In a race that close, it could have turned the tide.

You've got to have money to run. And by definition, getting money from traditional party sources against an incumbent governor is going to be extraordinarily difficult. Perry's locked that stuff up.

(Early voting) is always a time which the best-organized candidates have a little more of an advantage. The better-organized candidates can get their people to the polls early.

You hear an awful lot of talk recently about each party trying to play to its base. We're not just the strongest Democratic region in the state, we're arguably the strongest Democratic region in the nation.

Both parties are strongly going after the Latino vote. . . . It is simply inevitable that (Latinos) will become the critical vote in the state. Demography is destiny.

For those of us who are political junkies, it's like the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. The Republican and Democratic candidates are going to look positively boring compared to the independent candidates.

With the party, he's much more popular than statewide. This approval rating likely reflects general dissatisfaction not just with the governor but the political process.

Four years ago, expectations were unjustifiably higher than they should have been. Tony Sanchez was more of a preview of coming attractions, just a little bit premature.

In terms of a statewide race, I think he would be a formidable opponent. The problem he might have would be winning his primary.