I've been hearing the name Mary Beth Harrell as a candidate for CD31 for some time now, and I'm pleased to report now that she's officially in and has a nice campaign website up and running. I think she's staked out some strong positions on a number of issues, and I hope the questions she's asking get repeated frequently, both in her district and elsewhere. As with all of the DeLay-drawn districts, she's got a tough climb - incumbent John Carter was the best-performing Republican in CD31, with over 66% of the vote (Victor Carillo at 62% brought up the rear) - but I think there's a lot of room for improvement there. Williamson County is slowing turning more purple, and the Democrats have already got state rep candidates in place there. Get some more good things going in the Coryell and Bell County areas, and we can see some good things happen.

One other item to note is that Harrell is married to a retired military officer and the mother of two active-duty sons. She's from Killeen, site of Fort Hood, the departure point for Iraq of many Texas soldiers, reservists, and other personnel. She can speak authoritatively about service and sacrifice, and I think people will listen. For now, I encourage you to check out her website and consider donating or volunteering to help her win.