According to Sal Costello, David Stall, the founder of Corridor Watch, will be announcing a run for SD18, currently held by Democrat Ken Armbrister. Before the Quorum Report hid its all-encompassing candidate list behind their paywall, they had a fellow named Gary Gates listed as a Republican contender there, so this will apparently make for a contested GOP primary in that district.

Armbrister is nobody's idea of a stalwart member of the Democratic caucus, and he's got a lot of lousy votes and bills on his record. He's also holding a seat that's likely to stay Republican for awhile once it flips, and given how efficiently the rest of the Senate boundaries are gerrymandered, it'd be a tall order to make that up elsewhere. I expect Armbrister will be well-funded, and he's the favorite to win against either contender, but put this down as a race to keep an eye on.

On a side note, this points out once again that running against the monolithic expansion of toll roads - especially the Trans Texas Corridor - represents an opportunity for Democrats to reach voters in places that aren't very friendly to them. Talk this issue up, people - it will reap rewards in 2006, I'm convinced of it.