Momentum Builds For Carlos Uresti

State Senate candidate Carlos Uresti spent the day before today's primary election on the phones urging voters to the polls as the momentum built behind his campaign to provide new leadership for a new direction in the region stretching from San Antonio to El Paso.

"There is a strong sense throughout our communities that it's time for a positive change," Uresti said. "Voters are ready for an independent voice, not a rubber stamp for the failed Republican leadership in Austin."

Uresti's opponent, Frank Madla, has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from Republican lobby groups. Exactly how much is still unknown because Madla has refused to comply with state laws requiring him to file a campaign report eight days before the election. In an odd twist, Republican Senators also are trying to rescue Madla's failing campaign: Sen. John Corona (R-Dallas) contributed $20,000; Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbuck), $5,000; Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), $3,750; Sen. John Lindsay (R-Houston), $1,000; and Sen. David Sibley (R-Waco), $1,000. News reports this weekend conservatively estimated the total from Republican sources at more than $631,000.

"State campaign laws exists so that voters know who is bankrolling the candidates before they go to the polls," Uresti said. "My opponent's disrespect for the law is surpassed only by his disrespect for the voters he is asking to support him."

Uresti said said his campaign's analysis showed a steady increase in his own likely voters over the course of the early vote period, with support surging in the final days.

Uresti planns to block walk today, continue phoning voters until the polls close at 7:00 PM, then gather with family and supporters to watch the returns at:

VFW Post 9186
650 VFW Blvd, San Antonio, Texas