I’ll recommend this Nation article about the resurgence of the Democratic Party in Texas. It’s cool to see people you know get quoted in a story like that, which is a good if somewhat rah-rah overview of the state of things. I will say that I agree with Evan Smith that this section stood out, and not in the good way:
[The Republican] party looks to be skidding toward a bloodbath in 2010, when insiders expect both Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, a hellfire-and-brimstone Christian conservative, and Senator Hutchison, who embodies the politer, Chamber of Commerce wing of the party (and says she’s tired of Washington and wants to come home), to challenge Perry in the Republican primary.
I don’t know which insiders they spoke to for this, but I agree with Evan on his first two objections: I doubt Dewhurst gets into a three-way race with Perry and KBH – he can always stay put, or run for KBH’s open Senate seat – and I’ve no idea where the “hellfire and brimstone Christian” thing came from; maybe they confused him for Dan Patrick, which would surely be the first time that’s ever happened. As for Evan’s third objection, I’m not at all convinced Perry won’t run in 2010. He says he is, and until he says he isn’t, I plan to take him at his word.
And as long as you’re reading that, you may as well also read this 2006 story about Fred Baron and the Texas Democratic Trust, who laid much of the groundwork for the resurgence of today. You probably know most of this stuff, but it’s a good review if you don’t. Link via Frontburner.