Kelly Hancock Announces Bolen Endorsement

Senate candidate and state Rep. Kelly Hancock moved the needle today in his effort to replace incumbent Senator Wendy Davis in the newly drawn Senate District 10.

Former Fort Worth Mayor Bob Bolen formally announced his support for Hancock saying, “Kelly Hancock is a young energetic man with experience. With so many key Senate retirements, there is a huge demand for new leadership. We need new, young, energetic, intelligent people like Kelly Hancock. I am proud to support him,” said Bolen.

Bolen served as Mayor of Ft. Worth from 1982-1991. While endorsements don’t win elections, they can legitimize a candidate and Bolen is well-regarded by many in the district.

In addition, Hancock announced the endorsement of 40 Republican precinct chairs and perhaps most significantly, that his fundraising had hit the $400,000 mark.

In her report to the Texas Ethics Commission last July, Senator Davis reported $441,000 cash on hand.

No other names have so far surfaced in the Republican primary for Senate District 10. As we noted at the time, the newly drawn district includes all of Hancock’s current House district.

However, the State decided to sidestep DOJ and took the map directly to federal court. Ironically, DOJ raised no Voting Rights Act objections to the Senate map, however the court has enjoined the State from using the Senate-drawn map until the Court itself certifies it. The Court may not pre-clear the map until after the filing deadline on December 12. As a result, there is at least a possibility that the 2012 election will be conducted under the current, less Republican SD10 district map.

But if the final district resembles the one the Senate drew last session, Hancock had a pretty good day today.

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