The Perfect Storm

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Perfect Storm  The 17 th District of Texas  The Candidates  The Campaign  The Results

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The 17 th District of Texas Race/Ethnicity  87.3% White  7.6% Black  1.4% Asian  4.7% Hispanic Occupation  42.9% Blue Collar  57.1% White Collar Median Income  $50.2k in state  $51.4k in U.S. Partisanship  R +20, PVI ’08 Presidential Vote  McCain, +35%

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Incumbent: Democrat Chet Edwards Occupation  Real Estate and Business Executive Political Experience  Texas State Senate, First Elected  1991 Committees  Committee on Appropriations  Committee on the Budget

Table 3.1 Congressional Vote Scores for Chet Edwards, 1991–2010

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Challenger: Republican Bill Flores Occupation  Business Executive Political Experience  None

Table 3.2. Campaign Finance for Texas 17 th District Campaigns, 2004–2010

Table 3.3 Vote Totals in Texas 17 th District by County, 2004–2010

Table 3.4 Predicted and Actual Vote Percentages by PVI Rating, 2004–2010

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: The Polls

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: Flores‘ “Slideshow” NOTE: Internet access required.

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: Flores‘ “Rewind the Tape” NOTE: Internet access required.

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: Flores‘ “Austin Paper” NOTE: Internet access required.

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: American Crossroads‘ “Message” NOTE: Internet access required.

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: DCCC‘s “Bill Flores Getting Rich off Government Bailouts” NOTE: Internet access required.

Cases in Congressional Campaigns, Second Edition: Riding the Wave The Campaign: NRCC‘s “Chet Edwards: He’s Not Independent” NOTE: Internet access required.

The Results