In case you’re interested, I thought I’d share who I’m voting for this year and the reasons why.  For the lesser-known races, I mainly used the Dallas Morning News’ voter guide to decide, although I did look up the candidates’ website if I wanted more information.  Since I’m registered in the Brazos County, some of these picks are specific to that region.

President: Bob Barr (L).  If I wasn’t sure McCain was going to take Texas, I’d be voting for him instead since I do believe McCain to be a better choice than Obama (on purely ideological grounds).  However, since McCain is almost certainly going to win here (and if he doesn’t, he’d probably be so far behind nationally that Texas wouldn’t even matter), I’m voting for Barr because I tend to agree more with his positions than McCain’s and I want those ideas to get more recognition.  Barr is not likely to win anywhere, but if he gets more votes than is usual for a 3rd party and thus shows a growing movement among Americans toward traditional constitutional principles, then I’ll consider that a victory.

U.S. Senate: Yvonne Adams Schick (L).  As above, I’d be voting for Cornyn if the race was expected to be close.  I like Cornyn and think he’s one of the better Republicans in the Senate and a decent human being.  That said, Schick better represents the true conservative ideals that this country was founded upon and I’m voting for her for much the same reasons as Barr.

U.S. House, District 17: Rob Curnock (R).  With liberal Edwards as the incumbent, this race, unlike the ones above, isn’t an obvious Republican victory.  Thus, I’m voting for Curnock as I agree more with his positions than Edwards.  And frankly, the Libertarian candidate for this race didn’t impress me much anyway.

Texas Supreme Court, Chief Justice: Wallace B. Jefferson (R).  Although Jefferson shouldn’t have any trouble keeping his seat, he appears to have a correct view of his role as a Supreme Court Justice as well as a lot of experience, so I think he’s the best candidate of the options, Libertarian Oxford included.

Texas Supreme Court, Place 7: Dale Wainwright (R).  Wainwright appears to be a good justice and experienced.  Libertarian candidate Smith didn’t stand out enough to win my vote.

Texas Supreme Court, Place 8: Phil Johnson (R).  Same reason as Wainwright.

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Matthew E. Eilers (L).  Since Price will likely win, I give Eilers my vote. While both candidates seem well-qualified, I was more impressed with Eilers’ answers to the Dallas Morning News’ questions.

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4: Paul Womack (R).  Same reason as Wainwright.

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9: Cathy Cochran (R).  I thought Cochran had much stronger answers than Strange.

Railroad Commissioner: Michael L. Williams (R).  This was a tough one since Williams is likely to win anyway.  But the lack of information on Floyd’s website and his failure to submit answers to the Dallas Morning News’ guide didn’t impress me.  And Williams seems to know what he’s doing.

State Board of Education, Dist. 11: Bruce Beckman (L).  This was an easy choice.  Beckman is a strong advocate of school choice and vouchers and his answers to most questions reflected that.  Definitely gets my vote.

State Board of Education, Dist. 13: Cindy Werner (R).  Pretty uneducated decision since Werner didn’t respond and doesn’t seem to have a campaign website, but Knight appears to be a typical Democrat who favors funding increases as the main solution to the BoE’s problems and who did not mention parental choice in her response regarding sex education.  So I’m basically assuming Werner will be better, which shouldn’t be hard.

State Board of Education, Dist. 14: Gail Lowe (R).  Not impressed with Libertarian Shuey’s responses, so Lowe gets my vote.

Hope that was in some way helpful if you’re preparing to vote in my district!