Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is backing the Senate campaign of Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, one of a handful of Republicans seeking the seat that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) will vacate in a few months.
DeMint, a prominent conservative voice in the Senate, appeared with Williams in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to announce an endorsement from his political action committee, Senate Conservatives Fund. The senator described Williams as "one of those new Republicans who has demonstrated throughout his life the vision and courage and willingness to stand up and fight for principles - principles that he believes are right."
Though DeMint's backing won't really influence the thinking of Texas Republican voters, the senator said he wanted to "bring to people's attention that there's a very important race in Texas, and it's very likely that the next new senator here in Washington is going to come from Texas."
Senate Conservatives Fund plans to donate the maximum $10,000 to Williams' campaign and will also "bundle" contributions from PAC supporters. Senate Conservatives Fund raised $1.1 million in the first 10 months of this year.
"It is a great honor to stand here on this ground and receive the endorsement of Senator DeMint - someone that through his career has shown a great deal of respect for the principles of limited government and the unleashing of the free market and protecting our country and standing up for traditional values," Williams said.
"I look forward, at some time senator, coming back and joining you and being a partner with you as one of those new Republicans who will go about the business of making sure that we stop this slide toward European-style socialism; that we end excessive spending; that we actually go about the business of reforming our tax code; that we build a true national energy policy," he said.
A special Senate election can be scheduled after Hutchison resigns her seat, sometime after she competes against Gov. Rick Perry in a Republican gubernatorial primary on March 2.
Other Republicans in the Senate race include Elizabeth Ames Jones, another state railroad commissioner; Roger Williams, a former Texas Secretary of State; and Florence Shapiro, a state senator. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst presently is seeking re-election to his current post but could switch to the Senate race. John Sharp, a former state comptroller, is running on the Democratic side.
Williams is the fourth Republican that DeMint's PAC has endorsed in a 2010 Senate Republican primary. Senate Conservatives Fund backed Pat Toomey, a former House member, over Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania before Specter became a Democrat; Marco Rubio, a former state House Speaker who is running against Gov. Charlie Crist for an open Senate seat in Florida; and Chuck DeVore, a California legislator who is battling former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina for the right to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D).
To see how the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
![[ARCHIVES]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/archives_icon.png){kind=icon}
Post A Comment