Race to succeed Ron Paul gets little attention

Pearland City Councilwoman Felicia Harris is a hopeful in the runoff that will determine the Republican candidate for the 14th Congressional District. Pearland City Councilwoman Felicia Harris is a hopeful in the runoff that will determine the Republican candidate for the 14th Congressional District. Photo: None Photo: None Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Race to succeed Ron Paul gets little attention 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Relaxing in the shade outside the Masonic Lodge meeting hall on League City's East Main Street recently, Dennis Hayes and three of his fellow Masons admitted to being only vaguely aware of the fast-approaching July 31 runoff that will determine the Republican congressional candidate for the 14th Congressional District, the district currently represented by Ron Paul.

Hayes, who works in aircraft maintenance, said he had heard of Randy Weber, the Republican state representative from Alvin who finished first in the May primary, but had never heard of his runoff opponent, Pearland lawyer Felicia Harris. Hayes' three friends confessed to knowing nothing about either candidate.

They are not the only residents of the redrawn 14th Congressional District paying scant attention to the midsummer runoff, despite campaign signs that have sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain on vacant lots throughout Brazoria, Galveston and Jefferson counties.

That inattention explains why Weber and Harris are doing everything they can to make sure their core supporters cast ballots. Early voting begins Monday.

Meeting voters

For Weber on a hot, muggy morning, that meant donning his good ol' boy uniform - starched and creased Wrangler jeans, black cowboy boots and belt, light-blue short-sleeved shirt - and ringing doorbells of likely Republican voters in a couple League City neighborhoods. Having called on approximately 8,000 households since his campaign began, Weber has the routine down pat.

He steps back after ringing the bell, smiles and in his Andy Griffith drawl informs them that he's Randy Weber and that he's running "for your Congress." Interspersed with friendly questions for the person at the door, he explains that he has lived in the area all his life, that he and his wife, Brenda, have been married 35 years and that she is a fourth-grade teacher and that he has owned a small air-conditioning company for more than three decades.

Sometimes he mentions that he was designated the most conservative member of the Texas House during his two terms in Austin.

More Information Early voting When: July 23-27 Where: For voting locations, go to www.votetexas.gov or www.harrisvotes.com Hours of operation: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting in the Republican and Democratic primary runoffs begins on Monday and ends on Friday. During those five days, voters may cast their ballots at any polling place in their county of residence, choosing a time and place they find most convenient. "I urge voters to take full advantage of the ease and convenience of voting early by making it a part of your summer plans," Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade said. Voters will be choosing U.S. Senate candidates in both parties, as well as numerous down-ballot races in which the winner did not receive 50 percent of the vote in the May 29 primary. Voters who took part in a party's May primary must vote in the same party's runoff. Voters who didn't vote in the primary are allowed to vote in either party's runoff. Andrade notes that photo identification as required in Senate Bill 14, passed last legislative session, will not be required during early voting or on Election Day, since the law is under court challenge. To cast ballots, voters need only their voter registration card or some form of identification that establishes identity such as a driver's license, birth certificate or passport. Both Democratic and Republican officials have expressed concern that voting will be light, because Texans are not accustomed to casting ballots in the middle of the summer, made necessary this year by redistricting controversies. Rice University political scientist Mark P. Jones has projected that overall turnout in the GOP Senate race, what he calls "the marquee race of the GOP primary," is likely to be between 750,000 and 1 million. He estimates that those casting votes early or by mail will be somewhere between 55 percent and 60 percent.

"We don't knock on a lot of moderate doors, because my message doesn't really resonate with them," he said.

"We're working-people like you," he told Imogene Maurer, 80, who came to the door of a 1950s-era ranch-style house in League City.

Maurer said her main concern was getting President Barack Obama out of office.

"Don't even mention that guy's name," she said. She told Weber he already had her vote and that he was welcome to put a sign in her front yard.

Felicia Harris, whose reserved, no-nonsense style is in sharp contrast to the voluble Weber, said she has been knocking on doors, as well - thousands and thousands, sometimes between 200 and 400 a day.

"Our grass-roots game is the same as it's always been," she said at her campaign office in a League City strip center.

The lawyer and former Pearland city councilwoman, a graduate of Texas A&M University and South Texas College of Law, said she has a more youthful outlook than her opponent.

"I'm 42 years old. He's almost 60," she said. "Nothing wrong with age differences, but it's a different perspective."

She contended that her 13 years of work in the energy and petrochemical sectors represent experience that her opponent lacks, vital experience, she said, for a district that includes five ports.

"Many of the laws that come out of the federal government and that impact those districts my clients have dealt with, I've heard them issue their complaints about what's going on with the federal government and how it's hurting their efforts to expand the markets, to hire new employees, to help the private sector become successful," she said.

Weber discounts that experience.

"She's never built a business," he said. "Hasn't run one for 31 years like I have. I've got life experience she doesn't have a clue about."

Vital endorsements

Weber has been endorsed by Gov. Rick Perry and by the man Weber and Harris hope to succeed in Congress. Harris touts the endorsements of the two congressmen from neighboring districts, Ted Poe and Pete Olson, as well as two opponents who did not make the runoff. She contended their support will help her close the 3,800-vote gap between her and Weber. Both candidates claim tea party support.

Weber, who won 27.6 percent of the May primary vote to Harris' 18.9 percent, still has to be considered the favorite, political analyst Robert Miller said. "In the current political climate, the most conservative candidate is going to win, and that's Randy."

The winner of the GOP runoff will face the Democratic candidate, former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, of Beaumont.

joe.holley@chron.com twitter.com/holleynews