Republican Talmadge Heflin’s campaign has now “gone nuclear” with regard to his most recent race against Democrat Hubert Vo (the certified winner of the race):
State Rep. Talmadge Heflin asked the state House of Representatives today to overturn the results of his failed re-election bid and either order him returned to the Legislature or call for a new election.
Heflin’s attorney, Andy Taylor, said the election results in state House District 149 in southwest Harris County were fraught with voting irregularities and potential fraud, most of which occurred in predominantly Democratic precincts.
“The true outcome of this election was stolen from the voters in House District 149,” Taylor said Tuesday. “We will prove that Representative Talmadge Heflin was re-elected.”
Heflin, a Republican member of the House since 1983 and chairman of its Appropriations Committee, lost to Democratic businessman Hubert Vo by 32 votes earlier this month. But Heflin’s campaign alleges that those election results include at least 248 irregularities that could have altered the outcome.
I’m rarely surprised by political events — indeed, I make a living by predicting such events (at least in the international sphere) — but this one surprises me.
It surprises me because the Heflin campaign was so lackluster that I got the sense Heflin didn’t especially care if he lost or won.
It surprises me because House Speaker Tom Craddick has done everything but hit Heflin over the head to discourage him from putting this decision in the House.
And it surprises me because it conveys the notion that there is some sort of Divine Right of Heflin to this House seat, and that sort of arrogance can become very dangerous for political candidates and political parties.
If Heflin can prove the voter fraud he alleges, then maybe he has a case. Then again, I fully expect the Vo campaign to find irregularities as well. That’s the nature of our (imperfect) system of voting. Unless problems in voting are so widespread and so one-sided as to constitute a threat to the democratic process itself, these are the sorts of matters that wiser political candidates (even Richard Nixon!) have left alone. Taylor may well prove the wild allegations he’s made, but it will be another surprise for me if he does.
The fact is, Talmadge Heflin ran a disastrous campaign in a swing district that he could have won. Hubert Vo ran a good campaign in an obviously winnable district that is trending Democratic. Surprisingly, Dan Patrick summed it up well:
For the record, everyone from the Governor to our readers need to understand that the only person to blame for losing the election is Talmadge himself. His loss is a glaring example of old line politicians who take their job for granted and who have not had a tough election in years. Democrats once thought they were invincible when they had a stranglehold on state politics. They took their office for granted, they lost touch with the changing attitudes and needs of the voters and eventually lost control of the state. Talmadge Heflin’s loss, along with the local losses of Bert Keller and Gabe Vasquez should send a strong warning to all Republicans that if they do not respond to the voters [sic] needs, they too could lose their power.
The Democratic party in Texas is in no shape right now to beat out the Republican party for majority status, but the Republicans can certainly beat themselves. Wiser Republican minds might reconsider this election contest before it puts the Republican House in a very difficult spot.
