Three Democratic Hopefuls For Statewide Office Visit North Dallas
Three of the Democratic candidates for top statewide offices fielded questions from former Council member Angela Hunt on Thursday night, attempting to help voters better understand state government and communicate what a change in office would mean for Texas. The event, at Northaven United Methodist Church on Preston Road, attracted about 50 people.
(Full disclosure: It was hosted by D Magazine Partners president Christine Allison.)
The panelists included Justin Nelson, the Austin attorney who’s gunning to replace Ken Paxton as attorney general; Mike Collier, the accountant who’s trying to unseat Dan Patrick as lieutenant governor; and Kim Olson, the veteran and third-generation farmer who wants to boot Sid Miller out as agriculture commissioner. They are a spirited bunch, running campaigns with encouraging polling. But they still face an uphill climb: Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
And yet, these times are strange. Paxton is currently under indictment for securities fraud, a fact that Nelson has made a centerpiece of his own campaign—the race is one of “integrity vs. indictment,” he has said. Polls taken this summer have the race within a percentage point. Patrick, the incumbent for lieutenant governor, drew the ire of business groups and moderates alike during the last session when he pushed a bathroom bill at the expense of other legislation. Collier has polled within six percentage points of his opponent, who is simply ignoring him. Olson, like headline-grabber U.S. Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke, is visiting all of Texas’ 254 counties, meeting with farmers and others who are impacted by the policies coming from the agriculture commissioner’s office.
“We’ve never been in office,” Nelson said. “You have a veteran, lawyer, and an accountant running; but, it’s time to stand up for values and democracy. We want someone to check on power, to enforce the law, and to fight for justice.”
Read more: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2018/10/three-democratic-hopefuls-for-statewide-office-visit-north-dallas/
I also saw that those three candidates and Lupe Valdez were in Georgetown recently. The Williamson County Sun has gone to a premium subscription service so I'm no longer able to post articles from their newspaper.
