Neutral political parties, detached elected leaders led to rise of Lauren Davis, Sandra Crenshaw

The March 1 Texas primaries revealed the inability of Republicans and Democrats to control their nomination process in order to slate their “strongest” candidates and avoid extremism that could lead to political disaster. Nowhere is that more evident than in Dallas County. In the GOP race for county judge, Lauren Davis stunned Dallas ISD trustee Edwin Flores to win the Republican nomination against incumbent Democrat Clay Jenkins. And in the Texas House District 100 race, Democrats gave former Dallas council member Sandra Crenshaw, now a perennial candidate involved in several controversies, a first-place finish and a spot in the May 24 runoff against little-known Democrat Venton Jones. The situations showcase the weakness of the Texas political party apparatus and the elected officials who are supposed to be guardians of their party’s image.

There was a time when nominees from both parties were argued over in smoke-filled rooms and picked in a mostly closed convention process. Now the selection of party nominees mimics general elections, since voters are encouraged to participate in the process and party leaders often stay neutral. That means political parties are often rolling the dice on choosing standard bearers for their parties. Kudos to Davis and Crenshaw. They have proved to be savvy politicians who don’t care what their party’s leadership thinks of them. Good or bad, that’s democracy. But primary elections are already plagued by low voter participation and by extremists from both sides forcing political discourse and policy to move far from the middle. If political parties and elected leaders can’t develop a slate of candidates they truly like, the general election becomes a farce.