The Right State

Chet Edwards and Van Taylor debated each other on Saturday at Texas A&M University with the winner in November representing District 17 in Texas.  The debate like the race itself was not very civil being marked by both sides with accusations of negative campaigning.

For a man who is the master of negative campaigning, Chet Edwards call for the end of negative ads has a bit of a hollow ring.

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards renewed his call to halt all negative campaigning while Van Taylor brought up new allegations concerning a 20-year-old tax bill Saturday as the District 17 candidates faced off for their first debate.

Taylor, a Republican from West, is seeking to unseat Edwards, D-Waco, who has been a Central Texas congressman since 1991 and sits on the powerful House appropriations committee. The two met for the televised forum at KAMU-TV studios on the Texas A&M University campus.

The two men come into the home stretch before the election focusing more on each other than on what they will do if elected to Congress.  Edwards, as a long time politician has a lot of history, much of it not very positive.  Like myself, Chet is an Aggie and Aggies are known to support other Aggies, a fact Chet Edwards is determined to press to his advantage.   Edwards is a liberal while most of the University he claims to serve is fairly conservative.  So far the residents of District 17 have either been uninformed of his voting record or they have able to overlook his liberalism.  Either way, Chet Edwards was able to win his last election against Arlene Wohlgemuth largely by name recognition.  This time he is finding the fight a little more challenging.

Van Taylor as the Republican nominee also has a hard row to hoe.  Even though he is a Marine and a successful businessman, Taylor is finding it tough to go up against a slick politician like Chet Edwards.

Throughout the race Edwards has focused on his Brazos County roots - pointing out in campaign commercials that he graduated from Texas A&M University in 1974 and has lived in the district for decades. Taylor, a recent transplant to the district, is a Harvard graduate but grew up in Midland and has seven generations of Texas roots, he has said.

During Saturday’s face-off, Taylor repeatedly focused on the theme that he is the more conservative of the two candidates, making him more in line with the ideals of District 17 voters. Edwards, meanwhile, repeatedly referred to himself as an independent-minded fiscal conservative and said he has achieved a seniority in Congress that has helped him consistently make positive changes for the district.

Both sides also took potshots at each other’s party leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Hastert.  In this area Van has a slight lead since most Texans do not like ultra-liberals like Pelosi.  But Hastert’s role in the Mark Foley affair is recent news.  So, who knows?!

It is a race to the finish with both sides pulling out all the stops.  Unknown in this election is how Aggies will vote.  They will normally vote for a fellow Aggie, but they will also be drawn to Van Taylor’s Marine credentials?  Again, who knows?!

Tags: Politics //