Our featured candidate for this week's Texas Tuesday is Chet Edwards (Webpage / Contribute). Chet Edwards is a 13-year incumbent Democratic Congressman from Waco and is fighting to represent the new 17th district.  He has a moderate record of fighting for the interests of Waco and for the military personnel in the Fort Hood area.  Unfortunately, redistricting took the Fort Hood area out of the district, but Edwards will now have the opportunity to represent his alma matter, Texas A&M and College Station.  Edwards is also facing perhaps the most extreme right-wing member of the Texas legislature in his bid for reelection - Arlene Wohlgemuth (who is also backed by the far-right Club for Growth), so the contrast between the two candidates is quite visible.  Best of all, is that Chet Edwards is the only one of the highly contested congressional races in Texas that Roll Call currently lists as "Lean Democratic".  Chet Edwards has a great chance to win this November, but he needs our support.  Check out the Edwards webpage and Contribute to his campaign online.  Please add on an extra $0.36 to let him know that it came from the Texas Tuesday effort.

The Edwards folks were kind enough to provide a district profile of the race for our readers.  Here's where the race stands right now:

Profile: 17th District Congressional Race

The race for the 17th Congressional District between incumbent Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards and Republican Arlene Wohlgemuth will be a barnburner.  Edwards is a top target of Tom DeLay and national Republicans: a memo from DeLay's chief political aide to Republicans in the Legislature during last year's redistricting battle stated, "We must stress that a map that returns Frost, Edwards and Doggett is unacceptable and not worth all of the time invested into this project."  

Despite drawing a district designed to defeat Edwards, the Republicans are clearly worried they miscalculated.  The Austin publication Capitol Inside recently reported, "Top Republican strategists are quietly conceding that U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco might have a chance of surviving the aftermath of the GOP redistricting blitz."  Republican fears are well placed--Edwards is an aggressive campaigner, had over $800,000 in the bank on the last campaign finance report, and has come out swinging in his new district.  Edwards brings strong credentials on national defense and veterans issues to the race and has a reputation as an independent thinker who does what's best for his constituents.  

Wohlgemuth, on the other hand, is known as a partisan with an extreme record.  As a state representative for the last 10 years, she has been the leader of the far-right wing of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives.  In the last legislative session, she authored HB 2292, which made drastic cuts in Texas health and human services.  Her bill has already cut over 141,000 children of Texas working families off the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and it's expected that Medicaid will be cut by 300,000.  She also eliminated dental and eye care for CHIP recipients and cut pre-natal care for 17,000 women.  

Edwards has already challenged Wohlgemuth on her CHIP cuts and has promised to make children's health care a central issue of the campaign.  The race for the 17th District will be hard-fought and close, but Wohlgemuth and her right-wing allies are clearly worried about Edwards and his campaign's aggressive start.

- Edwards Campaign Team

Again, if you're inclined to donate, you can make a secure online contribution here. And don't forget to add an extra $0.36 to let the campaign know that it came from the Texas Tuesday effort.