Cisneros says no, well maybe not
In an interview with KERA in Dallas former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros told interviewer Shelley Kofler that he is not considering running for governor or any other race in 2010 or beyond. However, when pressed on that answer Cisneros hedged and didn’t rule the option out. As he stated “Well, I could say no. But, um, obviously one has to think about it. I think the answer is no. But who knows.” I guess that means no but then again, Cisneros is a politician so the answer is not so obvious.
Cisneros is one of the statewide names that could give Perry or Hutchison a run for their money in the governor’s race. He could draw from Democratic loyalists and Hispanics statewide and could generate the money necessary to mount a serious campaign. Both Hutchison and Perry are expected to build substantial warchests for this race so Democrats will have to tap into some deep pockets to match the Republicans in what would most likely be an expensive race considering the media markets across Texas.
The issue is that Cisneros has baggage from his past regarding making false statements to federal officials on payments to a mistress while serving as mayor of San Antonio. He stated that issue would not preclude him from running, apparently feeling voters have forgotten the issue. It could come back to haunt him during a campaign and sway some swing voters to the Republican candidate. While Texas is a red state the margins are not as wide as in the past as pointed out by Evan Smith in an opinion piece in the Newsweek inaugural edition and swing voters coupled with a strong Hispanic turnout could yield a victory for Cisneros. But it will take all the swing voters to bring home the victory.
There have been other candidates mentioned such as State Rep. Raphael Anchia and State Sen. Leticia Van De Putte but neither have the statewide appeal necessary to win a governor’s race in a state as large and diverse as Texas. It would require a large scale campaign to get their names recognized and understood when voters walk into the voting booths in 2010.
That appears to be the problem with the Texas Democratic Party. They can’t seem to muster up the big names for the big races. The party has made progress in turning Texas blue and has narrowed the margin in the Texas House to 76-74 resulting in the election of a new Speaker. But when it comes to the marquee races such as governor or US senator no major names seem to appear.
Cisneros could be the only big name to fit the bill so I’m sure he continues to be courted for the race by Democratic power brokers. At 61 this would most likely be the last race he would consider. Hardberger came out of retirement to run San Antonio but that’s nothing of the magnitude of running for governor of Texas which could be a taxing race. I fully believe Cisneros has the staying power but the question is if he has one last good fight left in him which this race would surely be.
