POLLING SUGGESTS HOW VOTERS BREAK WITH INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES ON BALLOT (subscription required)
My compadres at the Texas Progressive Alliance are somewhat nonplussed by Chris Bell’s showing in the latest poll results in the Texas gubernatorial race. Bringing up the rear in fourth place behind TWO independent candidates and Governor Goodhair certainly isn’t anything to celebrate. Yes, it’s only April, but based on these results and my own impression of the situation, Chris Bell’s campaign has it’s work cut out. While Governor Goodhair, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and Kinky Friedman have managed to get themselves covered in the state’s major newspapers on a regular basis, one might be forgiven for thinking the Chris Bell is holed up in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet.
On a simple very favorable-favorable/very unfavorable-unfavorable match up, the Governor hits 48.7%/31.6%. Congressman Chris Bell is 16.4%/8.7%. Bell’s biggest problem is that 54.5% have not yet heard of him.
Has anyone seen a Chris Bell television, radio, or print ad? Has Chris Bell held anything resembling a press conference. Has his campaign done ANYTHING to create a buzz or draw attention to Bell? Does anyone actually even KNOW who Chris Bell is? Unless this changes, a Texas Democrat will once again suffer a humiliating defeat in November. For a candidate whose name recognition has to be hovering in the single digits, Chris Bell’s campaign certainly seems to be on cruise control- not something one might reasonably expect from a fourth-place candidate with a name recognition problem.
