A few quick thoughts until I get chance to examine the numbers:
• U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, who ran 30 points ahead of John McCain in Dallas County, becomes a leading contender for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate when incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns next year to run for governor.
• Will the Democratic landslide in Dallas County give Mayor Park Cities and his allies on the city council second thoughts about rushing the convention center hotel package through before next spring’s referendum? And don’t you think the anti-hotel people wish they had put the issue on the ballot yesterday?
• Turnout was almost 62 percent –- good, but not staggering. Statewide, it was about 59 percent. This means that early voting doesn’t necessarily translate into more voters, but the same number of voters voting early. This should change the way candidates campaign, putting more of a focus on early voters.
• The race for Dallas County judge in 2010 gets much, much more interesting, since the Democratic nominee would seem to have a leg up on winning. The Democratic incumbent, Jim Foster, may have as many as four opponents in the primary, all well known and respected -– former city councilmen Larry Duncan, John Loza and Chris Luna and ex-mayoral candidate Sam Coats.
• Democratic incumbent Allen Vaught beat Republican Bill Keffer by 1,800 votes for the state District 107 House seat. That’s 700 votes more than he beat Keffer by two years ago, and probably means the end of Keffer’s political career.
• The same is probably true for Republican incumbent Tony Goolsby in the District 102 House race. He lost by 2,500 votes to Democrat Carol Kent after holding the seat in 2006 by 1,500 votes.
The Wine Curmudgeon 
Remember that Sessions could hardly do worse in this artificially, Delay-gerrymandered district that does not include all of Dallas County, just the parts where he will do well regardless.
I agree that the 32nd is a “safe” Republican district, just as the 30th (Eddie Bernice Johnson) is a “safe” Democratic district. I’m sure we could both name others. I believe Jeff’s point, however, is that Pete’s performance in this race in this county bode well for his popularity with the Republican base, which will be important in a state-wide election. As a state, Texas still votes red by a wide margin.
One of the problems that seems to have developed following the Conservative Freight Train 12 years ago is that not all of the Republican incumbents were necessarily strong candidates to start with. You could get away with that even 4 years ago, but not any more. We’ve seen some of this shakeout in the last two election cycles.
Sam Johnson’s very narrow victory in the 3rd is interesting. Not my area and not one where I would expect him to be troubled by straight-ticket voters. Is there an issue in play there?
No one has mentioned Lupe Valdez.
Jeff, are you ever happy about anything that has to do with the City of Dallas? Your perpetual whining about the mayor only makes you look petulant, and dilutes whatever message you are trying to get across. I’m sure that you bowed at the broken altar that was Laura Miller, but she is no longer mayor, and this city is better for it. How you can manage to equate the convention center hotel issue to this election is beyond me. All of your friends that are financing the anti-hotel measures are big time Republicans, and I don’t recall the Democratic establishment in Dallas coming out against the hotel at all, so there is no fair comparison at all.
So Dallas County? Only Democratic because of a fluke, right? I eagerly await Cambres analysis as to why this means that the GOP still has a leg up here.
“probably means the end of Keffer’s political career”–one can only hope. Keffer has run a shameful campaign for two straight elections. I’m glad the voters saw through it and gave Allen Vaught a second term.
Sessions did run better than McCain in the dozen or so precincts I checked, but only 4-9% better.