Just a note, whatever anyone says, Rick Noriega is NOT related to Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Rick's family is from southeast Texas, and as been here a long time. There are no relatives in Panama.
Anyone that brings that up is looking for a way to defame R. Noriega.
Nov. 15, 2007, 6:26AM
Noriega's Senate bid attracts national Democrats
State lawmaker goes to Las Vegas to let donors know 'Texas is in play'
By R.G. RATCLIFFE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN — With millionaire Mikal Watts out of the U.S. Senate race, the national Democratic Party is now treating Houston state Rep. Rick Noriega as the apparent party challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
Noriega is traveling today to Las Vegas as a guest of the Democratic National Committee to meet national party donors who are attending the Nevada Democratic Party's presidential debate, which begins at 7 p.m. Central Time.
"They've got a lot of national donors coming to this, and we wanted them to put a face with the name," Noriega told the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday. "What's going to happen is across the country folks are going to start realizing that Texas is in play."
In the past several weeks, Noriega also has picked up endorsements from past Democratic presidential candidates John Kerry and Wesley Clark.
"It's a different race now, from a primary to a general election," Noriega said Wednesday.
Another sign that Noriega is turning the national party to his favor occurred last week in Austin, where he was a guest at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The senatorial committee will not decide which state races to finance until late next summer, but chairman Sen. Charles Schumer had in the past indicated a preference for Watts as the party nominee because Watts, a San Antonio trial lawyer, could largely finance his own campaign.
Because of campaign finance limits, it will be difficult for Noriega to finance his general election against Cornyn with just the money donated by Texans. Noriega ended September with $510,000 in the bank to Cornyn's $6.6 million.
The task is not insurmountable, though. Democrat Ron Kirk in the 2002 Senate race raised $912,000 in the year before the election. By the end of the campaign, Kirk had raised $9.6 million. Cornyn won the race, raising $9.3 million, but both candidates received several million dollars more in independent expenditures by national party committees.
Cornyn has national help
Cornyn already is getting his national party's help. In the past two weeks, Vice President Dick Cheney was featured at a fundraiser in Dallas, and President Bush was the headliner at Cornyn fundraisers in Houston and San Antonio. The Bush events raised $1.3 million, according to Cornyn's campaign.
Cornyn has a joint fundraising committee with the National Republican Senatorial Committee called the Cornyn Majority Fund. A Jackson, Wyo., event in September netted $63,000 for the senatorial committee and $55,000 for Cornyn. The Cheney event also was a joint fundraiser, but the amount raised was not available.
At present, there are no signs that any major candidates will enter the Democratic race against Noriega, apparently giving him all but a free ride to the nomination.
Corpus Christi college teacher Ray McMurrey has entered the race as a protest against big party politics. And perennial candidate Gene Kelly of Universal City also may enter the race. Kelly won the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in 2000 in a field of unknown candidates.
Noriega said he personally spoke with some of the other people who had been mentioned as possible candidates, including retired Gen. Ricardo Sanchez and former Comptroller John Sharp, and was assured they are not going to run.
One big impact on Noriega with Watts dropping out of the race was the amount of money he could raise from individual donors dropped dramatically.
Watts had signed the millionaire exemption from campaign finance laws because he was planning to personally finance his campaign. That gave Noriega the ability to raise $13,800 from each donor for each election in the cycle. But with Watts out of the race, Noriega's cap dropped to $2,300 a donor.
Looking to Watts backers
Noriega campaign manager Sue Schechter said the loss of money from individual donors was made up by the fact that Watts supporters and those on the sidelines became free to give money to Noriega.
Noriega said he joked with Watts that he wished Watts had stayed in the race longer, though. Noriega can keep money raised at the higher limit prior to Watts dropping out.
Schechter said Noriega is working to match is first quarter of fundraising when he reports again in January. In his first three months of fundraising, Noriega reported a total of $530,000.
Campaign consultant James Aldrete said Noriega is aware that a lot more money will be needed to run a general election against Cornyn.
Noriega said the best thing he has working for him is a widespread voter frustration with the direction of the country. But he said he also knows that it will be a battle to defeat a Republican incumbent in a state that is still considered to be Republican.
"I realize this is a David and Goliath race. I like David's chances. Nobody likes Goliath," Noriega said.
r.g.ratcliffe@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5303174.html#
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