Is Talarico the real deal?

Traditionally I don't wade too far outside of City Hall, but some interesting stuff happened last night that I can't resist commenting on.

First let's take a look at the race everyone's talking about: the U.S. Senate.

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Is Talarico the real deal?

I don't know if Talarico's liberal pastor shtick will work out, but at least it's an attempt at something new. I'm not a man of faith myself but I've long argued that Democrats should not shy away from Jesus talk. It offers far more hope for connecting with swing voters and the politically disaffected than the vapid partisan talking points that people have largely tuned out.

Crockett certainly had personality, but nothing she was saying was new or likely to connect with anyone who isn't already a #resistance diehard. She was highly partisan, but not particularly progressive. She had not taken any particularly brave positions that would put her at odds with the party establishment or endear her to left wing voters.

Talarico's appeals to decency and humanity will be most effective if the GOP nominee is the cartoonishly evil and corrupt Ken Paxton.

Paxton actually finished in a close second in the GOP primary to incumbent John Cornyn; the two of them will face off in a May runoff.

Could Talarico beat the less loathsome Cornyn? I wouldn't bet a lot of money on it but it's certainly possible given the right circumstances. Trump is currently doing everything in his power to make himself and his party as unpopular as possible. The Iran bombings are already unpopular and people already feel shitty about the economy. Things could very well get even worse on those fronts in the coming months.

What about Gina & Vikki?

Gina Hinojosa, a state rep from Austin, easily clinched the Dem nomination for governor. Vikki Goodwin, another Austin rep, finished in first place in the primary for lieutenant governor and will face Marcos Velez in a runoff.

Neither Hinojosa or Goodwin are considered generational political talents, but Abbott and Patrick aren't particularly likable either and they've now been in office for 12 years. In theory those offices should be up for grabs in a blue wave election. We'll see.

Travis County Precinct 2: Brigid Shea sticks around

Just like she did four years ago, Brigid Shea, the longtime activist and co-founder of Save Our Springs turned away a progressive primary challenger.

Amanda Marzullo tried to make an issue out of Shea's support for tax credits for Tesla but not enough voters noticed or cared.

Travis County Precinct 4: The "mayor" of Dove Springs in a runoff

Constable George Morales is a big deal in southeast Travis County. He has a city Recreation Center named after him, a highly unusual honor to bestow on any living person, let alone someone who is still in elected office.

But Precinct 4 covers a quarter of Travis County. Much of it is outside of Morales' sphere of influence. It was particularly unlucky for him that his two top opponents were women. It is firmly established that a female name in a down ballot race goes a long way in Travis County, particularly in a Dem primary.

It looks like Morales will face off against Susanna Ledesma-Woody, who came very close four years ago to dethroning longtime Commissioner Margaret Gomez, who has mercifully thrown in the towel after many years of political irrelevance.

Travis County Dem Chair Doug Greco ousted by Jessica Cohen

This is another "upset" that isn't all that surprising. It's another reminder that in Travis County a female name goes a very long way in an obscure race.

Jessica Cohen has been active in local politics for years, but she has never been regarded by insiders as leadership material. Greco was endorsed by just about every local Democratic official.

Sure, you could say this is evidence that Cohen has the support of the grassroots, insiders be damned. But the simpler explanation is the more likely one: almost nobody who cast a ballot in the race knew either candidate and so the woman candidate won. Sorry.

Will Cohen be able to raise money and run an effective coordinated campaign to maximize Dem turnout in the fall? Insiders are glum. It's up to her to prove them wrong.

I've always thought it was absurd that party chairs are actually put on the ballot in Texas. It's not a government position, so it should not be on the government ballot.

Women dominate in local lege primaries

Pooja Sethi, the former chair of the Travis County Dems and one-time unsuccessful candidate for City Council District 10, won in 3-to-1 landslide over entrepreneur Joseph Kopser in the Democratic primary for HD 47, the district that stretches across much of Travis County west of Loop 360. Vikki Goodwin has vacated the seat to run for lieutenant governor (she also got the nomination for that office easily last night).

In HD 49, the Austin seat Gina Hinojosa is vacating in her bid for governor, Montserrat Garibay, a former Biden administration official, came in first place with 33% and former Austin City Council Member Kathie Tovo came in second with 28%, far ahead of the rest of the field. They will face off in a May runoff.

In HD 50, the northeast Travis County seat Talarico is relinquishing, Samantha Lopez-Resendez came in first with 51.6% of the vote. Union leader Jeremy Hendricks finished in a distant second with 20.5%.

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