10.23.07
Watts Ends US Senate Exploration - UPDATED
Here’s Mikal Watts’ statement about dropping out of the race for US Senate:
“For the last five months I have been exploring a race for the United States Senate because I believe that our junior senator, John Cornyn, has let Texas down and is more concerned with his cronies and friends in Washington than with what’s best for Texas.
“After spending the last several months putting everything into this campaign, I have seen the toll this effort has taken on my young children. For these reasons, my wife and I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 2008. I was brought up to believe that public service is a noble endeavor and I will continue to be involved at some level in the future. However, I realize that my time now should be devoted to serving my children so they may grow up in a healthy environment with both parents at home to meet their needs.
“The reasons for creating my exploratory committee still exist. As I have criss-crossed the state and met and talked with tens of thousands of good Texans, it is evident how much the people of Texas want and need a Senator who will fight every day for their interests and not the special interests. We need to elect a new Senator in Texas and I will personally do everything
possible to support the Democratic nominee.“It is hard to express the gratitude I feel for all the support my family and I have received as we have pursued this effort. I know that our vision for the future of Texas is one that all of our friends and supporters share. It’s been one of the greatest blessings of my life for their faith in me, and for all of their hard work over the past months. While the decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate has been a difficult one, I know that it is the right one for my family at this time.”
With Watts’ exploration coming to a close with a decision not to run we need to thank him for his effort. Thank you for your interest and effort, the Democratic Party in Texas is stronger because of it. I am a firm believer that primaries, or in this case potential primaries, only make a candidate stronger. No matter which candidate would have come out on top eventually, this process gave an early glimpse to both candidates about what issues they would be facing in the months ahead.
Mikal Watts is dead-on when he said, “..John Cornyn, has let Texas down and is more concerned with his cronies and friends in Washington than with what’s best for Texas.” And his effort will help insure that John Cornyn and his cronies will no longer be in the way of what’s best for Texas.
[UPDATE]: Statement from Rick Noriega.
I received a call from Mikal Watts this morning informing me that he has decided to withdraw from the Democratic Primary race for the United States Senate.
As Teddy Roosevelt once said, the credit goes to the man in the arena. And Mikal Watts will always have my utmost respect for standing in the arena and highlighting how John Cornyn has let Texas down, placing political extremists and his financial contributors ahead of the people of Texas.
Of course, this is not the first time Mikal has been in the arena — he’s been a true friend to Democrats in Texas and throughout the nation, and has always had the courage to stand up for his convictions.
Today, Mikal made a very difficult and personal decision to put his family first. That’s a reflection of a strong character and a truly grounded leader.
Mikal and I made plans to sit down together in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ll continue the campaign that we started together and fight for the vision for a better Texas that we continue to share.