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TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL RACE
MOST COSTLY IN NATION

HOUSTON (AP) - The District 10 congressional race is shaping up as the most expensive House race in the country, with Republican rivals Ben Streusand and Michael McCaul footing most of the bill.

Together, the competitive pair have spent $2.6 million so far and both plan to raise more money as they head into an April 13 runoff. The election is key because there is no Democratic contender in the district stretching from Austin to Houston, so the winner takes the seat.

"It is a family fight," said Bob Stein, dean of the school of social sciences at Rice University. "One of the consequences of redistricting is it is making it increasingly expensive to run for office."

Last year, the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature redrew the boundaries for congressional voting districts in the state to give Republicans a better chance at taking control of the state's delegation, split 16-16 between the parties.

The old District 10 seat was held by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat who decided to run in the new 25th District, which extends from Austin to the Mexican border. District 10 became an open seat with a 64 percent Republican voting history.

District 10 also spans two sizable media markets, Austin and Houston, making it expensive for rookie candidates like Streusand and McCaul to get their name known through TV ads.

"By making these districts so geographically large ... you have made it an expensive district to run in," Stein said. "It has always taken money to run for office."

Streusand, who runs a Houston mortgage company, has pumped more than $1.3 million of his own money into his campaign, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed in February. He has raised about $55,000 from a handful of attorneys, bankers and executives, including $1,000 from Robert Lanham, a vice president with roadbuilding giant Williams Brothers Construction Co.

McCaul has put at least $650,000 into his own campaign and raised more than $260,000 from individuals such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's brother, Randolph DeLay; Thomas Hicks, chairman Southwest Sports Group, the company that owns the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars; Ken Leonard, president of Ignite! Learning, a company founded by presidential brother Neil Bush; Erle Nye, chairman of the board of TXU Corp.; and Houston Astros' owner Drayton McLane.

Streusand has spend more of his own money on his campaign than any other congressional candidate in the nation and McCaul ranks third, according to the campaign finance disclosures.

The District 5 race in North Carolina, where candidates have spent $2.4 million, ranks second when it comes to expenses so far this year. Both Republicans and Democrats see the seat as a key win, said Kerry Haynie, a political science professor at Duke University.

"Candidates who can raise a lot of money or have access to a lot of money have a huge advantage," Wise said. "The vast majority of the time, and for House races it is 9 out of 10 times that, the candidate who spends the most money, wins."

McCaul is a former federal prosecutor who resigned last year to run for office. His father-in-law, Lowry Mays, is chief executive officer of San-Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications and heads Texas A&M University's board of regents. He plans a fund-raiser for McCaul on March 31 at a private Houston home where former President George H.W. Bush is the guest of honor.

"No one is more respected than George and Barbara Bush in the Republican Party," McCaul spokesman Ted Delisi said Thursday. "We are doing our best to compete with Streusand's bottomless pit."

Streusand spokesman Marc Cowart said the March 9 primary indicated that voters aren't "going to be told who to vote for by the Washington establishment."

Streusand received 28 percent of the vote to McCaul's 24 percent, but since neither got more than 50 percent, they were forced into a runoff election.

The candidates have a way to go to beat the record for the most expensive House race in history. That happened in 2000 when California Democrat Adam Schiff raised $4.7 million to pull-off an upset of Republican incumbent James Rogan, who brought in $6.9 million but was jeopardized by his role as a prosecutor in former President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, said Steven Wise of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C.

The last three posts are various articles about the race that turned up on a Google News search. The first is from the Brenham Banner Press which seems to be more interested in this race than either the Statesman or the Houston Chronicle. The second is from Reuters. The third is from the AP. They are posted for informational purposes, not as a way to endorse either candidate.

While my mind is about 80% made up on this issue, I accept that others can disagree. It really depends on what you want from your state representative and, even as FReepers, we can disagree as to what is most important.

I'd like to see more news reports but this race just doesn't seem to generate much interest in the liberal media. I found that out on election night when KLBJ's coverage ignored the race altogether and focused on Lloyd Doggett's race in the Valley.

Both campaigns are engaging in distortions to paint the other as "not conservative enough" or "not Republican enough". I reject the charges on both sides. What I keep looking at is what each candidate brings to the table if elected. What it all boils down to me is whether you want a conservative that's part of the Bush/Rove/Perry machine or whether you want one who isn't. Reasonable people can see differently about this so I have no complaint with those who back the other candidate.

My point is that an informed voter is a better voter.

Streusand, who runs a Houston mortgage company, has pumped more than $1.3 million of his own money into his campaign, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed in February. He has raised about $55,000 from a handful of attorneys, bankers and executives, including $1,000 from Robert Lanham, a vice president with roadbuilding giant Williams Brothers Construction Co.

McCaul has put at least $650,000 into his own campaign and raised more than $260,000 from individuals such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's brother, Randolph DeLay; Thomas Hicks, chairman Southwest Sports Group, the company that owns the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars; Ken Leonard, president of Ignite! Learning, a company founded by presidential brother Neil Bush; Erle Nye, chairman of the board of TXU Corp.; and Houston Astros' owner Drayton McLane.

Who has support from individual donors? Who has support of only "a handful of attorneys"?

I find it interesting that Streusand has outspent McCaul 2 to 1 and is still struggling to keep ahead. Someone's message is resonating with voters even though it has not had as much airtime.