Texas House Democratic Leader Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) believes Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s work with local Democratic politicians in Texas has made for a stronger party statewide.

Good political candidates not only appeal to the needs of the nation, but use their widespread popularity to improve the entire party ticket by supporting local nominees. According to Dunnam, Obama is the best candidate to achieve those goals.

“I looked at [Obama’s] travel schedule in 2006 and saw he was helping democratic candidates in red states run for election and re-election,” recalled Dunnam in an interview yesterday. “[Obama] has told us that [local candidates] would get more support” should he become president.

Sen. Hillary Clinton does not best represent the future of the party, said Dunnam.

He mentioned how Terry McAuliffe, the former National Chairman for President Bill Clinton, abused Texas financially and how that affected the Clinton name with Texas Democrats. Although McAuliffe was not appointed to his Texas post by Clinton, he was “he was still Clinton’s man,” argued Dunnam.

Many in Texas remember those sore events and associate them with nominee Hillary Clinton.

“It’s largely unjustified, but people in Texas who feel strongly about Hillary feel so strong you can’t even talk to them about it,” said Dunnam. “It’s just the reality and we can’t ignore it.”

The state of the Democratic Party in Texas has grown steadily optimistic within the last years, said Dunnam, as recent elections have awarded the Democrats eight state house seats. Even the Republican-filled government in Dallas County has lost all of their seats and is now “solidly Democratic.”

One stop at the Obama headquarters in Austin emphasized how strong grassroots campaigns are in Texas to the Democrats.

“The Texas campaign was set up before our official people got down here,” said Nick Shapiro, Press Secretary for the Obama campaign yesterday at their Austin office. “We’ve pretty much put the campaign in the hands of the precinct captains.”

Shapiro told the story of a casual house party in support of the Illinois Senator that attracted so many locals, national news crews showed up to report on the affair, believing it to be a bigger deal than it was.

“Everyone is tired of living under Bush’s shadow,” said Shapiro. “Everyone wants to say, ‘There are Democrats in Texas! Come look at us!’”

Rep. Dunnam believes Obama’s involvement will only contribute to this upswing by supporting candidates down the Democratic ticket.

Clinton, meanwhile, angered many in Texas with comments that contradict the recent democratic swing, even stating that “Texas would not be a political player in the fall,” recalled Dunnam.

Dunnam said it’s his job to make sure Texas is not forgotten after the March 4 primary and caucus, and Clinton’s “uneducated comments” don’t help.

“The nineties were good in a bit of ways for the nation,” said Dunnam, “but not for Texas. We don’t want to relive those days.”

“People think about Texas and think about George Bush and see it as Republican,” said Dunnam. But if the recent turnout numbers – which Dunnam calls “extraordinary” – are any indication, the Democratic upswing may capture more congressional seats this fall. If so, he believes many thanks would be owed to Obama.