As the filing deadline approaches the political maneuvering is increasing and it appears that there is significant maneuvering revolving around Texas State Senate District Five. State Representative Dan Gattis announced this weekend that he will not be seeking the Republican nomination for Senate District Five, and according to a report by the Bryan College-Station Eagle, Gattis will also not be running for reelection citing personal reasons. Senator Steve Ogden announced this year that he was not running for reelection, but according to Gattis, Ogden's "willingness to return to the senate" was one of the reasons he decided to step aside.
According to an article in the Eagle, Senator Ogden's office made a statement that there will be an announcement later this week about the upcoming election. Currently Ogden's campaign web site displays the Senator's statement from earlier this year in regards to not seeking reelection. Ben Bius, the only other Republican seeking the nomination for Senate District Five, made a statement in the Eagle article that the speculation about Ogden running for reelection is "completely unfounded and baseless."
Could it be a question of fundraising? According to Texas Ethics Commission records, Senator Ogden reported $737,578 cash on hand as of the July Semiannual campaign finance report, while Representative Gattis reported only $81,039 on hand as of the July Semiannual campaign finance report. However, according to the latest campaign finance report, Ben Bius has reported no campaign contributions. Even if Gattis is having a difficult time raising money before the primary it does not mean that he would have a difficult time raising money for a general election, and the likelihood that he would face a serious Democratic opponent is low.
This comes after speculation about whether or not Senator Ogden would join the Republican Primary in Congressional District 17, as several candidates have lined up to challenge Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards. Currently there are five candidates in the Republican primary, including the candidate who lost to Edwards in the 2008 election, Rob Curnock. While the winner of Republican primary would probably determine the winner of the State Senate District 5 race, the winner of the Republican primary will have a much more difficult time defeating incumbent Congressman Edwards.
It is unclear whether or not Senator Ogden will run for reelection; local media seems to be reporting confidently that Ogden is going to run. The local television station, KBTX Channel 3, reported that "While he and his representatives are staying quiet on the issue for now, it appears Steve Ogden will, in fact, seek re-election as a state senator." The Eagle reported that "An aide to State Sen. Steve Ogden said he will have a statement later this week about his plans for the 2010 election."
There are currently two unanswered questions. Did Gattis choose, not only not to run for State Senate, but not to run for reelection in the State House of Representatives for purely personal reasons? Also, will Ogden choose to run for reelection, and if he does will he face a primary challenge in the form of Bius?
