John Sharp Rumors Confirmed

I hardly ever post on rumors or speculation, and so I have held off on the John Sharp posts. However, BOR has that John Sharp will announce his candidacy for Governor.

Through the grapevine of tech people and political consultants, BOR now feels comfortable filing this initial report that John Sharp, former candidate for Lt. Governor against Dewhurst in 2002, will be entering the race for Governor against Perry. Word from our source has it that a "key Texas consultant has offered his endorsement of Sharp for Governor, an action this particular consultant wouldn't do unless there was a campaign and they were on board with it."

My sources in the lobbyist community have said that Sharp is being pushed by the conservative Democratic community with the hope that Chris Bell will shift his sights on Lt. Governor, and a D will be at every position for statewide office. The hope is that Sharp, who is naturally much more conservative that Bell, will have more appeal to Republicans and independents.

The other concern for some is that Bell will not have the same appeal as Sharp to even Democrats. This is a naive concern say the least, but still the conservative concur. Chris Bell has been working for over a year to garner both name recognition across the state and build lasting Democratic influence.

This hope will put a D at Gov, Lt Gov, Attorney General, Senate, and key congressional seats. Is this the best strategy? It is to early to tell, but this is the way the players are trying to force the top two races.