Texas Justice
Here's how The Hotline described today's races.
Three big '06 storylines have been Tom DeLay's fate, Iraq vet candidates and the liberal blogosphere. All three sagas advance today in TX, where voters kick off the '06 primaries.
-- DeLay (TX 22): GOPers pray he can win a four-way race outright, avoiding a 4/11 runoff that would drag this mess even further into the spring. If new legal woes later force DeLay to resign, party officials insist, they can replace him on the 11/06 ballot. (Don't worry, they've checked this out).
Rodriguez vs. Cuellar (TX 28): No one wants a runoff here either. But with Morales in the mix, one's likely. Liberal bloggers are touting Rodriguez. But the ex-Rep. isn't touting them, or his big NARAL nod (both tough sells in the culturally conservative district). Cuellar, of course, is running from his own bogeyman, George Bush.
(BTW: For those watching TX 28, MyDD's Chris Bowers has a handy guide to the county-by-county results from '04.)
Van Taylor (TX 17): The NRCC and Gov. Perry have rallied behind the Iraq war vet as their best chance to beat Dem Edwards. Standing in their way are Tucker Anderson and his ex-boss, Rep. Pete Sessions. It's unclear how this affects Session's bid to chair the NRCC. But it can't help (unless Anderson wins outright).
If Taylor loses the primary, all eyes will be on Sessions, who's running for NRCC chair against Reps. Phil English and Tom Cole. Sessions has been making calls on behalf of Anderson, even though the party apparatus is behind Taylor. Sessions' support for John Boehner in the leadership battle should help him somewhat, but if Anderson wins the primary and loses the general, he may not be viewed quite as favorably.