Mending the split between Obama and Clinton supporters among Texas Democrats is not just about the presidential election. Even more important to party leaders, elected officials and activists is marshaling the strength and excitement of the Texas presidential primary into down-ballot races to start a return to Democrats' prior glory -- before Republicans took control of all statewide elected officials, the Texas House and Senate and 22 of 32 congressional districts.

High on the list is to restore the Texas House of Representatives to a Democratic majority.

In 2002, Republicans gained an 88-62 majority in the Texas House. It looked as if Texas would be Republican for years to come. In 2005, the margin was 86-64. The tide began to turn in 2006 when Democrats picked up six seats in the House and got a party switcher in 2007. The GOP margin became 79-71.

So, in the upcoming election, Democrats need only five more seats to gain a majority and get rid of Republican Tom Craddick as House speaker. That’s a do-able deal – more doable than turning Texas blue in the presidential race, which is still a long shot.

The Lone Star Project, a Democrat-oriented PAC, says Democrat challengers are competitive in eight state legislative districts, including two in Dallas County: District 101 in the Mesquite area where Robert Miklos, an attorney and former prosecutor is running against Republican Mike Anderson for an open seat (the GOP incumbent was defeated in the primary), and District 102, where Richardson School Board member Carol Kent is challenging longtime GOP Rep. Tony Goolsby.

The Texas Observer also gives Democrat Sandra VuLe a shot in Dallas County District 112, where Republican Fred Hill is retiring. The GOP candidate is Angie Chen Button.

Other Demo goals include electing some members of the Texas Supreme Court, which will signal that Democrats can once again win statewide elections. And, emboldened by Dallas County’s Democratic sweep in 2006, when 47 Ds were elected, Democrats hope to take Harris County back from the Republicans at the county level in 2008.

As one Dallas activist said, 2006 was about winning countywide offices in Dallas. In 2008, it’s about winning some perimeter state rep seats, as near-in suburbs – such as Irving, Farmers Branch, Richardson and Mesquite – become more diverse. Demographics are changing Texas voting patterns, with the movement of more Texans toward urban areas and the steady growth of the Hispanic population.

And the Democratic party already is dominant in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, in Austin, San Antonio, the Coastal Bend and El Paso.

But much of the enthusiasm for a revitalized Democratic party comes from the primary numbers – 2.8 million voters, as many as the Kerry-Edwards ticket got in the 2004 general election when George W. Bush was re-elected. With Bush’s growing unpopularity and the charismatic appeal of Obama, drawing new voters to the party, Democrats can’t believe their good fortune. Republicans, meanwhile, attracted only 1.3 million voters to their primary.

The Obama-Clinton contest also brought one million attendees to Democratic precinct caucuses and thousands of new faces to the Democratic state convention. That’s one reason party leaders are reluctant to do away with the caucus system for allotting some of their delegates.

The best part for Democrats is that, of the 2.8 million primary voters, 1.9 million were first time primary voters, and more than 400,000 were first time ever voters.   Exit polling from the March 4 primary found more than 620,000 young people voted, an increase to 17 percent from 6 percent of eligible 18-29 year-olds.

The infusion of young people and new people into the party has oldtimers ecstatic. Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, vice chair of the state convention, put it into words. “What is most exciting is the number of people who are brand new. Don’t you just love it? Love it, love it, love it!”

The caucus process produced the largest state Democratic convention in history. And as delegates left the convention Saturday, after hearing speech after speech calling on them to unify behind Obama as the standard-bearer, it appeared that most would. That doesn’t mean that rank-and-file moderates, blue collars, older women and other Clinton voters back home will choose Obama over John McCain. But it does mean there are plenty of enthusiastic Democrats ready to work in these down-ballot races.

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