Posted on 03/03/2004 4:02:56 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
Rep. Lloyd Doggett fights for his political life against Leticia Hinojosa.
PALMVIEW — With a practiced smile and outstretched hand, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett recently greeted two cleaning ladies at the newly dedicated Garcia Middle School in this booming Hidalgo County town.
Nervously, they retreated. But with shy smiles, they shook his hand after Libby, the candidate's wife and a longtime bilingual education teacher, told them in Spanish, "My husband's a congressman, and we'd appreciate your support."
Doggett, who hasn't lost an election in 20 years, began campaigning in South Texas two months before the newly drawn 25th Congressional District was validated in federal court last year, and his $2.3 million war chest is many times that of his primary opponent.
He has spent most of his time in the Rio Grande Valley, relentlessly emphasizing the endorsements he has garnered from the area's politicos and touting his experience — 10 years in Congress representing Austin and 20 years in the Legislature and Texas Supreme Court.
Nonetheless, the veteran campaigner finds himself running behind the language curve, an issue he has never had to face.
Seven of every 10 of the district's 651,000 voters are Hispanic. For a good number of its residents, Spanish is the only language they speak.
The district snakes 350 miles from East Austin to the Mexican border, and in Starr County and the part of Hidalgo County that anchor it on the south, the populations are 97 percent and 90 percent Hispanic, respectively.
For many of this region's Democratic voters, his will be the only non-Hispanic name on their primary ballot March 9.
"I can deliver (in Congress) if you give me the opportunity," Doggett has repeated, to hammer into voters' minds that he knows Washington — and to subtly note that the total political experience of Leticia Hinojosa, his opponent, is her two terms as a state district judge in Hidalgo County.
That appears to have succeeded in drawing the backing of a battalion of area mayors, city council members and county commissioners, as well as the symbolically important United Farm Workers union.
At the farmworkers' convention this month, Doggett quickly, if awkwardly, pulled a red and black UFW T-shirt over his dress shirt and tie to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd while his wife translated his comments into Spanish.
In an interview, he sidestepped the language issue and the racial differences in the race by noting, "I may not (speak Spanish) but I speak the language that understands the needs of the people of the Valley," which census data indicates is the poorest per-capita region in the nation.
And he argued that people should not blame him for running in a district drawn for a Hispanic to win.
The Republican-controlled Legislature, pushed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, redrew the state's congressional districts last year to gain as many as seven new GOP seats in Congress.
Doggett, the most liberal of the Anglo Democratic incumbents targeted for political extinction, saw his Travis County district chopped into three pieces, and he's running in the only piece that offered him a chance to survive.
In Austin's East Side, where Hinojosa rarely campaigns, Doggett draws large, loud crowds. He always tells them that "my opponent is Tom DeLay and everything he stands for," which is always followed by boos and catcalls.
His advantage in Austin "is going to be lopsided, it is not going to be close," said state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin.
"He knows the issues affecting (Mexican Americans) and he knows Congress," said Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gomez, who has known Doggett for 30 years. "And let's face it, Congress is all about seniority, and I know that the people here understand that.
"I hope the people (in the Valley) can understand that as well."
Assuming he can get past Hinojosa, whose campaign has attracted grass-roots support and increasing donations in recent weeks, Doggett likely will face another female Hispanic opponent in the fall.
Becky Armendariz Klein is seeking the GOP nomination, backed by connections ranging from the Governor's Mansion to the White House.
"There is no doubt in my mind that (Klein's candidacy) is a creation of (Bush adviser) Karl Rove and ... she will be extremely well-funded. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there." Doggett said.
-----ggarcia@express-news.net
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.