GOP McGuinness Taking Lead in HD50 Race

Okay, so Texas House District 50 is not in Williamson County, but is significant to us since it borders House District 52.  In what most pundits thought a safe race for Democrats, Republican challenger Patrick McGuinness has a slight lead over the pro-Obama incumbent.  If even Travis County Democrats are in trouble...whew!

Unlike the Quorum Report, I only cite real polls, so here is the official release regarding the Gateway Research Group poll.

AUSTIN, TX – A poll conducted by the Gateway Research Group in the first week of September shows Republican Patrick McGuinness with a slight lead in the race for House District 50 in northern Travis County.

49.7% of those polled favored McGuinness over Democrat incumbent Mark Strama, who garnered 48.1%. 2.2% of those polled were undecided in this race.

“This poll, like the one conducted for GOPAC-Texas recently, shows that voters are turning away from the Democrats’ failed policies, both nationally and in the Texas House,” said McGuinness. “I will continue to make my case to voters in HD 50, advocating fiscally conservative policies that build our prosperity by keeping taxes and spending in check, and pursuing excellence in education by empowering parents and teachers.

McGuinness continued, “My opponent supports Obama and his agenda, and stood with liberal Democrats in the legislature to vote against taxpayers, against ballot security, against teacher merit pay, and against fiscal responsibility. I aim to bring better representation to my neighbors in district 50. ”

The Gateway Research Group is part of the Austin-based Gateway Policy Group. The poll was conducted between August 28 and September 6, 2010 and sampled voters in HD 50. Questions can be directed to Dr. Greg Hupp or Trey Newton at 512-477-3100.

Patrick McGuinness is a longtime Austin resident, and an engineer at Freescale with a doctorate in Computer Science. He and his wife Celeste are raising their four children in northwest Austin. He can be reached at 512-377-1307 or pat@patmcguinness.org.

Diana Maldonado Now Masquerading as an Independent or Something

Oh my, the Diana Maldonado campaign has finally figured out it's not such a good thing to be an Obama Democrat this year.  The latest campaign flyer from the beleaguered incumbent not only implies she is fiscally conservative, but actually claims she is the "Independent" voice.  Furthermore, that bad, bad word "Democrat" has been stricken from the entire piece, front and back.  What a charade.

For starters, a recent poll showed that the number one issue for independent voters this year is....Obamacare.  Specifically, they hate it.  This is a huge problem for Representative Maldonado; even though she couldn't vote for it, she sent a very public letter to the President in March 2010, urging him to go ahead and force Obamacare through Congress despite overwhelming public opposition.  Not a popular move amongst 'Independents.' 

Another huge problem for Maldonado is her list of supporters; most notably Annie's List , a 'liberal-progressive' group so controversial, that even the Williamson County Democrat Party Chair spoke out against them.  In addition to the radically pro-abortion Annie's List, Maldonado also takes support from Blue Texas, a left-wing, pro-Democrat PAC, as well as other liberal-progressive groups. 

Of course this isn't the only charade Maldonado and her supporters are attempting; in addition to last week's awkward debate faux pas, Lefty blog Burnt Orange Report mistakenly claimed a poll showed her leading by 50-42 against Larry Gonzales.  However, author Karl-Thomas-Musselman had to backtrack since the 50-42 number wasn't a poll after all.   Here is the exchange:

Does a recent poll show Diana Maldonado leading her Republican challenger 50%-42%? It's possible. Maybe those on Sen. Kirk Watson's Online Townhall yesterday with Rep. Maldanado know more- I missed the call.


CORRECTION: Alas, those weren't poll numbers, but instead Rep. Maldonado's time of 50min:42sec for her 5 mile run. Too bad the title wasn't "Maldonado Running Strong in District 52"!

Well, duh.  Maldonado could not get to 50% in a pro-Dem year, only a fool would believe she is somehow stronger in a pro-Conservative year.  A better title would've been "Maldonado Running from Her Votes." 

Curiously, the mea culpa hasn't stopped lefties like Harvey Kronberg from running with the rumor that Maldonado is leading, although he is careful to add "No, we haven't seen the poll."  So much for the credibility of the Quorum Report. 

Diana Maldonado can try to use campaign literature to hide her affiliations, but she won't be able to hide from her voting record and actions as a legislator. Educated voters will realize that Maldonado and her fellow Democrats are part of the problem, and the solution will be to declare their independence by hiring a new State Rep for House District 52.