Struggling Democrats focus on local races: In Democratic primary, many ignore governor's race in favor of local runs.

Publication: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2006 The Dallas Morning News

Byline: Robert T. Garrett

Feb. 25--AUSTIN -- Democrats running for governor have reached a new low: Should they mail fliers to voters or print up yard signs?

With less than two weeks to go until party primaries, gubernatorial candidates Chris Bell and Bob Gammage can't afford both, let alone radio or television ads. And both candidates are nearly invisible to voters, according to a recent Dallas Morning News poll.

Now, most grass-roots Democratic workers are putting their energy elsewhere -- local and legislative races.

Some worry, though, that a bad performance at the top of the ticket means more than just being shut out of statewide office. It also could mean low turnout that could prevent the party from winning competitive House seats and other local races and capitalizing on voter anger over school finance.

"We are in a gloomy situation," said Democratic consultant Harold Cook of Austin, who ran the party's coordinated statewide push the last time it won a statewide office -- 1994.

While Mr. Cook insists the party has stopped falling, he admits: "This year's elections were never going to be about statewide races. The serious concentration...

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