Lots of questions, and a slew of liberal-media-powered rumors, have revived the “what will KBH do and when?” meme that enjoys far too much attention these days. Especially as Jason Embry over at the Statesman has a great breakdown on some of the Great Unknowns. If KBH does this on these three days, this will or could happen, depending on the alignment of the moon and Jupiter, etc. Looks like it’s time for a recap of the situation as it stands.
1 – We have passed the deadline for KBH to resign from the Senate and trigger a special election this November.
2 – When the special election will be is totally dependent on when she resigns, and then what the governor decides to do.
3 – If she doesn’t resign by Dec. 30, it could mean that whomever is appointed to replace her will be on the primary ballot for another office (i.e., Dewhurst files for reelection, and is then appointed senator before the primary date). State law prohibits primary candidates from pulling their names off the ballot after Dec. 30.
4 – If someone is appointed senator AND wins the Republican nomination for another office in the primary, the power of appointing that person’s replacement falls to the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC). The list of SREC members is here (this group is in the news a lot lately, as they are also charged with choosing the new Republican Party of Texas chairman).
5 – We have no real idea of who will be appointed to what. We don’t know who will file for what (December is still a month and a half away, after all). There is a lot that is simply unknown, and everything you’re hearing is a rumor. My motto in times like these is trust no one. Until KBH ACTUALLY RESIGNS, we can know very little. But the second she does, expect a slew of announcements from Republicans (and Democrats – who have their own candidates to run).
Frankly, this whole thing is really distracting, like the best process stories always are. That’s what makes it so frustrating, too, because it’s the only thing a good many state-focused activists want to discuss. There are, literally, hundreds of other races down the ballot that should be concerning Republicans. As the grassroots, we’re not able to control what’s happening up at the top right now, but we have control over running and supporting candidates for local seats, judicial seats, the state legislature, even Congress. If we keep the farm team healthy, we’ll have a lot less to worry about.
March 3 cannot get here fast enough.
