Bill White’s largest mountain to conquer for the general election will be his virtual anonymity outside of Houston.The independent voting base is growing in today’s political atmosphere, and White should focus his energy by gaining the support amongst those voters.Independent Texans’ website has linked itself to a “Boot Perry” site, aimed at removing the ” Texas Lawn Chair Larry”. Forty-two percent of Americans identify themselves as an independent voter, which accounts to about five million Texans. White should passionately pursue these voters because these voters believe, ” political corruption in both parties, and the erosion of the American democracy itself” is reason to sound the political alarm. Bill White is running on the Democratic ticket, but has yet to hold an office beyond city hall in Houston. White’s general disconnect with the national political machine should be a great source of appeal for the Independent voter in Texas.
The opposition will be quick to highlight White’s lack of major political ties to anyone beyond the Texas borders as a negative attribute for White, and a clear reason for Texans not to vote for him. A vote for White could be a gamble, but it also is a strength for the former mayor. Currently, Washington’s politicians are experiencing a low approval rating,with some reports claiming only about ten percent approve the current Congress’ job, the disconnect could play out nicely for White. A candidate without connections to today’s Washington political machine is a major boost to their credibility.
Texan voters should avoid being distracted by White’s political inexperience and focus on the issues most important to our state. While Texas is not suffering under the economic recession as much as other states, things like transportation, job creation, and education are still important to the state‘s success.
Bill White was the mayor of one of the most diverse cities in the state, and kept the city running and maintained an unusually high approval rating for today’s politicians. Rick Perry has been governor since George W. Bush vacated the position in 2001, but has a relatively moderate approval rating, peaking at about forty-five percent. Texans are not necessarily excited about the job Perry’s doing with the state, but they are not necessarily unhappy either. White’s ability to appeal to a vast voter base will be a positive attribute for his campaign.
White and his campaign will also need to appeal to the disheartened Hutchinson, Medina, and Shami voters. Together, they account for roughly sixty-seven percent of the electorate from the primary last Tuesday. The voter turn out for a general election does tend to be higher than a primary election, with forty-six percent showing up for the general election to eight percent showing up for the primary. Along with the disappointed voters from Tuesday, White also has the opportunity to pick up a new crew of voters. Texas voters are concerned about the pace that Rick Perry is setting in Texas Uniting these voters behind this common goal of taking Perry out of office should be atop of White’s to-do list.
Aristotle once said, ” Character is the controlling factor in persuasion,” and Bill White should focus on this principle as he enters the general election race with Governor Perry. This primary season White has kept a relatively clean campaign, while Perry was involved in one of the most hotly contested races amongst the Republican party in a while. This is the challenge that Bill White faces in November: running as a Democrat in a dominantly Republican state, being a Democrat with a very unpopular Congress, who happens to be compiled by a dominant force of Democrats, and he has virtually no political connection beyond Texas.
The governor’s race this fall is likely to shape up to be a David and Goliath sort of race.White has a laundry list of to-dos in order to win the governor’s office.He must appeal to the centrist, independent vote. He also should not fall prey to Perry’s likely traps of highlighting his inexperience and lack of connection. Bill White will need to maintain his focus as an excellent and successful manager of one of the greatest cities in the country, and show Texas his roadmap to carrying that pattern to Austin. In the spirit of true democracy, and as a good Texan I want what is best for our state. White was an excellent manager of the fourth largest city in the country, and can be a serious threat to the Perry campaign. No one should be counting former Mayor Bill White out yet, but rather gear up for a great election season, because he is a great alternative to the established political norm that Rick Perry has rooted in Texas.
