A recent Lone Star Project poll reveals that Republican State Senator Kim Brimer has squandered almost 20 years in public office to remain largely unknown in his own backyard. With little to show for his time in Austin other than negative press accounts detailing questionable ethics, Brimer is clearly vulnerable to an adequately funded mainstream challenger. Without question, Tarrant County activists currently considering a challenge to Brimer are on solid ground.
The Lone Star Project commissioned the respected polling firm Opinion Analysts to conduct a survey of Texas Senate District 10 to help determine the viability of a challenge to incumbent Republican State Senator Kim Brimer. (see methodology below) The poll confirms earlier Lone Star Project vote analysis indicating underlying strength for a Democratic challenger and surprising weakness by the incumbent Brimer.
Poll Exposes Brimer Vulnerability
Despite holding public office in Tarrant County since 1988, first as a member of the State House and now as Senator from SD10, Kim Brimer is largely unknown within his own district. Less than 20 percent of those surveyed give Brimer a “favorable” rating and nearly 50 percent know so little about Brimer that they cannot rate him at all, which is extraordinary for a 20 year office holder.
In addition, other prominent Republican office holders have surprisingly low approval and/or performance ratings for a district previously considered safe for a Republican incumbent. Finally, Brimer’s own questionable ethics leave him particularly vulnerable to a mainstream Democrat who can build a coalition of Democratic partisans, independents and some “soft” Republicans.
| Kim Brimer Favorability Rating | |
| 18.3% | Favorable |
| 25.1% | Neutral |
| 7.0% | Unfavorable |
| 49.7% | Haven’t Heard Of |
| (Source: LSP Poll, SD10 General Election Survey – May, 2007) | |
Kim Who?
When asked their opinion of Kim Brimer, nearly 50 percent of those surveyed had never heard of him. Another 25 percent had a only neutral” opinion. Incredibly, after more then nearly 20 years as a Tarrant County office holder, 75 percent of voters surveyed know so little about Kim Brimer that they had no strong opinion at all.
| Kim Brimer Re-elect | |
| 27.4% | Re-elect |
| 25.0% | Prefer Democrat |
| 47.7% | Depends |
| (Source: LSP Poll, SD10 General Election Survey – May, 2007) |
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Surprisingly Low Re-Elect Numbers
When asked: “Would you like to see Kim Brimer re-elected as your State Senator, or would you prefer to see someone else in his place?” only 27.4 percent of SD 10 voters surveyed said they want to see Brimer Re-elected.
| Kim Brimer Job Approval | |
| 1.20% | Excellent |
| 22.20% | Good |
| 33.50% | Only Fair |
| 11.10% | Poor |
| 31.90% | Don’t Know |
| (Source: LSP Poll, SD10 General Election Survey – May, 2007) |
|
Job “Dis” Approval Ratings
Less than 25 percent of survey respondents give Brimer an “Excellent” or “Good” rating, while over 75 percent rate him “Only Fair”, “Poor” or “Don’t Know.”
| Sen. John Cornyn Favorability | |
| 31.6% | Favorable |
| 30.9% | Neutral |
| 14.9% | Unfavorable |
| 22.5% | Haven’t Heard Of |
| George W. Bush Job Approval | |
| 42.9% | Approve |
| 8.2% | Mixed/Depends |
| 46.5% | Disapprove |
| 2.4% | No Opinion |
| (Source: LSP Poll, SD10 General Election Survey – May, 2007 | |
No Coat-tails
For more than a decade, “down ballot” Republican candidates in Texas have enjoyed a boost from George W. Bush and other “top of the ticket” GOP candidates. The survey indicates, however, that in SD10 “top of the ticket” Texan John Cornyn carries the same low approval ratings that have appeared in statewide surveys and, perhaps more telling, Geoge W. Bush has a higher job “disapproval” than “approval.” Just 31.6% of the voters surveyed have a favorable opinion of Senator John Cornyn and 46.5% disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as President.
| Kim Brimer “rent to own” Scheme | |
| 4.9% | More Likely |
| 14.7% | No Difference |
| 80.4% | Less Likely |
| (Source: LSP Poll, SD10 General Election Survey – May, 2007 | |
Brimer – Chairman of Corrupt Caucus
Kim Brimer’s ethical problems have been well publicized. Most notably, Brimer pioneered the sleazy practice of using special interest campaign contributions to make mortgage payments disguised as “rent” on a second home kept in the name of a spouse. Brimer used the scheme to funnel over $200,000 to his wife to pay for a second home in Austin. When survey respondents were asked if this activity would affect their level of support, 80% said it made them less likely to vote for Brimer. What’s more, Brimer encouraged other elected officials to engage in this same unethical behavior. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 22, 2007)
Poll Methodology
The report above is a summary report of the results of 400 interviews with likely General election voters in Texas State Senate District 10. The interviews were conducted May 23 through 30, 2007. The results of a random sample survey of this size are statistically accurate to within +/- 4.9% at the 95% confidence level.
