Race to Watch: Texas Senate District 25
May 25th, 2012 at 6:46 pm by Josh Hinkle under Politics
Jeff Wentworth (Texas Senate)
If there’s one word to describe this Texas Senate race, it’s “nasty.” Incumbent Sen. Jeff Wentworth and former Railroad Commissioner Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones have battled each other ferociously during the course of this campaign for a district that stretches from north Bexar County to south Travis County.
Wentworth is from San Antonio, serving in the Senate since 1993. Last session, he supported the voter ID bill and is also a staunch advocate of gun-owner rights. However, some conservatives were none too pleased when he voted against the state’s sonogram law.
In addition, Texans for Lawsuit Reform has worked to see Wentworth defeated after he voted against a bill to decrease the amount of money property owners could sue to recover after a hurricane.
On the other side, Ames Jones was elected to the Texas House in 2000. Gov. Perry appointed her to the Railroad Commission in 2005, and she won election to the commission in 2006.
Though she had once planned to run for U.S. Senate, she backed out of that race to run against Wentworth. She resigned from the commission after opponents questioned whether she could run for a state senate seat where she did not presently live.
Elizabeth Ames Jones (Ames Jones Campaign)
As railroad commissioner, Jones was required to live in Austin. She had a home in District 25, but her primary residence was in Austin.
The latest attack in this race came from Ames Jones, as she alleged Wentworth double-billed the state and his campaign for the same travel expenses. This accusation prompted Wentworth to file a libel and slander lawsuit against Ames Jones last week.
She has also alleged Wentworth illegally lobbied for Metabolife, which had products containing ephedra. Travis County officials investigated the allegation 10 years ago but filed no charges against Wentworth.
New Braunfels physician Donna Campbell is the third Republican in the race. She ran against Democrat Lloyd Doggett for Congress in 2010.
The GOP winner in Senate District 25 will face John Courage, a teacher from San Antonio.
Tags: district 25, election, elizabeth ames jones, jeff wentworth, Senate, Texas
What makes you think that Dr. Campbell is 3rd in the race? Do you have inside information?
She may have been 3rd at one time, but I think that’s changed in the last few weeks for several reasons. She’s had media ads and a mailer. Dr. Campbell has received many conservative endorsements. We’ve had weeks of attack ads between Jones and Wentworth — which are a big turn-off. Also, a Rice University study showed Jones and Wentworth’s voting records to be “virtually indistinguishable.” If voters want someone different from Wentworth, it’s not Jones. Dr. Donna Campbell is the best choice in this race.
I find it amazing that WOMEN running for office support more stringent anti-choice legilation. What if they were raped? Of course self-righteous, hypocritical neaderthals never put the laws on the books for themselves—only others in lower economic classes. The wealthy ALWAYS do what they want. Traitors to women. REPUBLICAN = TALIBAN