October 13, 2004

Branch Says He's Taking Foe Seriously
as Big Bucks Raise Specter of 2006 Race

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

While most Texas House candidates attempt to negotiate the final three weeks of their campaigns without crashing, State Rep. Dan Branch's fundraising efforts might make it appear that he's well on the road to higher ambition with plenty of fuel in the tank.

The Dallas Republican, whose name is frequently mentioned as a potential statewide candidate in 2006, has raised almost 95 times more money for his re-election campaign than Democratic challenger Malcolm Dade in a rematch of their first bout two years ago. Branch won the 2002 race against Dade with 66 percent of the vote - and he's raised more than $449,000 since the middle of last year in his first re-election bid to the Texas House. Only four state House candidates - who are all in hotly-contested races - have filled their coffers with more cash than Branch has during the past 15 months. Branch was second only to House Appropriations Chairman Talmadge Heflin in fundraising for House races this summer, corralling almost $230,000 for his campaign account during the past three months. The first-term House member has had fundraisers in most of the state's major cities - and whatever he doesn't use against the Democratic challenger this year will still be good for future endeavors such as a possible race for attorney general or another statewide slot two years from now.

But Branch suggests that he's not looking beyond the November 2 general election. Despite winning more than twice as many votes as Dade picked up in 2002, the incumbent says he's taking the Democrat seriously this time around because the dynamics are different than when the two candidates first dueled for the House District 108 seat two years ago. While Branch represents some overwhelmingly Republican areas such as Highland Park, his district also includes some parts of the city east of downtown with large numbers of voters who tend to support Democrats. Hispanics, for example, account for almost a third of the district's voting population. Democrats might turn out this year in more significant numbers than they did two years ago because of the presidential race and the overlapping shootout between U.S. Reps. Martin Frost and Pete Sessions for a seat on the new congressional map. While polls show Sessions leading, Frost will still be expected to turn out a sizeable percentage of minority voters in neighborhoods that are represented by Branch in the Legislature.

If potential donors think there's no way the GOP could lose the HD 108 seat, Branch points them to the results of this year's primary elections when Dade actually received 104 more votes than the Republican incumbent in March. It's not so much that Branch is worried about losing. He just doesn't want to get caught asleep at the wheel taking his re-election for granted.

Branch may be a freshman legislator, but he's no rookie when it comes to raising cash on the campaign trail. President George W. Bush can attest to that. The 46-year-old attorney was the Dallas County co-chairman for Bush's campaigns for governor and he played an instrumental role in the 2000 presidential effort as well. He did well for Bush - and he's not doing too bad for himself. Branch's most recent report reads like a who's who of Dallas GOP heavyweights with donations from Louis Beecherl, Peter O'Donnell, Boone Pickens, Harold Simmons and more than $30,000 from the family that produced Trammell Crow and Harlan Crow - the latter a key contributor to the anti-John Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth this year.

For the past several months, a prevailing school of thought at the Texas Capitol has been that Branch will take a look at a race for attorney general in 2006 if he doesn't choose to pursue another statewide office instead. There's speculation that Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams might seek the Republican nomination in the AG's race - and outgoing State Rep. Steve Wolens has reportedly expressed a possible interest in a bid for attorney general on the Democrats' side.

With more than $250,000 in cash on hand for a race that on paper he should win without too much trouble next month, the GOP legislator could gamble the money by saving it for the future or he could unload some or part of it on the House re-election contest in the closing weeks of the campaign. It's one of those choices that most political candidates would love to have.