SAN ANTONIO – Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio formally launched her campaign for lieutenant governor on Saturday, saying it’s time to retire Republican leaders who “wage war” against women and repeatedly turn their back on middle class families.
“I’m running to be the lieutenant governor who doesn’t forget about the rest of Texas. The ones out-of-touch Republican candidates have forgotten as they continue to pat their most extreme voters on the head,” Van de Putte said in announcing her candidacy before more than 700 supporters on Saturday.
“For a long time, the politicians in charge around here haven’t done much to make Texas a place worthy of our pride in it. Texas families have carried the slack on their own,” she said.
“For years, the governor’s been too busy trying to be president and the lieutenant governor’s been too busy trying to get to the U.S. Senate. Nobody’s been minding the store.” Her reference was to the failed campaigns of Gov. Rick Perry for president and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for the U.S. Senate last year.
She also took a slap at her potential opponents, Dewhurst and the three other Republicans seeking their party’s nomination for lieutenant governor.
“It gets whackier every day. They’re all trying to out-extremist one another. All four of them chasing after the most extreme five percent of Texans who control the Republican primary elections. To them, the rest of Texas doesn’t exist,” she said.
“To them, the real-life priorities of too many mainstream Texas families simply don’t exist.”
The first Democrat and first woman to jump into the race for the state’s number two post next year, Van de Putte brings with her a solid record as a legislator for the past 23 years, including the last 14 years in the Senate.
Texas Democrats see her pairing with gubernatorial hopeful Wendy Davis of Fort Worth as giving the party its best shot in years of recapturing the top two leadership posts in the state.
Still, Van de Putte will face an uphill battle if she secures her party’s nomination. Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994. That year, the legendary Democrat Bob Bullock won a second term as lieutenant governor and Republicans have held the post since he finished his term four years later.