With the current election season in full swing in Collin County, many Judicial and District Attorney candidates are vying for the endorsement of local community groups.  I find this process fascinating.  The hope, of course, is that if you as a voter share the same ideals as these groups, maybe you will vote for the candidate as well.

I have been noticing candidates touting some of these endorsements, and I’m not positive what to make of all of these groups. I assume the law enforcement groups (Police Associations), are choosing candidates they either know personally, or think will be pro-law enforcements having criminal law backgrounds. But some of the other groups perplex me more.

I have started to wonder not only what affect these groups may have on voters, but also the strength and legitimacy of these groups. Assuming all groups are legitimate, I wonder how many a)members comprise the group, and b)who makes the endorsement decisions? If a group is 3 members large, is touting their endorsement really any better than listing 3 local attorneys who support you? Or if a group is 1,000 members, but just the president decides on the endorsement, is that a strong endorsement?

Although I have mostly been writing about Collin County politics, I thought I’d add an article that came out recently on the District Attorney race in Denton County.  (Frisco is a mixture of Denton and Collin!)

Local attorney Brent Bowen is challenging the incumbent in the Republican primary.  Below is an article from the Dallas Morning News.

Candidates tout experience, heritage in DA race

By Donna Fielder / Staff Writer

Recently, the Collin County GOP held their draw for ballot placement on the upcoming primary.  It has been said that ballot placement can affect votes.  “Position effect is found to account for a bonus of 0.7% to 5.2% of the precinct-level vote share per position on the ballot.”  Below are the placements for some of the candidates on the ballot.  Below that are some links and articles on the effects of ballot placement.  The entire list of candidates and their placement on the ballot can be found on the Collin GOP website.

District Judge, District 219

• Scott J. Becker

With the politics season on the rise, I have been getting tons of mail from people running for office and asking for money.  I think one of the best  ways to ensure you wont be getting a contribution is to send a letter to me like this:

Yes, please address it to "Hunter Benavides" at the Collin County District Attorney’s office, but use my private practice address.  Perfect!  Make sure to put in a form letter with it as well.