Bell shows momentum with new endorsements

Dozens of local officials, precinct chairs join Team Bell

In a sign of gathering momentum with only 11 weeks until Election Day, Chris Bell today announced dozens of endorsements from federal, state and local elected officials, as well as the support of 79 precinct chairs in Senate District 17.

"This outpouring of support brings us that much closer to making progress toward the goals we all care about: public schools, stem cell research, access to health care and ethics reform," said Chris Bell. "I could not be prouder at receiving the endorsements of all these people who want me to bring my brand of reform to the Texas Senate."

The endorsement list also includes the Texas AFL-CIO, the Harris County Tejano Democrats, the Houston GLBT Caucus, the Harris County Democrats and IBEW Local 527.

Other notable figures endorsing Chris Bell include Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie, former Texas Gov. Mark White Jr., former Texas Comptroller John Sharp, former Texas Senators David Bernsen and Carl Parker and former U.S. Ambassador Arthur Schechter. A complete list of the endorsements is on ChrisBell.com.

Independent polling conducted for Texans for Insurance Reform puts Chris Bell in a commanding lead in the Nov. 4 special election, 14 percentage points ahead of his nearest Republican rival. The poll also found that Chris Bell has higher name identification in SD 17 than U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. The pollster, Jeff Smith of Opinion Analysts labels Mr. Bell the “frontrunner in a very winnable contest.”

Chris Bell was an at-large Houston City Council Member from 1997 till 2002, a Houston mayoral candidate in 2001, and a Member of Congress in 2003-04 until he lost re-election as a result of a politically motivated redistricting process led by former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. In 2006, Bell was the Democratic nominee for Texas Governor. An attorney, he lives in southwest Houston with his wife Alison Ayres Bell, and his two sons, Atlee and Connally.

The special election to be held on Election Day, Nov. 4 is to fill the vacancy created by Sen. Kyle Janek’s resignation. A runoff will follow if no candidate in the special election gets a majority.