Governor's Race Getting Crowded

There are already three candidates who have declared their candidacy for governor in the upcoming Democratic primary -- Kinky Friedman, Hank Gilbert and Tom Schieffer. Now it looks like their may be a fourth candidate soon.

Ex-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle (pictured) said on Friday that he is "leaning" toward running. Earle is a hero among Democratic progressives because he is the D.A. who charged Tom DeLay with violating campaign financing laws. This was the precipitating cause of DeLay's rapid fall from power.

While I also appreciate Earle's part in destroying Tom DeLay's political career, I think he may already have waited too long to get in the Governor's race. The three candidates already in the race have their natural constituencies. Friedman appeals to party mavericks (like myself), who are tired of career politicians. He will also bring independents into the Democratic primary.

Tom Schieffer appeals to the conservatives in the Democratic Party (and whether anyone believes it or not, there are a lot of them). Hank Gilbert's base is with the party's liberals and progressives.

If Earle was going to get into the race, he probably should have done it before Gilbert entered the race. That's because Earle may be famous among liberals, but he is virtually unknown to most Texans outside of Travis County (Austin), and I seriously doubt he's going to have the money to make his name well-known -- even as well-known as Gilbert who has already run state-wide once before.

Earle is not going to cut into Kinky Friedman's base -- they'll vote for Kinky no matter who else is running. He's also not going to cut into Tom Schieffer's base -- these conservatives will not support someone as liberal as Earle as long as there's a real conservative in the race. That means he'll be splitting the liberal/progressive vote with Hank Gilbert, and that means there will be less chance of a liberal/progressive candidate winning the primary.

As a Friedman supporter, I guess I should be happy that Earle's thinking of entering the race because that heightens the possibility of Friedman or Schieffer winning. But I really wish he wouldn't run. I like the three-way race as it is, and I'd hate to see the liberal/progressive vote split.

That's because while I want Kinky to win, if he loses, I don't want it to be to Tom Schieffer. I could support Gilbert in the general election, but there's no way I could vote for Schieffer.

Please stay out of the race Mr. Earle. Don't split the liberal/progressive vote.