April 9, 2014 4:11 PM

Sen. Deuell is loaded for bear

Veteran senator feels well-positioned to win his runoff; taking heavy fire from Empower Texans but getting support from other important conservative voices

TYLER – A veteran senator who wasn’t expected by many political observers to be in a runoff is barnstorming his district east of Dallas as he works to secure reelection against a candidate who doesn’t have many resources but has garnered significant support from third-party groups and has so far claimed the Tea Party mantle in the race. Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, traveled a bit outside his district on Wednesday to speak to educators from all over Texas who were gathered in Tyler for a conference.

Not long after his speech, QR broke the news that Deuell has now endorsed Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to preside over the Texas Senate in the May runoff.

Deuell, a family physician who’s been in the Senate since 2003, told members of the Texas Association of Community Schools about a sign that hangs in his doctor’s office that reads “Texas politics: Not for the squeamish.” He laughed and said "If ever that were true, it's now." He said “there are really good legislators being thrown out of office for no other reason than they are incumbents.” He was perhaps referring to folks like Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, who lost his primary to real estate developer Don Huffines, who ran a disciplined and particularly negative campaign against the longtime lawmaker.

The candidate who made it into the runoff with Deuell, Bob Hall, has come under fire for claiming both Texas and Florida as home, for decades of tax liens, and for accusations of past spousal abuse. While Hall has gotten support from Empower Texas – which we’re told has been sending as many as two mail pieces per week into the district – he has also been attacked by the influential conservative website Texas GOP Vote, which just last week published the original documents that support the accusations against Hall.

By Scott Braddock