Posted on 10/21/2004 5:39:12 AM PDT by gab1279
…Poe currently has the advantage in the District 2 race, Gonzales said, not only because the district leans Republican but also because President George Bush will be at the top of the Republican ticket.
“President Bush is going to be popular and win this district by a comfortable margin,” Gonzales said. “It’s going to be difficult for Lampson to convince a large number of Bush voters to turn around and vote for a Democrat for Congress — not impossible, but it’s tough.”
To win, Lampson needs to show voters that he is independent of the national Democratic Party and can be effective in the minority party, Gonzales said.
“If he’s tied to stereotypical Democrats, he’s in trouble,” Gonzales said.
The Beaumont Democrat said he has “outperformed” typically Republican areas in the past and will continue to present himself moderately...[snip]
On his Web site, Poe lists former President George H. W. Bush as one of his endorsers. He also received big nods from vice president Dick Cheney, who hosted a fund-raising breakfast for Poe in May, and party leaders, who invited Poe to speak at the Republican National Convention.
The basis of Poe’s campaign is his experience as a judge who oversaw more than 25,000 felony cases and became renowned for his “Poetic Justice” sentences, such as ordering sex offenders to place warning signs on their homes and requiring a man who abused his wife to publicly apologize on the steps of Houston City Hall.[snip]
The acclaim he earned as a judge already helped Poe in the March primary, when he carried 60 percent of the vote in a race against five other Republicans. The former judge knows the new congressional map gives him an advantage in the upcoming election, but he believes that advantage is offset by Lampson’s incumbency.
(Excerpt) Read more at baytownsun.com ...
I live a ways east of Baytown, in the former (very Democrat) District 9. Poe is a strong, tough judge, and super opposition to Lampson who has been entrenched here for four terms. The infamous TX redistricting gives it a much needed shake up. Here is a link to a FOXNews article to find out more about Poe and Lampson.
Their debate was VERY heated yesterday, wish they would have done it town hall style, I think Lampson would have got in Poe’s face and pulled a Gore. :-) Poe did great, he was extremely well spoken, clear, and very calm, he got Lampson unnerved, and quite annoyed and loud. Wish you guys could have seen it!
Lampson kept repeating "Send me back to Congress, send ME back to Congress" like Kerry's "plan", and gave long winded, stammering, prey-on-emotions answers.
There were superb questions, on everything under the sun, it was extremely entertaining…Lampson shot back several times in a mean way, talking over the moderator. Poe never got ruffled and held his own every time.
How about THIS question to Poe: If elected to Congress, how much party loyalty would you feel you have to show to Tom DeLay? Smoking! Prompted by the redistricting, probably, the D-Rats expect him to go lick DeLay’s feet if he gets elected. He hit back really strong on that one with that he would vote for what's best for the county, and not vote on party lines if he didn't believe in it. Can you believe Lampson said...well, hey, that doesn't work in Congress…that's just naivete! Double-speak for: I kowtow to the party, so I can get prime committee seats. Congress is an ugly world, but I think Poe will really hold up to the pressures of it.
Jefferson County is HEAVILY Democrat, but ole' Lampson didn't count on having to battle with the Houston area that got tacked on to our district...they lean heavily Republican and total 300,000 voters.
The main problems for Poe with Lampson will be: Lampson is known for being the forefront advocate for the Amber Alert, and he's the ranking member on the Aeronautics and Space Committee, big NASA supporter. And I’m a big space person.
But he’s still a big bleeding liberal, and he seems to be getting frantic now that he realizes he might be retiring early. At least I hope so, Poe represents core conservative values, and he’s his own man too.
But since both parties are throwing money at ads, in addition to the candidate's themselves, this race might be closer than I originally predicted.
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