Texroots Tuesday

Chris Bell and Maria Luisa Alvarado are traveling together through the Rio Grande Valley the next few days.

Supreme Court Justice nominee Bill Moody started his walk across Texas this week; Land Commissioner candidate VaLinda Hathcox has joined him. (See photos here and here.)

David Van Os continues his Whistlestop Tour to county courthouses in North Texas (Comanche and Archer City and Wichita Falls) and West Texas (Albany and Sweetwater and San Angelo).

And the inaugural trio of Texroots-endorsed Democrats still need a little juice from you. Here's an excellent Q&A on what the Texroots are all about, and here's more on Hank, Shane, and Juan, courtesy of Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex:

Juan Garcia. [Website, Bio, Volunteer] Juan Garcia is running against entrenched Craddickat incumbent Gene Seaman (R-Corpus Christi). This is one of a hand-full of races that can be “flipped” from Republican to Democratic control this fall. While Seaman has a massive warchest on hand from previous election cycles, Garcia is actually leading the incumbent in fund-raising right now. To boot, he’s flipped a number of Seaman’s contributors and supporters who are tired of this district being in the hands of someone who is more concerned with staying in Tom Craddick’s good graces than serving the people. And, who could forget Seaman’s vacation to his home-away-from-home in Vail.

Here are some other good Garcia coverage: Why You Should Vote For Juan Garcia (South Texas Chisme), Where In The World Is Gene Seaman (CapitolAnnex), Juan Garcia vs. The Culture of Corruption (Truth Serum Blog), Gene Seaman Is Already Running Scared (The Red State), Juan Garcia Conference Call (CapitolAnnex).

Shane Sklar. [Website, Bio, Volunteer] At 30, Shane Sklar has already headed one of the state’s largest agriculture groups and made a name for himself in the agriculture community. Now, he’s seeking to unseat failed Libertarian Presidential Candidate turned Republican Congressman Ron Paul (R-Surfside) to give the people of Congressional District 14 effective representation. Paul’s main pet projects including voting against nearly every piece of legislation he has the opportunity to vote against—including aide for parts of Texas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina—and bemoaning the fact that the U.S. is no longer on the “gold standard.” Polling in the district earlier this year shows that voters are dissatisfied with Paul’s “Dr. No” attitude and his failure to support legislation that would benefit the district.

Here are some other links related to Shane Sklar: Guest Post at Off The Kuff, Interview with Shane Sklar (via Kuff, mp3), Sklar blasts Paul for voting against Relief (Baytown Sun), Captain Ron (In The Pink Texas), Interview with Shane Sklar (AustinNews.net), Bad Poll Numbers for Ron Paul (Kuff’s World).

Hank Gilbert. [Website, Bio, Volunteer] Remember Todd Staples (R-Palestine)? The State Senator who was one of the architects of DeLay’s redistricting scheme and is one of the Trans Texas Corridor’s best friends in the Legislature? He’s now running for Agriculture Commissioner, although no one can quite point to any major achievements he made for agricluture while in the Texas Senate. Hank Gilbert is a rancher and former high school ag teacher who actually wants to be agriculture commissioner, instead of simply use the post as a stepping-stone to higher office, like Leininger devotee Susan Combs. Hank’s fierce opposition to the Trans Texas Corridor and his common-sense goals for the Texas Department of Agriculture are far more suited to a state that boasts such an important agribusiness economy than those of his opponent.

Here are some links on Hank (or, in the case of the first link, against his opponent): Don’t Get Stapled, Hank Gilbert Or Corporate Interests–You Choose (Jobsanger), Hank Gilbert For Ag Commissioner (Burnt Orange Report), Hank Gilbert, 40/40 Project (Burnt Orange Report), Hank Gilbert: Candidate for Ag Commissioner has Better Solution (The Open Road [note: this is an anti-toll road blog, not a progressive “D” blog, but I thought it added some variety to this list), Interview with Hank Gilbert (mp3, via Off The Kuff).

So…what are you waiting for? Click here to support these three great candidates! You can split your donation among all three candidates or make separate donations to each campaign.

Update: The Blogging Representative has a report with photos of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor in the Valley. And I wish to express a humble 'thank you' to all who helped push David Van Os over the top in his "$30,000 in thirty days" fundraising appeal. (Note also the graphic in the right sidebar.)