The state-wide GOP tsunami broke at the borders of Dallas County, with the party losing every county race, in one case by a margin of just .05 percent. The reason for the oh-so-close wipeout? “The top of the ticket,” says one Republican leader. In other words: Rick Perry.
So many Republicans voted against Perry that he trailed every other Republican candidate on the ballot. Danny Clancy led him, Wade Emmert led him, and even at the very bottom of the ticket, candidate for County Probate Court #2 Lori Peters led him. Perry garnered only 180,000 votes, losing the county by a margin of 15 percent. Even Lori Peters got 197,000 votes.
By contrast, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst carried the county with 206,000 votes, and the GOP swept eight of eight legislative races.
