Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert affirms bid for U.S. Senate Politics Guide

Jul 06

Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert affirms bid for U.S. Senate

FORT WORTH — The rest of the lineup remains in flux, but Tom Leppert says he will definitely be on the Republican primary ballot for U.S. Senate next year.

The former Dallas mayor was in town to speak to the Republican Forum at the Fort Worth Club. He devoted most of a 40-minute exchange to economic issues. But he also said he hopes to join the Senate, address a few key tricky issues such as tax reform and entitlements, and then leave.

“You’re not going to see me beyond two terms — there’s no chance of that,” he said in an interview after the speech.

Several Republicans have indicated interest in running to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Two early potential candidates have since switched to other races, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst appears likely to enter the race this month.

“We have always assumed that there was a very high likelihood that [Dewhurst] was going to get in,” Leppert said in the interview. “There’s no change for us.”

Leppert said he looks forward to hearing Dewhurst’s positions on key issues.

“I think what people want is someone who is not a career politician,” Leppert said. “Someone who hasn’t been in political office for a decade. They want someone with business sense. Someone who’s created a lot of jobs.”

Leppert led the pack in fundraising between January and March. His financial report showed that he raised $2.6 million for the Senate race, which included a $1.6 million loan.

A recent statewide poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based Democratic firm, found that Dewhurst would get 40 percent support among Republicans. Leppert came in fourth, with 5 percent, behind former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, another possible candidate. The poll had a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.

If Dewhurst gets in the race, it’s his to lose, said Royal Masset, an Austin-based political consultant and former political director of the Texas Republican Party.

“No matter how much [Leppert] is known in the Metroplex,” he doesn’t have Dewhurst’s name recognition statewide, Masset said.

Although he didn’t mention any names, Leppert expressed some disdain for people who abruptly switch races. In recent weeks, two other North Texans — Weatherford car dealer Roger Williams and former Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams of Arlington — dropped out of the Senate race to run for a new U.S. House seat.

“I think you’ve got a lot of people that go out office-shopping,” Leppert said. “The national economic issues are the ones that I can add value on. That’s why I’m running for Senate. I’m not looking for some other job or some other elected office.”

Star-Telegram/Rodger Mallison

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