Well, my acknowledgement from the Texas Department of Ethics came in Friday. Although I was technically "legal" to raise money for my campaign the day it was mailed, having recived the letter from them is good in the CYA department. I could spend up to $500 without a campaign treasurer being appointed, but couldn't raise money or spend over that amount without filing. Now, I won't be spending a lot of money on the campaign, but figured it was good to file anyway so that I don't have to worry about the expenditures (plus, who knows...I might have better opportunities than I realize!).

I'm planning a meeting after our district convention with a prominent resident of our area. I'm hoping to try for an endorsement, but going into it knowing it's a longshot. I'm learning quickly, though, that a longshot is INFINITELY better than NO shot. The campaign's really not getting into gear until after the district convention, anyway; this time of year is more about getting paperwork in order than anything else.

I plan to buy some advertising for the district convention, as it appears we may have the candidate for our US house district attending, and it would be a good opportunity to introduce citizens of the area that are unfamiliar with the LP to our ideas and general philosophy. Because it's an expenditure for the party, not the campaign, I don't have to worry about that end of things.

I am working on a fairly strong speech that I won't be able to give until the campaign's in full swing (timing is everything; when I post it here, you'll understand why). I think, though, once I deliver it, that it will grab the attention of a few individuals. Possibly even get me a little extra coverage.

While mine is definitely a "dark horse" campaign, I'm growing more optimistic about my chances as the days go by. I've crunched numbers until I'm almost sick of them, and I am targetting key areas within the district for mush of my door to door canvassing. My opponent is a 9 term incumbent, as I mentioned before, but has run unopposed for 8 of those 9 terms. The funny thing is, if I were a superstitious individual, I'd HAVE to believe in my campaign, because there are too many coincidences for me not to.

Watch this space....