Another Week, Another Kolkhorst Endorsement

State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, announced another endorsement this week in her run for SD-18. This time, the statement of support came from state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels.

In recent weeks, she has also earned the support of U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

What makes this interesting, of course, is that SD-18 currently has an occupant, Glenn Hegar. The Katy Republican is running for state comptroller, which means the seat could come open some time after the November general election.

Any decision to resign is up to Hegar. A spokesman for the secretary of state tells TW that Hegar, should he win in November, could either resign or wait until he takes the oath of office in January when his resignation from the Senate becomes automatic.

In any event, Hegar's resignation would trigger a special election, the timing of which would be determined by the governor.

Early endorsements, of course, are one way to clear out a potentially large crowd of candidates. What remains to be seen, though, is whether this clump of endorsements has any effect on Hegar's decision to leave early.

*****

A company that has made its name by using voter files to target political advertising online for Democrats announced this week a new project intended to further democratize (with a small D) the process of creating ad campaigns on the internet.

DemocraticAds.com is, according to its creator DSPolitical, being billed as a “self-serve platform (that) allows clients to launch their own voter targeted digital ad campaigns.”

The lure here is twofold. Not only does this allow candidates to create digital ad campaigns without having to spend big bucks normally associated with ad buys. It also gives candidates the flexibility to create ad campaigns from anywhere.

With the cost of entry minimal — the minimum purchase for an ad campaign with DemocraticAds.com is $500 — the potential is there for putting the tools of a modern political campaign in the hands of even the smallest of campaign operations. Either that or the amount of political spam is about to increase exponentially.

*****

The November general elections are fast approaching, and with that comes some important campaign finance filing deadlines. This Thursday was the ending date for contributions that can be counted on the 30-day out report, which is due Oct. 6.

Also, Oct. 6 is last day to register to vote in the general elections.

*****

Here’s the week in endorsements:

• Republican CD-23 candidate Will Hurd: Support and Defend PAC; U.S. Chamber of Commerce

• Republican lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick: Texas Oil and Gas Association PAC; Save America’s Free Enterprise (SAFE), the political arm of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

• Republican state comptroller candidate Glenn Hegar: BACPAC, the political arm of the Texas Association of Business

• Democratic SD-10 candidate Libby Willis: TEXPAC, political arm of the Texas Medical Association

• Republican HD-50 candidate Mike VanDeWalle: National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) and the Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA)

• Democratic HD-94 candidate Cole Ballweg: Texas AFT; Texas State Teachers Association; United Educators Association

• Republican Fifth Court of Appeals Judge Craig Stoddart: Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

• Potential Republican SD-18 candidate Lois Kolkhorst: State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels