Posted on 10/23/2007 11:40:30 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
UPDATED: AUSTIN – San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts today said he will not seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate because of the toll his effort already has taken on his family.
Watts had been primed to face state Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston in the battle for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
“For the last five months I have been exploring a race for the United States Senate because I believe that our junior senator, John Cornyn, has let Texas down and is more concerned with his cronies and friends in Washington than with what's best for Texas,” Watts said in a statement.
“After spending the last several months putting everything into this campaign, I have seen the toll this effort has taken on my young children. For these reasons, my wife and I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 2008,” Watts said.
Watts said he still believes in the fight that prompted him to explore the race and “will personally do everything possible to support the Democratic nominee.”
He had been the best-funded of the candidates, according to a recent report, after putting millions of his own dollars into his campaign.
Watts’ decision comes just days before he and Noriega were to make their first face-to-face appearance in Austin by taking questions from members of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association.
Noriega said Watts called him this morning and told him he had decided to withdraw from the race.
“Today, Mikal made a very difficult and personal decision to put his family first. That’s a reflection of a strong character and a truly grounded leader,” Noriega said. “Mikal and I made plans to sit down together in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ll continue the campaign that we started together and fight for the vision for a better Texas that we continue to share.”
Watts campaign adviser and friend Kelly Fero, a Democratic consultant, said the lawyer hadn’t reassessed his chances of victory in a race against Noriega, whose strengths include being a Latino in a primary where a strong showing is expected by Latino voters.
According to Fero, Watts’ decision was simply based on his family. His children are ages 13, 11 and 9, Fero said.
“During his exploratory campaign, Watts talked a lot about family values. Today he backed it up,” Fero said. “His kids miss him, and he misses his kids.
“It would be great to have some sort of conspiracy,” Fero said. “This is one of those times where there ain’t one.”
With plenty of time left for candidates to enter the Democratic primary, Watts’ move doesn’t necessarily clear the field for Noriega. Among those who have been mentioned is former state comptroller John Sharp, who is working for a bond proposal on the November ballot to fund cancer-fighting efforts.
“There’s two and a half months before filing deadline. I would think there are people who are out there who will take a look at this,” Fero said. “It’s not too late in the game for someone who believes he or she can put together the resources. That’s the key issue.”
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pfikac@express-news.net
“The U.S. Supreme Court should respect its own precedent and let the people of Texas administer criminal justice consistent with the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers fought the Revolutionary War to stop foreign governments from telling us what our laws say.” —U.S. Senator John Cornyn
Pineapple face was crushing Watts in his internal polling.
AND because he hasn't got a snowball's chance of beating John Cornyn!
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