Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones kicked off her Senate campaign Tuesday with a whistle-stop tour that included an appearance at Goode Co. BBQ’s Kirby location. Ms. Jones becomes the second RR commissioner to announce, joining a growing field of candidates hoping to replace retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
In a five minute speech, Ames Jones touched on the usual themes we have come to expect – repeal Obamacare, make Harry Reid irrelevant, offshore drilling, stop the federal government’s intrusion into our lives, stop Socialism, stop the bailouts, stop spending, etc.
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I get that politicians like to do these whistle stops in an effort to garner publicity but this was probably not the best day to get media attention. She has to compete with President Obama’s State of the Union address, complete with Date Night, as well as the Texas Senate taking up the controversial Voter ID bill. To make matters worse, her staff didn’t seem to know who the local media were. The Houston Chronicle’s Joe Holley tried several times to ask a question, eventually giving up and leaving. Note to campaign staff – if you don’t know the local media, ask someone who does.
Bad day for exposure aside, I had a feeling of deja vu listening and watching the dozen or so people that came out. It reminded me very much of Sen. Hutchison’s campaign kickoff in LaMarque when she tried to dethrone Gov. Perry – there didn’t seem to be a lot of energy or excitement. No buzz. There were probably as many campaign staff and media as there were supporters in attendance. I expected this to be much better organized and attended given that she’s been running for the seat ever since people thought that Sen. Hutchison was going to step down to run for governor two years ago. She and her staff are going to have to step up their grassroots network if they hope to pull this off. I guarantee you that Ted Cruz and Michael Williams will have very strong support at any of their campaign stops because of their grassroots efforts.
Visit her website here: Jones for Texas