Republicans Concerned About 2010 Primary Battle; Speculation Centers On Plans Of Sharp, White

As speculation reaches a fever pitch about what Houston Mayor Bill White and former Texas Comptroller John Sharp will do when it comes to the Democratic primary races in 2010, Republicans are already worried that a bruising contest between an incumbent governor and popular United States Senator in their own primary will destroy their chances of winning in a general election.

Jared Woodfill, chair of the Harris County Republican Party, is particularly worried especially in light of the fact that Republicans in the state’s largest urban county are in a downward spiral when it comes to facing Democrats in the voting booth:

“The concern is obviously when you have a Republican running against a Republican is that it’s becoming bitter, and getting people to come back together for November will be harder,” says Woodfill, “because our full focus should be on defeating the Democrats.”

With an announcement from Houston Mayor Bill White expected this week, all eyes are on him and former Comptroller John Sharp to see which will decide to go for the eventually open seat and which will end up in the 2010 governor’s race. Conventional wisdom says that Sharp will go for the Senate race and White for the governor’s office. But, if Hutchison waits a long time to vacate the seat, there is a chance Sharp could enter the race for governor himself.

Here is what the ABC 13 in Houston had to say about White:

White’s closest advisors were all zipping lips today.  White himself said more than anyone, he listens to his wife, Andrea.

That’s pretty coy, because everyone knows Bill White has a lot of advisers, and some truly top-notch talent and quality consultants he’s worked with over the years.

One of his more informal advisers has been causing a few whispers in Democratic Party circles of late though, because of the possibility that White will enter one of the statewide races in 2010. It is far from an open secret that one of White’s close advisers and supporters is Rich Kinder who was Ken Lay’s second in command at Enron who bundled more than $146,000 to George W. Bush against Ann Richards in 1994. Word on the grapevine, in fact, is that Kinder and others have been urging White not to go head-to-head with Hutchison in the governor’s race because, well, they’re also supporters of Hutchison.

Of course, all of that is scenery, but it is yet another one of those things that could creep up in a Democratic Primary.

We’re hearing a lot of buzz around John Sharp, too, particularly with respect to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. It is pretty clear that they view him as the most viable candidate, even though they aren’t saying so in public.

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