Bowing Out Of Gubernatorial Run, Van De Putte Says Sen. Kirk Watson Is Her Man For Top Spot

State Sen. Leticia Van De Putte (D-San Antonio) today ended months of speculation concerning whether or not she will run for Texas governor by saying she won’t do so, and instead will work to draft fellow state senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) into the race.

Prominent Democrats must put personal ambitions aside and very
pragmatically nominate the person best equipped to win in November.
Just because one can win the Democratic nomination for Governor doesn’t
mean one should, unless he or she is best positioned to defeat the
Republican nominee in the fall. That’s why I think Senator Kirk Watson
should raise his sights and run for Governor. I’ve watched as Senator
Watson has emerged as a leader in the state Senate on the issues of
most importance to Texans. While staying true to Democratic values, he
is a bipartisan pragmatic leader solidly focused on addressing the
priorities of all Texans. I intend to lobby Senator Watson to run for
governor, and I’ll wholeheartedly support him if he does. But if he
declines, Democrats should recruit and support someone who, like
Watson, is energetic, pragmatic, focused, and smart; and who can fully
energize Democratic supporters while also attracting a broad range of
independent voters in every region of the state. The Republicans have
had their day, and Texans have realized that the Republicans can’t
lead. I will be working hard to elect a Democrat to the Governor’s
office.

The remainder of Van De Putte’s statement is at the end of this post.

If Watson were to enter the fray, he would have company. Tom Schieffer, brother of CBS Newsman Bob Schieffer, a Dallas businessman and former Ambassador and intimate of George W. Bush, is set to announce his plans to run tomorrow. Former Travis County DA Ronnie Earle is also reportedly considering a run for the spot.

It would also not be Watson’s first statewide race. He ran for attorney general in 2002 on the “Dream Team” ticket that went down to defeat up and down the ballot.

However, since entering the Senate, Watson has raised his statewide profile and could potentially be a viable candidate.

REMAINDER OF VAN DE PUTTE STATEMENT:

Five months of speculation regarding the possibility of me running for Governor has, quite frankly, been surprising. It started with nothing more than me not immediately saying ‘no,’ unlike in past election cycles, when asked if I would consider such a run. The reactions of thousands of Texans who encouraged me to give it serious consideration has been flattering.

“I have, indeed, given it very serious thought, and while I would love to believe, tongue firmly planted in cheek, that this pent-up desire on the part of so many Texans for me to run for governor is solely because of some perceived superior leadership ability and vast intellect of mine, I have to reluctantly admit that it’s not as much about me as it is about Republican failures.

“This is about Texas’ stunning lack of current leadership. Large and growing numbers feel betrayed by the Republicans they voted into statewide office, and who can blame them? While Texas families remain concerned about genuine priority issues, Republicans led by Rick Perry continue to instead obsess about hyper-partisan issues, in order to grab more power for themselves.

“Texans still pay the highest homeowners insurance premiums in the country. Texas still has the highest percentage in the country of those without access to health care. Texas still has the second highest rate of teen pregnancy in the nation, and the highest rate of teens with a second pregnancy. And after years of Republican ‘leadership,’ not only has Rick Perry failed to address these challenges, but he and his minions have done everything they can to avoid addressing them in any meaningful way. Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and others in the Republican leadership have turned their backs on 25 million Texans, instead opting to curry favor with a handful of fringe Republican primary voters.

“If I believed for a second that it would result in a healthy debate of the issues of most importance to Texas families, I would today be announcing my candidacy for Governor of Texas. But we have all watched over the years as Perry, Hutchison, and other Republican politicians have launched their scorched earth ‘say anything to win’ vicious attacks against political opponents. To mask their utter lack of leadership, they’ll do so again, and I decline to put my family through it. That I am a Latina would only serve to amplify their attacks.

“I will gladly work hard to ensure that a Democrat prevails in the election for Governor, so that Texas families can have a better shot at having a state government focused on the needs of Texans, instead of state Republican leadership obsessed with their own political futures, at Texans’ expense.

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