Texarkana Gazette - JoAnn Randall, a writer and rancher in Placid, a dot on the map 145 miles northwest of Austin in the geographical center of Texas, describes herself as a political independent.
"I don't think his strategy was ever one to secure crossover voters," said Seth McKee, a Texas Tech University expert on Southern politics. "I can't think of any salient issue where he didn't look like a national Democrat."