Dayna with... well, you knowWhen Jon-Marc McDonald resigned as campaign manager for right-wing bigot Brian Babin in 1998, he wrote that "There comes a time when your convictions take precedence over your job, your title and your status," claiming that Babin thought "homosexuals should be shot." Babin's response was a snarky "I hope he gets the help he needs, and I wish him the best." Yesterday, McDonald endorsed Babin's 2018 rival, Dayna Steele:
I rarely endorse a candidate but, in recent months, I have gotten to know Dayna Steele and her family. Beyond her incredible experience, Dayna’s values and vision are true. She brings integrity to the ballot and will take Texas values with her to Washington.As Brian Babin’s former campaign manager, I can see he has not changed much. Babin is serving only a select few of his constituents, leaving out most of the people who live in our district. He is not concerned with what is important to working families in Southeast Texas. He is more concerned with what people in Washington D.C. think of him. His slow response after Hurricane Harvey should be enough to end his career in Congress.Dayna brings the Texas spirit of honor, decency, and honest talk that is so needed in politics today. I know Dayna will never take her constituents for granted. She is the type of person who will show up every day for the people of Southeast Texas. The best thing Brian Babin can do for Texas is return to being a dentist. He should let someone who will represent the 36th with dignity and honor take over. Dayna Steele is that someone.
That's heavy. Campaign managers get to know politicians a lot better than the public does and McDonald has valuable and unique insight into what kind of a character Babin is.TX-36 is a tough district but in a wave cycle where Republicans are falling in special elections with gigantic swings away from Trump, anything is possible. In Dayna's own words: "It’s clear that we can win this race, and that the odds are shrinking every day. Democrats are energized, independents want real change, and even many Republicans are unhappy with what’s coming out of the White House and the Congress."Half the voters in the district live in eastern Harris county in the Houston suburbs and exurbs from Deer Park, Channelview and Sheldon east through La Porte and Baytown to where the other half of the voters live, rural areas all the way to the Louisiana border and north through Lumberton, Livingston, Woodville and Jasper. The PVI is a daunting R+26, a district that gave Obama and Hillary just slightly over 25% of the vote.It seems like an unlikely district for a strongly progressive woman like Dayna to be running, but hers is one of the most trusted voices in TX-36, having been the dominant radio personality first on KRBE from 1979 to 1981 and later on the dominant radio station, KLOL, all through the '80s and into the 1990's as southeast Texas' "First Lady of Rock ‘n Roll." Hers was the voice who first introduced people Dire Straits, U2, Pink Floyd, Ratt, Melissa Etheridge, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, The Police, Van Halen, Queen, Bon Jovi, The Cars, The Eagles, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Kiss, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis. Imagine, for example, associating Dayna Steele with the first time you heard "Born in the U.S.A" and "Born to Run," with "London Calling," "Back in Black," "Highway to Hell," "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Rebel Yell." Compare that to what Brian Babin has ever done for anyone! If you'd like to make a bet on one of the toughest winnable races in the country please click on the Turning Texas Blue thermometer on the right and contribute what you can to Dayna's campaign.