Rep. Burnam: Next session could get awkward in the lunch cue if Dukes wins.

While talking yesterday to Brian Thompson, aka The Man That Would be Dist. 46 Rep, he let it be known that he knew he would be getting a primary endorsement from Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, in his struggle against incumbent Dawnna Dukes.

In fact, he was pretty happy. Normally, such primary endorsements are pretty much verbotten, but if that’s a sin, then Burnam sinned and sinned again. He also threw his support behind Sandra Rodriguez, who challenges Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, D-Mission, after he took cash from the Craddick-connected HillCo PAC. He’s also made an early bid for the Christmas Card list over at Armando Walle‘s office, chasing the Houston house seat held by Kevin Bailey (a man who has already rumbled that he’s being picked on for his support of the speaker.)

The reality is, in Texas this year, some primary races are going to be about one issue: where do you stand on Tom Craddick? It’s as much an issue amongst Republicans as it is amongst Democrats. With Burnam announcing that next week he’ll talking about the new PAC, “Too Close to Craddick,” that he’s backing, there’s one real question: is it going to be bi-partisan?

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.