Diana Maldonado

As Williamson County becomes more urban and less rural, Round Rock’s House District 52 could be a November bellwether. The former safely Republican seat is up for grabs with incumbent Mike Krusee having opted out of a re-election bid. Now the campaign of Democratic hopeful Diana Maldo­na­do hopes proximity to Austin’s political machinery will help her dispatch Republican rival Bryan Daniel.

“It’s a tremendous resource for us,” said Maldonado’s campaign manager, Genevieve Van Cleve. Her candidate has already gotten some local star power on the campaign, with local legislators, including Reps. Mark Stra­ma and Donna Howard, attending her town hall meetings and fundraisers. On Saturday, Aug. 23, the Travis Co. Democratic Coord­in­ated Campaign will send local activists across the county line to give Maldonado’s campaign a seasoned staff boost.

Van Cleve is quick to point out this is just an assist on party-building in WilCo. She explained, “For a county and a district that doesn’t have a long history of being a blue dot in a red sea, people are terrifically excited.” She’s finding previously untapped local resources: When visiting the Austin-based Capital Area Democratic Women, Van Cleve ran into some Round Rock precinct captains. “Some of [the group’s] members live up here [in Round Rock] but there isn’t a mirror group [for organizing] here,” she said. “We’re doing two phone banks a week and block-walking three times a week, and we’re staffing that with Williamson County people.”

In the funding race, Maldonado is comfortably ahead, with $129,740 cash on hand as of July 15, compared to Daniel’s $32,421. “Whatever fundraising lead we appear to have, I don’t trust it,” said Van Cleve, who expects the GOP to start funneling money into Daniel’s war chest. “This race looks a lot like other races they’ve fought in the last couple of election cycles, when the money starts coming in late.”

Daniel won the GOP nomination after a bitter run-off against the perceived favorite, Assistant County Attorney Dee Hobbs. If the Daniel campaign was prepared to risk a schism in the local party to get on the ballot, then the general election could get bloody. “A close race has really spooked them,” Van Cleve said. “They’re going to be mean as hell.”

This article appears in August 22 • 2008.

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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.