AUBREY R. TAYLOR REPORTS©
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (left) spent several hundred thousand dollars to run TV and radio ads to influence the outcome of the Tuesday, July 14, 2020 Democratic Party primary runoff race for United States Senate. Now, according to a source with close ties to local Black ministers -- he believes that the rejection of four Black candidates could come back to bite the Democratic Party in the butt in certain down-ballot races on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Mary “MJ”Hegar (second from left) was endorsed by the (DSCC) Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee over state Senator Royce West (top far right); former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards (second from top); Michael Cooper (third from top), and Jack Daniel Foster Jr. (fourth from top) before any of their campaigns were able to gain traction and make their pitch to Democratic Party primary voters -- which placed all four at a huge disadvantage. And this, according to our source has many influential Black ministers and other Black community leaders very upset. How upset are they? Well, from what I understand, Black voters are already being encouraged (behind the scenes) to either cast their vote for U.S. Senator John Cornyn (in protest of the way the four Black Democratic candidates were treated) or to simply skip over the race for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 altogether. So, please don’t forget that early voting will begin on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, and end on Friday, October 30, 2020.
RACIAL TENSIONS ARE AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH AS THOUSANDS OF BLACK VOTERS MAY NOT CAST THEIR VOTE FOR MARY "MJ" HEGAR ON ELECTION DAY
AUBREY R. TAYLOR REPORTS©
Let me be brutally honest – straight out of the gate! Nobody – and I do mean NOBODY, knows with exact certainty what Black voters are going to do in down-ballot races in Texas on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Heck, truth-be-told, nobody knows how Black voters are going to vote on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, in the race for President of the United States either. Do not – and I repeat, do not listen to the pollsters this time around. Look, while adding a Black woman to the Democratic ticket was a good gesture – the jury is still out on whether United States Senator Joe Biden selected the right Black woman when he chose United States Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. To be sure, there’s absolutely no doubt that Black voters turned out to vote for President Barack Obama in unprecedented numbers back in 2008, and again in 2012 – but this is a new day in America. For sure, things haven’t really felt the same since the Obama’s left office – if we’re honest with ourselves. Hey, it’s a fact that the Black voter turnout numbers fell considerably back in the 2016 presidential election. Why? Well, in my opinion – based on my nearly 30-years of experience studying American politics on a local, statewide, and national level, from what I can see, Democrats have taken the Black vote for granted. And I’m not alone in this sentiment. U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and U.S. Senator Cory Booker both espoused their true feeling on this matter during their run for commander-in-chief of these United States of America. “Blacks voters are pissed off and they’re worried about the party’s ability to win the 2020 presidential election,” said Sen. Booker in one of the Democratic presidential debates he participated in, prior to eventually dropping out of the race. According to their statements back when they were both running for president, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker, both shared the view that Blacks are tired of politicians stumping for their votes; but then turning right around and failing to deliver on their promises to end poverty, racism and unfairness toward Blacks in the criminal justice system. And they aren’t alone. Carroll G. Robinson, Chairman of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats has pointed out these same problems and spoken out against the Democratic Party on topics such as this on many occasions. Did you know that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) had already chosen M.J. Hegar as their favorite in the race for the United States Senate – before Texas Democratic voters had even had their say on the matter? “The Texas Coalition of Black Democrats is adamantly opposed to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) unwanted interference in the Texas Democratic Senatorial Primary before Democratic voters in Texas have our say at the ballot box,” wrote Carroll G. Robinson in an email sent to me prior to the Tuesday, March 3, 2020, Democratic Party Primary taking place. “By their unwarranted and unwanted interference in the Texas Democratic Primary, the DSCC is possibly jeopardizing energy, excitement and votes for the Senate nominee in the 2020 General Election,” explained Robinson in his email. To be even more direct, he stated, “The DSCC endorsement endangers Black voter turnout in 2020.”In case you never saw his email, Carroll G. Robinson also incorrectly stated, “There are three Black candidates competing for the Texas Democratic Senate nomination. "How was this statement wrong? Well, my study of the race actually identified four (not three) Black candidates vying for the U.S. Senate nomination back in the 2020 Democratic Party primary election held on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. So, for the record, State Senator Royce West, out of Dallas, Texas; former Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, out of Houston, Texas; Michael Cooper, a Sales Executive, out of Beaumont, Texas, and Jack Daniel Foster Jr., who listed his occupation as teacher was from Chambers County – if my memory serves me correctly. So, while Carroll G. Robinson’s appeal to the DSCC to not interfere in this key U.S. Senate race fell on deaf ears – the DSCC’s anointed candidate, Mary “MJ” Hegar, emerged from the Tuesday, March 3, 2020, Democratic Party primary as the clear and decisive front-runner – with their help. However, because she didn’t receive the majority of the vote, she had to still face off against the second place finisher state Senator Royce West in a Tuesday, July 14, 2020, Democratic Party primary runoff election – which she eventually won. In case you don’t remember, M.J. Hegar, easily dispatched of state Senator Royce West in their runoff showdown. And, after it was all said and done, Mary “MJ” Hegar received 502,516 votes for 52.24% of the vote. As for state Senator Royce West, well, he only received 459,457 votes, for 47.76% of the vote – as the party he’s dedicated his entire adult life to serving chose to nominate the less-qualified white female candidate over him. “The Texas Coalition of Black Democrats will not allow Black Democratic voters to be disrespected or taken for granted,” said Carroll G. Robinson, in closing out his aforementioned email. Now the BIG QUESTION becomes – what’s he going to do about it?
