Whitmire Seeks Strong GOP Turnout That Harms Municipal Dems--Garcia, Alvarado Must Mitigate Damage Of Whitmire Endorsement

John Whitmire's chances for Mayor of Houston depend on Republican voters.

Here is some of what Jasper Scherer wrote in the Houston Chronicle on August 11:

State Sen. John Whitmire is emerging as the de facto choice of Republican voters and donors, who appear to view the veteran Democrat as the most viable Houston mayoral option they can stomach.

Whitmire’s campaign strategy is a test of whether he can assemble a coalition of conservatives and right-leaning moderates without ceding too many Democrats — the biggest partisan voting bloc in an increasingly blue city — to his main rival, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. The GOP support has helped fuel Whitmire’s enormous fundraising advantage, with more than $50,000 coming from donors who helped bankroll last year’s campaign of Alexandra del Moral Mealer, the Republican nominee for Harris County judge.....

Democrats preferred Jackson Lee roughly 2-1 over Whitmire in the recent poll. Whitmire largely made up there difference with a massive advantage among Republicans,who backed him 56 percent to 2 percent over Jackson Lee."       

Senator Whitmire needs strong Republican turnout on Election Day and in any runoff. This Republican turnout will hurt Democrats in the Controller race and in City Council races.  

Some elected Democrats who have endorsed Senator Whitmire and his Republican Election Day game plan are Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, State Senator Carol Alvarado, State Rep. Armando Walle & State Rep. Hubert Vo. 

Senator Whitmire makes a thing of saying he's not ashamed of seeking support across the political aisle.

The issue though isn't yesterday's bipartisanship. Today's Republican voters and Republican Party are engaged in election denial and endless attacks on democracy.

Senator Whitmire talks a lot about public safety. But there is no public safety without democracy. Definitions of Public safety in Houston must include protection of Houstonians from the extreme political right.    

Senator Whitmire's anti-democratic led voter coalition is not what we need in the most diverse city in America. We don't need to be in coalition with Mattress Mack and Dan Patrick.

In any case, elected Democrats who've endorsed the Republican choice for Mayor of Houston are hopefully discussing and planning how they'll mitigate the down-ballot damage of Senator Whitmire's candidacy.

Democratic elected officials who've endorsed Senator Whitmire could hire canvassers out of campaign funds, and could go door-to-door themselves each weekend to tell Houstonians about Democrats on the 2023 ballot and about the danger to democracy from the Republican Party. They could sponsor mailings and phone banks to inform Houston voters of the Democrats on the 2023 Houston ballot.

Republicans don't treat municipal elections as non-partisan. Neither should Democrats.             

The Houston Democracy Project is working everyday to make democracy a top issue in 2023 Houston city politics and to strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston. Please share word of the Project and support the effort with your donation.

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