Just The Ticket In Texas?

Texas Democrats are hoping that a black moderate named Ron Kirk can do the near-impossible and capture a U.S. Senate seat in the heavily Republican state. Douglas Kiker of the CBS News Political Unit has the story.

"Its not my phrase. I tell people it's only a dream for me if I win," Kirk told CBS News. "I earned my way onto the ticket. It wasn't manufactured to be some dream."

Kirk, a former two-term Dallas mayor, is one-quarter of the Texas Democratic Party's racially balanced ticket, which also features a Hispanic gubernatorial candidate, Tony Sanchez, and two white men - lieutenant governor candidate John Sharp and attorney general hopeful Kirk Watson.

Kirk and Sanchez face two white Republican incumbents - Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General John Cornyn. By any measure, Kirk's historic race is shaping up to be a close one.

The Texas Poll, released last week, showed Cornyn leading Kirk, 35 percent to 30 percent. But a poll commissioned by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and released this week showed Kirk leading Cornyn by four points, 46-42 percent.

While Kirk does not like talking about it, he knows race will be a factor and doesn't shy away from it.

"To some degree, this is a huge leap for me because it's never been done," Kirk said. "But, somebody has got to run."

Each side has accused the other of playing the so-called race card. A new round was started with pointed remarks from Sen. Phil Gramm at the GOP state convention earlier this month.

"Democrats believe they can divide Texas based on race," Gramm said. Cornyn echoed Gramm's comments a week later, and Democrats rose to the bait, bringing race to the forefront. At their convention, a week later, one state lawmaker referred to the Democratic ticket as "the quota that the good Lord established."

Kirk – as a pro-business, moderate, black Democrat – says he's had to deal with voters who have a preconceived notion of what he'll stand for in office.

"I have had to battle stereotypes on both sides assuming that because I am an African American and a Democrat, that I am supposed to be a liberal," Kirk said. "But, I operate from the middle of the political spectrum. I always have."

Kirk's political career began when he was elected president of Reagan High School in Austin, one of the first blacks to lead the mostly-white student body. He worked on Capitol Hill for then-Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, was Texas' secretary of state under Gov. Ann Richards, and was twice elected mayor of Dallas. He's married to an investment banker and the couple has two children.

In Dallas, Kirk was known as a pro-business moderate who was supported by many Republicans. He gathered public support for a new sports arena, and spearheaded efforts to fund the Trinity River Corridor Project, a major transportation and flood-control plan pushed by the business community. Business leaders in Dallas have backed Kirk in the past, and he's gotten thousands in donations from them for his Senate race.

Bridging the gap between the liberalism of core Democratic voters and Texas' inherent conservatism will be key to a Kirk victory. Toward that end, Kirk's stuck to bread-and-butter issues like increased teacher pay, Social Security reform and prescription drug benefits – and bragging about his record as Dallas mayor.

Any Democrat in Texas must consider the political arena's 800-pound gorilla – George W. Bush. Kirk is no exception.

Kirk has worked hard to avoid being portrayed as an opponent, or the even more dreaded "obstructionist," of Mr. Bush's agenda. He recently called on the Democratically-controlled Senate to move more quickly on President Bush's judicial nominees. Kirk, who once criticized Republicans for trying to "pack" federal courts with conservative judges, was accused by Cornyn's campaign of "wilting" under pressure.

Cornyn mentions his connections with Mr. Bush in virtually every stump speech and every commercial, and has benefited from his tremendous fundraising powers. In one event in March, Mr. Bush brought in $1.8 million for the Cornyn campaign.

"He has done everything but walk around with those little fans with Bush's picture on it," Kirk said of his opponent's strategy to benefit from Mr. Bush's popularity. "But what comforts me is that at the end of the day, when people go into the voting booths, they've only got two choices and that's Ron Kirk and John Cornyn."

Since winning the primary, Kirk has become the darling of the national Democratic Party, topping Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's wish list for November. Two Democrats considering 2004 presidential bids – Senators John Kerry and John Edwards - held fundraisers for him at their Washington homes on Tuesday night. But, the total take didn't come close to Mr. Bush's haul for Cornyn.

"Compared to what Mr. Bush is doing, we are raising about shovel full and they are using a front-end loader," Kirk said.

Kirk points to a bigger problem than overcoming racism: Republican dominance of Texas politics. A Democrat, for example, has not held the Senate seat Kirk wants to fill since Lyndon Johnson vacated it to become vice president in 1960.

"Frankly, the challenge in Texas is not to get people to vote for a black, but to get them to vote for a Democrat," Kirk said with a laugh. "If I can get over the hurdle of getting them to electing another Democratic senator, the race will be a lot easier."

With the right combination of middle-of-the-road politics and good campaigning, Kirk hopes to become more than yet another Democrat foiled by the Texas GOP.

"I am not interested in just being a lost leader of the party," Kirk said. "I thought the movie Gladiator was pretty good except for the last scene when everybody was carried out on their shield."