Posted on 01/03/2002 1:09:59 PM PST by classygreeneyedblonde
The unexpected decision of former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales to run for governor leaves Democrats in shock today.
Everyone had expected Morales to run for the crucial U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Phil Gramm. But less than an hour before the deadline today he filed as a candidate for the Democrats' gubernatorial nomination, United Press International reported.
Morales gave no explanation for his stunning change in plans.
'Sneaking Around' "
He's sort of sneaking around, not talking even to insiders in the Democratic Party and now filing for an office that surprises everyone and disrupts the Democratic Party's plans in Texas," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "
This is a very strange move and denotes a certain instability in Morales' political conduct."
Laredo millionaire Tony Sanchez had been expected to easily win the Democrat nomination for governor after his selection by party leaders who prized his Hispanic name and deep pockets. Sanchez said he was surprised by Morales' decision and expected a spirited campaign.
Democrats had hoped to erode GOP gains in Texas. Republicans hold all statewide offices and both U.S. Senate seats.
Sanchez has been a "lackluster campaigner" so far, and that might have played a role in Morales' decision to jump into the race and leave the crowded Senate field, Jillson said.
"I think it's still a very strange move after months of saying that he was gearing for a run for the United States Senate and people sort of planning the Democratic ticket with him slotted in as a serious candidate ... all that is kind of thrown up in the air," the professor said.
The nominee will face Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who inherited the office as lieutenant governor after George W. Bush was elected president. He has no primary opposition. A Democrat would have to run an "almost flawless race" to beat him, Jillson said.
With only weeks until the March primary, Jillson calls the race even between Morales and Sanchez.
Other Dems seeking the nomination for governor include a Houston lawyer who goes by the name of John WorldPeace.
If you want to be part of electing WorldPeace governor of Texas and increasing the level of Peace in the World, get a piece of chalk and write WORLDPEACE on every sidewalk and street to remind everyone that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. all I am saying is give worldpeace a chance !
He's probably asking supporters to write his name in chalk because he can't afford yard signs.
Senators do not get elected President of the US. Governors do.
When Attorney General Dan Morales passed through Abilene in late April, he told our editorial board he had "something to do" in town that night. He didn't mention he was dating someone here.Less than a month later, his office announced his engagement to a 28-year-old Abilene woman, Christi Glenn.
The Reporter-News and TV stations quickly heard reports that Glenn's employment history included a stint as a topless dancer here. Glenn soon left town, so calls were made to Morales' spokesman, who no doubt envisioned the headline, "Politician to wed ex-stripper." The queries were dismissed as rumor-mongering.
On June 15, the story came out, in a sympathetic feature in the San Antonio Express-News, Morales' hometown newspaper. The article contrasts Morales' self-described "Leave it to Beaver" upbringing with Glenn's troubled childhood.
She lost her parents at an early age, spent part of her childhood in a Baptist children's home, dropped out of college and suffered through an abusive relationship and a failed first marriage. As a single parent with two children, she re-entered college and graduated from Howard Payne in 1996. But she had trouble finding work and finally ended up driving two nights a week to Abilene to dance in a topless club.
"I didn't want to do it," she told the Express-News, "but I was going to take care of my babies."
She then got a job at Snelling Personnel in Abilene. KRBC, who had her resume in its file, hired her to do weekend weather but abruptly fired her when word got around about her topless work, according to the article.
Back at Snelling, she met Morales last March when he spoke at a Better Business Bureau luncheon in Abilene. She gave him her card after his speech, and he later sent her a note asking her to dinner the next time he visited Abilene. It turned out to be a month later.
They'll be married later this summer.
"It will be the 'yes' moment in a modern Cinderella story," the Express-News said, "and their union will be one of the most interesting marital combinations in Texas."
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