Matthew Dowd Running For Lt. Gov - Is This A Ploy To Derail A Blue Texas?

Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, announced Wednesday that he is running for lieutenant governor of Texas — as a Democrat.

In an announcement video, Dowd, who worked more recently as a political analyst for ABC News, takes aim at the Republican incumbent, Dan Patrick, detailing a list of purported shortcomings, both on policy and character.

“The GOP politicians have failed us, especially the cruel and craven lieutenant governor,” Patrick says in the 2½-minute video. “He does not believe in the common good. ... He puts his ‘me’ over our ‘we.’”....

That includes work on a campaign of former Texas lieutenant governor Bob Bullock, the last Democrat elected to the office in the state, in 1994.

In his bio, Dowd also highlights his break with Bush in 2007 over his handling of the Iraq War and his identification as an independent afterward.

In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Dowd said he started seriously considering running for office after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump who were trying to stop the certification of last year’s presidential election. But it wasn’t until after the state’s legislative session that Dowd really focused on Patrick as his target.

“Watching the legislative session and how horrendous it was — not only what the lieutenant governor didn’t do, but also what he did do,” Dowd said. “This summer, I started thinking maybe I should run and remove this guy so I don’t have to be embarrassed about our own state.”....

Dowd said he’s running as a “Bob Bullock, Ann Richards Democrat,” a throwback to the last two Democrats elected as lieutenant governor and governor of the state in the 1990s. If elected, he’d focus on fixing problems with the state’s electric grid and returning decision-making to local officials so they can tackle challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order, local officials are banned from mask and vaccine mandates, among other measures intended to stop the spread of the virus.....

In 2007, Dowd broke with Bush, who he criticized for his handling of the Iraq War. He identified as an independent for several years and worked as a political analyst for ABC News until earlier this year when he again declared himself a Democrat to run for office.....

To win, they’ll need high Democratic turnout, bigger margins of victory among independent voters and some crossover from “disenchanted” Republicans, Dowd said. He says his past experience in politics, as well as his personal choices in that realm, makes him the candidate who can deliver.

“Regardless of the consequences I try to say it [like it is]. I broke with President Bush in a very public way. I criticized Donald Trump in a very public way,” he said. “What I’m gonna propose is we as Democrats have to win because there's too much at stake. I serve your values.”