Tim Fleck of the Houston Press thinks the main beneficiary of the state Democrats' "dream team" ticket will be John Sharp, the Anglo candidate for Lt. Governor. I think turnout is going to decide these races, and I think the Democrats would be wise to ensure that Tony Sanchez, Ron Kirk, and John Sharp spend a lot of time extolling the other guys to make sure that the blacks and Hispanics they draw out to the voting booth don't just vote for their guy and to make sure that whites don't feel excluded.

One possible side benefit of these Texas races is that the national GOP is going to have to expend resources they weren't expecting in Texas. The Senate race in particular will draw a bunch of outside money, as the Republicans sure don't want to lose a seat in Dubya's home state. That may help Dems in contested races elsewhere.