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The Gossips are amused at the concern over some of the GOP candidates for Judge seeking the endorsement of the local GLBT caucus. It appears that some of the long time Republican Judges are so concerned about the fall election that they are going after every endorsement they can get including those in the Gay community. This takes the Gossip back to 1994 when David Jennings Willis, a Republican, decided to run against Carolyn Marks Johnson, an incumbent Democratic Judge and for some reason sought the endorsement of the Gay Political Caucus. Judge Johnson did not. So Willis was endorsed. Then all hell broke loose. The very right wing of the Republican Party denounced Willis and he tried to give back the endorsement. The Caucus would not take it back. So Willis was stuck with it.
That was too much for the leaders of the religious right in Houston. Their leaders let the Johnson campaign know that they were going to help her in the east side of Harris County. There was nothing that the campaign could do so they just kept quiet. Strange bedfellows to say the least and no one in the Johnson campaign knew for sure what they had in mind.
The Sunday before election day flyers appeared on the car windows at many churches in Pasadena and other east end communities and post card and phone calls were made to GOP voters reminding them that Willis had been endorsed by the Gay Political Action Committee.
It was a bad year for Democrats in Texas and in Harris County. All but two Democratic Judges lost. One of the two who won was Judge Johnson. And reviewing the election returns it was apparent that she won in Republican precincts in the East end of the County where other Democrats were losing.
After that GOP political consultants advised their clients to stay away from the GLBT endorsement. So it is indeed interesting for the Gossips to hear that two of the most well known GOP judges are this year seeking that endorsement. Perhaps the polls are correct in that this is not a good year to be running as a Republican in Harris County.
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