Chet Edwards For Congress

Supporting Texas Democrats - Chet Edwards

(I am supposed to post a link to Texas Democrats running every Tuesday but I keep finding myself busy Monday and Tuesdays. Check Out Texas Tuesdays for ones I miss.)

Chet Edwards is facing perhaps the most extreme right-wing member of the Texas legislature in his bid for reelection - Arlene Wohlgemuth (who is also backed by the far-right and lying Club for Growth - who launched a major Anti-Dean offensive when it mattered.)

Check out the Chet Edwards' website and contribute if you can.

Profile: 17th District Congressional Race

The race for the 17th Congressional District between incumbent Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards and Republican Arlene Wohlgemuth will be a barnburner. Edwards is a top target of Tom DeLay and national Republicans: a memo from DeLay’s chief political aide to Republicans in the Legislature during last year’s redistricting battle stated, "We must stress that a map that returns Frost, Edwards and Doggett is unacceptable and not worth all of the time invested into this project.”

Despite drawing a district designed to defeat Edwards, the Republicans are clearly worried they miscalculated. The Austin publication Capitol Inside recently reported, “Top Republican strategists are quietly conceding that U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco might have a chance of surviving the aftermath of the GOP redistricting blitz.” Republican fears are well placed—Edwards is an aggressive campaigner, had over $800,000 in the bank on the last campaign finance report, and has come out swinging in his new district. Edwards brings strong credentials on national defense and veterans issues to the race and has a reputation as an independent thinker who does what’s best for his constituents.

Wohlgemuth, on the other hand, is known as a partisan with an extreme record. As a state representative for the last 10 years, she has been the leader of the far-right wing of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. In the last legislative session, she authored HB 2292, which made drastic cuts in Texas health and human services. Her bill has already cut over 141,000 children of Texas working families off the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and it’s expected that Medicaid will be cut by 300,000. She also eliminated dental and eye care for CHIP recipients and cut pre-natal care for 17,000 women.

Again, if you're inclined to donate, you can make a secure online contribution here. And don't forget to add an extra $0.36 to let the campaign know that it came from the Texas Tuesday effort.