Elections Are 'Go' in Wilco

Seems like campaign season has officially kicked off in Williamson County, with former Speaker Tom Craddick spokesman James Bernsen looking to challenge Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, in the general election and Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, looking for a promotion to Senate.

In the "news that surprised no one" file, Gattis is now officially looking to replace the outgoing Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. His campaign website, DanGattis.org, has been converted into "Dan Gattis for Texas Senate," complete with biography video and fundraising button.

Meanwhile, his Democratic neighbor to the south has drawn a Republican challenger (again, not exactly a shocker). Bernsen has issued a press release, touting his run under the banner "Experienced Political Aide Offers Conservative Vision for Williamson County."

Bernsen has better local credentials than Maldanado's 2006 opponent Bryan Daniels, but that doesn't mean he's any less of a political animal. According to his press release, he served on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's 2006 campaign staff and as Sen. Phil Gramm's deputy press secretary. What he glosses over is that, in 2008, he was also in Craddick's press room. A former writer for conservative web outfit Lone Star Report, presumably that's where Bernsen decided that the state's three leading newspaper (including the Austin American Statesman) were run by politically correct "gnomes".

In his press release, he also goes to great lengths to talk about his military service (which, not to be too blunt about it, didn't work so well for Lt. Col. Rick Noriega when he ran against Sen. John Cornyn in 2006).