12.02.09
SD-5: Bius will file, Ogden still mum
Via The Huntsville Item, Bius to go ahead with campaign.
Ben Bius will officially file the necessary documents with the Republican Party of Texas in Austin to be a candidate for the 5th Senatorial District in the March 2 Primary on Thursday.
“On Sunday, I learned that my Republican primary opponent was withdrawing from the campaign to succeed state Sen. Steve Ogden,” Bius said. “I wish Dan Gattis well and respect his decision to remain close to his family.
“Last September, Sen. Ogden called to let me know of his decision to not seek reelection to the Texas Senate. He told me then if I was interested in running for the Texas Senate that I should do so. I told Sen. Ogden that I appreciated his call and I thanked him for his service to the State of Texas and his leadership in the Senate.
Bius said that since Sunday’s announcement by Gattis, Ogden has been in West Texas and unavailable for comment, but in speaking with the people closest to him in the last several days, it is clear to him that he has reached no decision to reenter the race for the senate seat he now holds and he am moving forward with the campaign.
“Since my announcement in September, my campaign team and I have knocked on over 15,000 doors across the 5th Senate District,” Bius said. “We have met with thousands of Republican Primary voters and I have personally attended dozens of campaign events. We have been on the radio for well over a month with ads touting my conservative vision for Texas and we have dropped tens of thousands of pieces of mail. I have already earned the support of thousands of District 5 Republicans and conservative voters.”
Via the TexasTrib, The Ogden Show.
Wednesday could be the day voters in SD-5 find out whether Steve Ogden has changed his mind about getting out of the Legislature. Maybe. The Bryan Republican said in September that 20 years is enough. But the favorite to succeed him — Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown — dropped out of the race and said Ogden has changed his mind. That was on Sunday, and the words have died in the air: Ogden hasn’t confirmed, denied, or even commented. Staffers say that could happen on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Republicans in Williamson County have a case of the willies. Ben Bius, the only Republican who is saying out loud that he wants to be senator, is from the other end of the district. The WilCo folks had hoped Ogden’s replacement — if there is one — would be from their end of the district and not from the East. [Emphasis added].
With Bius keeping his bid alive, at least for now, Ogden still silent, and the WCGOP having the “willies”makes it seem that this was not planned as we were first lead to believe. The GOP phones are burning up in SD 5. If Ogden doesn’t run it’s hard to believe that Bius won’t get an opponent from the Western/Williamson County side of the district.