Posted on 03/12/2002 9:30:32 PM PST by Illbay
March 13, 2002, 12:13AM
AUSTIN -- After running Texas' most expensive primary campaign ever, Tony Sanchez crushed Dan Morales in Tuesday's voting, becoming the first Hispanic Democratic gubernatorial nominee.
"I want to thank the people of Texas for listening to my message and honoring me with tonight's victory," Sanchez said, standing on a hotel stage in Austin with his wife, Tani, behind him.
Sanchez will mount a general election challenge to Gov. Rick Perry, who was unopposed in the Republican primary. Perry enters the general election with $13 million in the bank.
Morales in conceding said he will support Sanchez with the hope he can lead all Democratic candidates to victory this fall.
"This is going to be a very aggressive and a very competitive general election campaign," Morales said.
Sanchez led Morales by a 2-to-1 margin, winning statewide with almost 60 percent of the vote.
Sanchez carried every region of the state and received more than 60 percent of the vote in heavily Hispanic South Texas. In the heavily Anglo areas of East Texas and the Panhandle, Sanchez had about 55 percent of the vote.
Houston lawyer John WorldPeace and Waxahachie businessman Bill Lyon were getting less than 10 percent of the statewide Democratic vote combined.
Final results may come late because of problems with about 50 Democratic and 175 Republican voting precincts in Bexar County. A state district judge ordered those precincts to remain open until 10 p.m. No Bexar County vote totals could be released until those polls closed.
The race between Sanchez and Morales was historic because it was the first time major Hispanic candidates had faced off for a party primary in Texas.
"I've said all along ... that I am going to be the governor of Texas for everybody," Sanchez said. "I'm an American, a Texan and very proud that I have Hispanic heritage. The fact I am the first nominee is nice, but it's not that important."
Sanchez, 59, a millionaire businessman from Laredo, has spent at least $18 million on his primary campaign. He personally contributed $2.7 million and guaranteed another $13.2 million in bank loans.
Morales, 45, spent less than $1 million on his campaign. Most of that money had been raised when he was state attorney general and had been left over in his campaign account when he decided against seeking a third term in 1998.
Democratic leaders had recruited Sanchez to run last year, believing his fortune could finance a formidable general election campaign.
They also believed his ethnic background might spur a record turnout of Hispanic voters, a demographic group that usually casts two-thirds of its vote for Democrats.
The party leadership last year pressured millionaire Marty Akins to drop out of the governor's race and run for comptroller instead.
But Morales upset the game plan when he switched from running in the U.S. Senate race to seeking the gubernatorial nomination on the last day of candidate filing in January.
Sanchez said this week that the primary contest has been good for him in his first run for political office.
"It certainly has made me a better candidate," Sanchez said. "I've been through the fire. I've been tested and I'm ready for Mr. Perry."
Perry, 51, was elected as lieutenant governor in 1998. He became governor in December 2000 when George W. Bush resigned the office to become president. Perry previously had served in the Texas House and two terms as state agriculture commissioner.
Perry has never lost an election. On Tuesday, he said he is not afraid of possibly being outspent.
"This is the fourth time I've run statewide. I know what's required. I know how to be disciplined, focused," Perry said.
"And (voters are) going to look at 17 years worth of experience, and I think the vast majority are going to say, `You know what? Money can't buy that,' " Perry said.
Bush is expected to help Perry raise money for his campaign.
One of the key Democratic primary issues was whether Sanchez and Morales should have a historic Spanish-only debate.
Morales accused Sanchez of trying to hide from the majority of voters through the debate and declared he would speak Spanish and English.
Sanchez said Morales was insulting people whose preferred language is Spanish. Sanchez said Morales is embarrassed to be Hispanic.
Sanchez is a lawyer who got his degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio. He once worked as an aide to former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes.
Sanchez and his father built the family fortune first in the oil and gas business. His father founded the International Bank of Commerce in Laredo, and it now is the largest minority-owned financial institution in the nation.
But the Sanchez family wealth grew to an estimated $600 million through investments. Sanchez and his father were among the first investors in Blockbuster Entertainment.
Sanchez's campaign focused on promoting him as a businessman with strong family ties.
His issue commercials said he had a "passion" for education, while only offering vague solutions for improvements. He also indicated he would make utility and insurance regulation issues in the general election campaign.
Morales initially criticized Sanchez over his failed Tesoro Savings & Loan of Laredo.
The thrift failed under the weight of mismanagement and bad debt in 1988. U.S. taxpayers eventually had to pay $161 million to cover the bad loans.
Morales also harped on the fact that Tesoro in 1983-84 had been used to launder $25 million in Mexican drug money. There was no wrongdoing by Sanchez involved.
Sanchez wins and suddenly Texas becomes a state where a Democrat spends a little time in '04...
His office did send me a nice little reply some weeks later, explaining that he signed the bill so that Texas could "move on."
I have not much admiration for the guy, but I'll probably vote for him anyway as a stopgap to keep the Dems out.
Its almost over. "President Hillary Clinton", "Chief Justice Bader-Ginsberg" - Get used to those phrases.
:)
Or maybe you meant that.
When you are ready to explain how massive immigration, of the sort that has given the Dems a permanent lock on California, will do anything but harm to the GOP's nationwide chances - let us know.
Looks like Sanchez has the funding behind him to win this election. He claimed he didn't know where the money came from ---and his supporters don't care.
Tell ya what, you worry about peoples republic of California and let Texans worry about Texas. One thing we don't need is a lesson from California in how to elect conservatives.
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