Posted on 05/27/2014 5:24:19 AM PDT by cotton1706
Congress’s oldest member may be its first incumbent to lose his seat on Tuesday.
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), who recently turned 91, is facing a hard-fought runoff challenge from former U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe (R).
Ratcliffe has given Hall the toughest race of his career, spending hundreds of thousands of his own money and racking up endorsements from a trio of national conservative groups that have given his campaign a late boost. Hall has stepped up his game since he was caught sleeping in the first round of voting, when Ratcliffe and other candidates held him to 45 percent, an outcome his campaign had confidently predicted wouldn’t happen.
The 17-term incumbent has spent more time back in his northeast Texas district since the runoff began and upped his fundraising, driven in large part by help from old friends in Congress and the Texas congressional delegation. But it’s unclear whether Hall has recovered fast enough to hold onto his seat for what he’s already said will be his last term in Congress.
Ratcliffe has been pounding Hall on his three decades in the House, blaming him for the growth in the federal deficit and for failing to stand up to GOP leadership. The insurgent has raced around the district to convince voters who know Hall well that he’s been there too long with little to show for it, painting himself as the more conservative alternative.
“If you want more of the same, Congressman Hall will certainly provide that. He's been there for 34 years and he wants two more years to provide more of the same,” Ratcliffe told The Hill. “People feel Washington has never been more broken and that they want a real fighter as opposed to someone who's just going to be a go along to get along politician.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Ralph Hall has done a great job for decades.
Many of us just question his ability to carry on due to his age, and yeah he used to be a Tx democrat, when Tx Democrats were more conservative than todays GOP.
The key word here is federal.
At the state level are politicians are limited to sessions.
They keep their day jobs.
Ralph will be leaving soon, don’t let it worry you.
our
The key word here is federal.
**************
I know that and assumed the topic was Hall. I guess I wasn’t following the conversation close enough.
How does the turnout look for the runoffs today? Have you heard anything yet?
One last term for Ralph. Go Ralph !
“Ralph Hall has done a great job for decades.”
Well then, I guess we will just have to disagree, because no matter “how great a job he’s done,” and I question the veracity of that statement, no one should serve in perpetuity. For one thing my bet is that his “contributions” fell off markedly with time (and age), and for another, it makes “grooming” suitable replacements problematic because he wants to be carried from his seat to his grave! We are lucky when someone decides to try an knock him off, because usually, guys like Hall die on the job and leave an open seat that more often than not goes to the opposition party.
I don’t take anything from Hall for his service early on, but by staying on, he’s not had the best interests of his constituents in mind which is usually the case.
Hey I tried to vote him out last time.
He is still a decent guy, but you are correct, we don’t need no career politicians.
I think the tea party types will do well.
with a few exceptions like Bob Hall
This is Tx.
I hope Bob Hall goes down in flames.
He has been a vicious lying turd, and Sen Bob Deuell is a good guy.
What does it say about the House of Representatives that the man recently given the job of chairman of the Space, Science, and Technology Committee is so old that he once pumped gas for Bonnie and Clyde?
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