The Interactive Road-Map to Victory

With all that talk about the Dems being in striking distance of taking the State House, the D.C. based Lone Star Project has created a convenient victory map of their likely target seats.

Unsurprisingly, much of the target list is taken up by Dallas, Tarrant and Harris County seats. The Dems have been pretty public about their belief that they can build on the big city successes they managed in 2006. But straight down I-35 from the Big D there's Round Rock's Diana Maldonado in the HD-52 race to replace Mike Krusee. Her life may have been made easier by Bryan "PACman" Daniel beating out favored son and county DA Dee Hobbs in a no love lost Republican primary.

Speaking of GOP-on-GOP action, primary insurrectionist Dee Margo was seen by many lege-watchers as little more than Speaker Tom Craddick's revenge against El Paso incumbent Pat Haggerty for leading the (Best of Austin winning) quorum-busting walk-out last session. That could mean a clear(er) path for Dem Joe Moody come November, since Haggerty's voting record was often to the left of many House Dems. On the other side of the state, Larry Hunter is going after three-term incumbent Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, who was helped into his Hardin seat in 2002 by some TRM PAC assistance.