Democratic outsider steps up to take one for the team against Abbott

AUSTIN – Any Texas Democrat who feared there would be no one carrying the party's flag in next year's race for governor can breathe easier, it appears.

But just a little bit easier, at least for now.

Dallas businessman Jeffrey Payne has set up the machinery to enter the March 2018 Democratic primary for the right to face Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in just 13 short months.

Anyone who might be thinking, "Jeffery Who?" is likely not alone. Payne is a political novice who was born in Maine and grew up Louisiana. He settled in Dallas after Katrina, where according to his campaign website, he started and grew several businesses and became an active philanthropist on behalf of the LBGT community.

Filing for next year's primaries opens Nov. 11 and runs for 30 days. There are others out there on the Democratic side said to be interested in taking on Abbott, but none making as much noise as Payne. And none of them register any higher than Payne's relatively low place on the name-recognition scale.

Read more: http://www.caller.com/story/news/columnists/john-moritz/2017/10/06/democratic-outsider-steps-up-take-team-against-abbott/741463001/