Michael Williams wins early straw poll...

Michael Williams won an online straw poll run by the Dallas County Republican Party... (link).

I also hear from peeps who are in the know in Dallas that Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams really blew the others out of the water... and this was even so when Lt. Governor David Dewhurst was initially in the ballot...

I also think it is interesting that they said they went through the votes and took out duplicates, including some from "family members"... LOL... someone's family member was on there voting multiple times according to Dallas County GOP Chairman Jonathan Neerman...

Michael Williams with his tea party support and grassroots cache is clearly the top candidate of "the rest" who aren't named Dewhurst... Dewhurst is in a pretty weak spot though not even coming near 40% let alone 50% in early polls...

David Dewhurst has many similarities to Kay... both can say they are conservative and point to one thing or another to prove it... both have served for many years and done some very good things... yet both are considered RINO style politicians at the end of the day when you talk to the grassroots about them... both have risen very high and become very wealthy... both are not good at firing up the crowd when giving a speech...

I think David Dewhurst is in an okay position right now in that he can finish this legislative session strong and prove his conservative credentials... but at the same time he has a long record that can be picked apart the same way Kay had a long record that Rick's peeps picked apart... she might say unfairly so... any and every little thing will be scrutinized in a big nasty primary fight...

In some ways I agree with Perry vs. World that Dewhurst may not even run... he may look out and realize he will probably get clobbered for his quirky eccentricities, his enormous wealth... when is Dewhurst going to release his taxes... what is he hiding, his uninspiring rhetorical style, and his less than perfect record with the strong conservative grassroots who dominate Republican primaries... would he really want to deal with all of that and end his political career the same way that Kay did... or does he think his money and strong name identification will overcome all the other candidates... and then overcome the candidate who ends up in a run off with him... does he think his record is truly strong enough... that he can run the same campaign Rick ran in 2010... kind of a "Texas is good, Rick is responsible for that, and if you disagree you must hate Texas...."

As for Tom Leppert... that guy is really having a bad start to his race... I don't really hear from Roger Williams much any more after he went fast and furious two years ago... maybe he is just raising money in private meetings if so that will look good in a few weeks when the numbers come out... Elizabeth Ames Jones had a big tour around the state but nobody bothered to show up and her entire rationale for running seems to be that she is a woman and we need another woman to replace Kay... Ted Cruz is doing a lot of the right things appearing at sizable events almost every night and it will be interesting to see how much money he can raise and whether peeps actually believe someone who has never been elected to anything has earned the trust to go to Washington and be one of two senators from Texas... I think the rumors of Craig James jumping in are fascinating... he is hated by Texas Tech peeps and has some baggage from his SMU days he might not want coming out...

Michael Williams is clearly doing something right if he is winning prominent straw polls but I think he may not hit his stride until he is actually out of the Rail Road Commission and into full time campaign mode...

Endorsements seem to be all over the map... debates are going to be muddled with too many candidates... this race might be won or  lost based on nasty negative attacks, opposition research, and gaffes...

Speaking of gaffes... someone may have made a gaffe... Michael Williams' camp seems to think that calling for a Constitutional Convention is an error that will leave our rights vulnerable to ACORN style organizing and whims of the moment... while Dewhurst and Cruz have both spoken out for a Constitutional Convention to re write the document that has served the United States very well for well over 200 years and only been amended a couple dozen times...

I see the point of a Constitutional Convention, because it would allow states to rapidly change the Constitution for the better... but it would also allow them to rapidly change certain other things for the worse... it is not like the normal amendment process, it would streamline things... you could easily see states making deals with other states the way they do in Congress... you scratch my back... I will scratch your back... it is an idea that has never been done in our nation's history with the exception of the first one at the end of the 18th century and the other one that happened at the open of the Civil War in the south...

I would not feel all that comfortable about supporting a Constitutional Convention unless we have a strong and popular Republican president who could guide the public debate... unless the media play it more down the middle some day... and unless we had strong supermajorities of Republicans not just in Congress but running a supermajority of states as well... and even then who knows what people might do... I prefer the slow process even if it does mean we don't get important things added...