05/27/2014 6:23:42 AM PDT by jimbo123
Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has been one of the most powerful figures in Texas since 2002, but he could be ousted Tuesday by GOP voters who appear ready to steer the state even further to the right by backing tea party favorites over establishment candidates.
Despite spending $5 million of his own fortune on his campaign, Dewhurst has struggled to gain ground on state Sen. Dan Patrick. A victory by Patrick, a fiery conservative talk radio host and founder of the Legislature’s tea party caucus, would complete the overhaul of every elected statewide office next year when Gov. Rick Perry steps aside.
Republican nominations for four major offices — including attorney general and agriculture commissioner — and nearly a dozen statehouse seats will be settled after crowded primary battles in March resulted in a busy slate of runoffs.
With Texas Democrats again underdogs in November, many tea party-aligned candidates favored to win Tuesday would be poised to pursue an aggressively conservative agenda that would likely include further spending cuts, expanded gun rights and more restrictions on abortion.
“We’re supposed to be this very conservative state, and the people in Texas are, yet our Legislature doesn’t always reflect that,” said Republican Konnie Burton, a tea party leader from Fort Worth who is running for Davis’ state Senate seat.
(Excerpt) Read more at dfw.cbslocal.com ...
How can this be?
The media has declared the Tea Party dead.
Dewdrop never had a spine. I can’t figure out what got him where he is in business or politics.
I’m headed down to the polls to vote AGAINST dewdrop today. Yahoo! I want to see him GONE! That would be one heartwarming victory.
One of the most powerful??? The Lt. Gov. in Texas is THE most powerful position in State Government. The Lt. Gov. sets the agenda for all legislation to be put on the floor for vote. If he does not like or want a particular committee passed bill, he simply will let the clock run out and not introduce it on the floor for a vote. The Governor of Texas is more like a Cheerleader. The Lt. Gov. actually runs the state!
Yes, I realize the power of the office, but didn’t want to slight any second-place contenders.
Yes, I realize the power of the office, but didn’t want to slight any second-place contenders.
It’s maddening, but the conservative Texas Values Action group shows DewJerk and Patrick on a scale as equally conservative. I’m not sure it the criteria used are up to par.
You betcha! We're giving Dewberry the boot ;)
You’ve been shown why the Lt Governor position is so powerful. Here is a good explanation why the Governor’s position is “weak” compared to the Governors of other states: http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/1_1_0.html
Even though the Lt Governor in any other state would ordinarily be “second fiddle,” in Texas that arguably isn’t so.
Looking forward to following the results tonight.
Hey Jane, what times do the polls close in Texas?
TX polling places are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Central Time. TX is divided between Central / Mountain time zones.
Thanks Jane.
Really looking forward to following the great results.
Eating habeneros peppers and drinking tequila has fried the Texas political brain.
Having the Lt. gov with more power than the gov is backwards {but I believe you}.
Lt Gov doesn't have more power, but he does have a great deal. We know that and elect accordingly. That's why Dewhurst is getting booted - too much RINO for us fried brain Texans.
the authors of the new constitution sought to rein in future governors. They did so by dispersing power that might otherwise be lodged in the chief executive's hands among a vast array of independently elected officials. Broad powers over the legal system, state budget and finances, education, transportation, agriculture, public utilities, and land development are delegated to officials who need not share the policies nor even be of the same political party as the governor.The dispersal of power among different officials creates what is often called the plural executive. Unlike the federal system, where the cabinet secretaries and the other top executive officers serve at the pleasure of the President, the voters elect the corresponding officials in the Texas system, giving the Governor no direct authority over them.
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