SHOULD BLACK VOTERS IN TEXAS SKIP OVER THE RACE FOR U.S. SENATE AS A UNIFIED GROUP IN NOVEMBER?
AUBREY R. TAYLOR REPORTS©
It’s clear that Texas is undoubtedly one of the most coveted battleground states during this 2020 election cycle. And with straight-ticket voting now abolished in Texas – its game on in the Lone Star State. However, without Black voters turning out for her in huge numbers, Mary “MJ” Hegar has absolutely no shot at unseating Senator John Cornyn on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, in Texas. Especially, since she’s shown absolutely no measurable appetite for trying to secure the Black community’s support. And when you take into account the fact that state Senator Royce West, basically called Mary "MJ" Hegar a Republican when he questioned her loyalty to the Democratic party during a heated exchange between the two back in a June debate – some Blacks leaders are now left scratching their heads. Nope, I’m not making this crap up. State Senator Royce West asked Mary “MJ” Hegar directly during a public debate why she had contributed to U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s campaign, back in 2011 – and he didn’t stop there. He also questioned her voting record by asking her why she had voted in the 2016 Republican primary. But in her defense, the aforementioned donation to Sen. Cornyn was only for $10 bucks – via his political action committee according to public records. And if you believe Hegar’s own account -- the check was for $25 bucks, and was donated to show support and get a meeting with Sen. Cornyn. And once again, to her credit, Hegar did go on to say that she was disgusted that she had to write a check to get a meeting with her representative. “It’s a broken system,” she said. But even still, should Black voters cast their vote for her on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 – that’s the BIG QUESTION if you ask me. Or should Black voters simply stand down and doom Mary “MJ”Hegar’s fate in the upcoming election? I don’t know! But, believe it or not, there are a number of Black leaders – including some local pastors who are still disgruntled about the way state Senator Royce West was treated by the Democratic Party in his bid for the U.S. Senate – according to a source close to this matter. Now, being disgruntled is one thing – but actually doing something about how these four Black candidates got handled by DSCC and Democratic Party voters is something else altogether – if you ask me. Even still, whether the pastors launch their own effort to derail Mary “MJ” Hegar or not, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if many of the Democratic voters who supported these four aforementioned Black candidates did the waltz right into the voting booth on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, and skipped right over the U.S. Senate race between Mary “MJ” Hegar and U.S. Senator John Cornyn. And to this end, for Mary “MJ” Hegar’s sake she had better hope that Sen. John Cornyn does use his vast campaign war chest to make serious play for the Black vote in November as well. After all, he’s already shown a propensity to meddle in a Democratic Party primary – back when he used local TV and radio ads to do so. That being said -- why wouldn’t he? Heck, he spent $77,000 in airtime on three cable networks (BET, CNN and MSNBC) from a Friday through a Tuesday to influence Democratic Party primary runoff voters back in June – according POLITICO. Hell, all total, he spent a few hundred thousand dollars to play around in the Democratic Party primary – according to published reports. So look, with no straight-ticket voting in Texas this time around, I could certainly see a scenario where disgruntled Black voters might just cast their ballot for Sen. John Cornyn in protest of the way the DSCC treated these four Black U.S. Senate candidates who were vying for their party’s nomination, and a chance to make history – if he develops a strategy to do so and asks the Black community for their vote!
CAN MARY “MJ” HEGAR BEAT SENATOR JOHN CORNYN ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2020 IN TEXAS?
AUBREY R. TAYLOR REPORTS©
I’ve learned to never say never when discussing American politics. However, at best, Mary “MJ” Hegar, is someone I would consider to be a huge underdog. When you couple the fact that she’s really not seeking the Black vote, with the fact that she really isn’t doing anything to bridge the divide caused by her very bitter primary campaign contest against state Senator Royce West – she could be in trouble already. And taking into account, the fact that all she’s really demonstrated thus far is that she can get 502,516 registered voters to cast their ballot for her – and a lot would have to happen between Labor Day and Tuesday, November 3, 2020 – just for her to be competitive in this race. So, in closing, please don’t forget that Texas is a Red state. And it’s reliably Red too! And for those of you who are out there expecting for Democrats to run-the-table and turn Texas blue – you had better go back and do your homework. Look, back on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, in the last Presidential Election, the ticket of Donald J. Trump/Mike Pence (the Republicans) received 4,685,047 votes for 52.23% of the vote. Comparatively speaking, the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine – only received 3,877,868 votes for 43.24% of the vote – with the remainder of the vote going to an assortment of other candidates. And as for U.S. Senator John Cornyn, he’s a bad boy – in my opinion! Get this -- the last Democrat who tried to take his seat away from him was David M. Alameel, who got his butt whipped like he’d stolen something back on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, in the midterm election. As a refresher, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, the Republican received 2,861,531 votes for 61.56% of the vote – while David M. Alameel, the Democrat only received 1,597,387 votes for 34.36% of the vote. So, what do you think? Can Mary “MJ”Hegar unseat U.S. Senator John Cornyn on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, in Texas? Only time will tell. But if she doesn’t change her strategy – she’s toast in my opinion!
.
