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Grits has predicted for years that if and when Democrats finally win a statewide race in Texas, odds are the first one will be on the Court of Criminal Appeals, where Republican candidates routinely poll several points lower than statewide candidates atop the ticket. In that light, Keith Hampton's challenge to Presiding Judge Sharon Keller on that court will be worth watching.
As demographics begin to narrow partisan results in Texas, IMO judges on the state's two high courts will be the first statewide pols to become vulnerable, with Judge Keller and Co. providing a more inviting and cost-effective target of opportunity whenever Democrats decide to make a serious go of it (this, for whatever reason, was not that cycle). During the last presidential election in 2008, incumbent CCA Judge Tom Price won with just 51.6%, a lower figure than statewide candidates at the top of the ticket (McCain took 55.4% of the statewide vote; Sen. John Cornyn got 54.7%), but still higher than Democrat Susan Strawn's 46.4%. Tom Price, though came with none of Judge Keller's baggage, and Strawn's spending in that race was negligible compared to statewide candidates further up the ballot.
Keith Hampton's campaign has garnered support from a variety of unlikely editorial boards - including the Bryan College-Station Eagle and the Amarillo Globe News - not to mention larger papers from the Dallas Morning News , the Ft. Worth Star Telegram , and the Houston Chronicle. His hometown paper, the Wichita Falls Times Record-News, has a flattering feature on his candidacy today. Hampton has tried as well as he could to make hay of the "We close at 5" episode and the fact that Judge received the largest ever fine ($100K) from the Texas Ethics Commission.
On its face, the prevalence of straight ticket voting and a Libertarian alternative makes Hampton's challenge an uphill fight in 2012. OTOH, this is Keller's first electoral test after the the state's guardians of judicial ethics accused her of misconduct, only to see their result thrown out because of an improperly lenient penalty. So I'm pleased a credible candidate stepped up to challenge Keller (as seriously as one can spending $80,000 in a statewide race, if a recent Texas Tribune report is accurate). My father likes to say "there's never been a horse that can't be rode, never been a cowboy can't be throwed," and at least Hampton had the gumption for two cycles in a row to climb up into the saddle. May the Gods of Down-Ballot Ticket Splitting smile favorably upon him tomorrow.
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