Democrats at the Driskill just did something they’ve done little of tonight: celebrate. Congressman Lloyd Doggett just took the stage to celebrate his apparent victory of Republican Tea Party favorite Donna Campbell.
“At least we can say we put a little spoonful of sugar in that bitter brew,” Doggett said to cheers.
Afterward, he conceded that he was worried.
“I did expect it to be a close election,” Doggett said. “There’s some returns you expect and some you don’t, but we could clearly see the level of determination by the Tea Party was really strong and it would be very apparent in these rural and suburban counties.”
Does this result – by far the closest in the history of Dist. 25’s current boundaries, which have existed since 2006 – change the way Doggett must represent his constituents?
“It’s always a matter of listening and learning from what was said here tonight,” Doggett said. “But I’m very appreciative of the vote I got from my neighbors who know me best here in Austin and Travis County. It was an overwhelming vote of confidence. I want to continue serving all of my district and people of all political parties, but I’m mindful of this tremendous vote of Austin that gives me the opportunity to serve another two years in Washington.
“I knew the main opponent I had was overconfidence,” Doggett said. “And I think we managed to rally people near the end of this campaign to realize that it would be close and it required a big turnout here.”
This article appears in Rick Perry (Digital Edition).