Mayoral runoff sees quieter 2nd round
As early voting begins, Buzbee and Turner appear to be toning down once-daily attacks
After a colorful first round defined by biting attack ads, mudslinging debates and policy disputes over crime and city finances, the temperature of the Houston mayoral runoff has noticeably cooled heading into Wednesday’s start of early voting.
Since the Nov. 5 election, when Sylvester Turner and Tony Buzbee finished atop the 12-candidate field, there have been few of the day-to-day sparks that marked the final weeks of the first stage. Buzbee, who spent millions to maintain a regular presence on television, just recently began running ads after a post-election hiatus. Turner has touted support from elected Democratic allies and largely ignored Buzbee.
Nor, after partaking in scores of forums and three televised debates, do the candidates have plans to engage in any more square-offs.
The sleepy tone of the runoff marks a divergence from the 2015 contest, too, when Turner and his runoff opponent, Bill King, participated in more robust policy discussions and jousted in a pair of debates leading up to a razor-thin outcome in December.
“It has definitely been more quiet,” said Renée Cross, senior director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. “I don’t think we can pinpoint it to one thing, but I think there are a variety of factors going on that didn’t occur in
2015.”
For one, Cross said, the 2020 presidential election appears to be eating up far more attention than the 2016 contest was four years ago.
“I’ve said this all along, the national election has just overshadowed everything, politically speaking,” she said, adding that the House’s impeachment inquiry
into President Trump has only further diverted the attention of Houstonians.
Also dampening enthusiasm for this year’s runoff, Cross and Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said, is the perception among some voters that it’ll be difficult for Buzbee to overcome Turner’s first-round advantage. According to unofficial returns, Turner received 47 percent of the vote, Buzbee 28 percent.
“After Turner came so close to 50 percent and defeated Buzbee by close to a 20-point margin, the conventional wisdom is there’s no realistic way for Buzbee to catch Turner, unless Turner were to commit some type of egregious gaffe between now and Election Day,” Jones said.
Early voting starts Wednesday, followed by Thanksgiving, Black Friday and a weekend. The calendar may impact mobilization and outreach efforts, said Chris Beavers, a longtime Republican communications
strategist.
Campaigns can’t simply “go silent” for four days, he said. But at the same time, Beavers wondered, “Who the hell is going to vote on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving?”
It also might backfire if campaigns spend money on canvassing or ads during holidays, when people are often distracted, out of town or trying to disengage from politics.
“You would be irritating so many people,” he said. “I think you’d be crazy to do it.”
Buzbee’s shift in tone
Still, the race has not entirely lacked intrigue. Since ramping up his TV ad buys again, Buzbee has spent about $475,000 on nearly 1,000 spots, Federal Communications Commission records show. He has changed the tone of his ads and stump speeches, too, focusing more intently on policy and shifting away from attacks.
At a town hall in Meyerland Sunday, Buzbee said he is seeking to run a positive campaign, though he also took a shot at Turnstreet
er.
“We have a world-class city with substandard leadership. And look, I’m not suggesting that Sylvester Turner put us in the ditch we’re in,” Buzbee said. “The ditch that we’re in right now is from 30-someodd years of career politicians. That’s the ditch we’re in. Now, when I talk about — and I’m going to be positive, because I’ve been told, Tony, be positive — when we talk about corruption and pay-to-play, these are real things. These are not just taglines. These are not slogans.”
Despite Buzbee’s fresh tone and Turner’s wide edge on Election Night, the mayor’s campaign indicated no plans to curtail its ad spending or grassroots efforts — though the campaign for now has stopped running an attack ad linking Buzbee to Trump.
“Mayor Turner has been focused on the issues,” said Sue Davis, a spokesperson for the Turner campaign. “We are well aware that Mr. Buzbee promised to make the runoff campaign a ‘fullon slugfest.’ We are prepared for anything.”
As part of his renewed focus on policy, Buzbee at a news conference Tuesday released five “action items” he is committed to getting done within his first 100 days as mayor.
Those items are implementing pay parity between firefighters and police officers; ordering an “independent, outside audit” of all city services and implementing zero-based budgeting; donating his salary to charity; appointing a roads and infrastructure coordinator to prioritize street conditions; and ending “all diversions from Rebuild Houston,” the city’s
and drainage program.
Buzbee acknowledged “there’s been some negativity in the race,” but insisted he would repudiate Turner’s attempts to make the election “a national race, or a race about some national figure whose name you will not see on the ballot” — an implicit reference to Trump.
“I reject those efforts,” Buzbee said. “We are focused on solutions. Our problems that we face as Houstonians are local ones.”
Davis said Buzbee’s “action items” would “blow a huge hole in the city budget that will result in layoffs and cuts in vital city services. And there is nothing taxpayers could do about it — because as Buzbee has said repeatedly, because he’s self-funding his campaign, he won’t be accountable to anyone as mayor.”
Seeking other support
After finishing third in the Nov. 5 election, King has stayed out of the runoff, issuing only a statement thanking his supporters but declining to endorse Buzbee or Turner. Councilman Dwight Boykins, the only other candidate to receive at least 2 percent of the vote, also has not endorsed anyone in the runoff.
Last week, in a video posted to Facebook, Buzbee lauded King’s “smarts, intellect, experience and knowledge” and encouraged King’s supporters “to help us change this city.”
“I’ve got nothing but great respect for Bill King,”
Buzbee said. “Some things were said — him against me, me against him — but you know, as far as I’m concerned, Bill King is a resource, he’s an asset for the city of Houston. And when I’m elected mayor, I am absolutely going to ask him for his help, for his input, for his advice.”
Davis expressed skepticism about Buzbee’s play for King voters, and his overall change in tone.
“Do we believe the new consultant-designed Buzbee? Or the Buzbee who promised a ‘full-on slugfest’ three weeks ago?” she said. “More proof that Tony Buzbee will say or do anything to get elected.”