This race didn’t get much attention, given the focus on the Democratic presidential primary, but it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun to follow through the GOP runoff and the general election.
How cranky are some Republican voters? Consider that former sheriff Jim Bowles, who was upset four years ago after a series of ethical mishaps, got 35 percent of the vote. That means he’ll be in a runoff with Lowell Cannaday, who is the poster boy for the reinvigorated Dallas County GOP. But how reinvigorated can the party be if Cannaday only beat Bowles by 4,000 votes? And, equally as interesting, Bowles apparently did well in Lake Highlands and North Dallas, which should have been big-time Cannaday territory.
Meanwhile, the Dallas County Democrats must be euphoric. The party has pretty much sold its soul to get sheriff Lupe Valdez re-elected, given her problems running the jail, administering the office, and the like. This is something that even Dallas Only Daily Newspaper noted: "Sheriff Valdez, 60, ran an aggressive fundraising effort, and the local Democratic establishment threw its support behind her."
Valdez won the primary outright with about 51 percent of the vote, which is impressive enough. One would have thought that one of her three challengers would have been able to muster some sort of anti-Valdez enthusiasm, given her spotty record.
But she also has a legitimate chance for a re-match with Bowles in November in the general election. That has to make the county Democratic types almost giddy. Cannaday would attract independents and good government Democratic voters; Bowles may not even attract GOP voters who aren’t cranks.
One other note: About 300,000 votes were cast in the Democratic presidential primary, while just 228,000 were cast in the sheriff’s race. That is a telling number that should give the pundits something to ponder. All of those newly empowered voters who turned out for Barack Obama couldn’t be bothered to complete their ballots.
