Kennedy: Was the difference in the Wendy Davis-Kim Brimer race only the length of a cigar stub?

It’s Friday.

Do you know where your state senator is?

Kim Brimer wasn’t in his office Thursday. Far as I can tell, he hasn’t returned calls since Election Day, when the veteran Republican spent $1 million-plus and still lost to a Fort Worth Democrat who nicknamed him "Kim Shady."

All I can figure is, he must be off working for those 19 city mayors.

Brimer’s campaign boasted a solid block of mayors, but it wasn’t enough to overcome those Wendy Davis TV commercials of him in dark glasses with a stubby cigar.

His silver mane and hulking build left him looking like somebody out of a Robert Penn Warren novel up against a wispish, street-savvy former City Council member.

Both candidates said awful things about each other, some true and some embellished. Brimer and allies even sued to try to force Davis off the ballot.

In the end, Davis won because nearly 100,000 Democrats stormed the polls — most in early voting — and because a few John McCain voters apparently crossed over to support her.

Like McCain, Brimer and other local Republicans closed hard and won Election Day decisively, with Brimer winning Tuesday’s vote 50 percent to 46 percent. But Davis already had a 13,000-vote lead.

Arlington Libertarian Richard Cross helped. As a third-party candidate, Cross drew 7,584 votes, more than the 6,948-vote edge.

Unlike Brimer, Cross is taking phone calls.

"I don’t think I had anything to do with it," he said. "My Republican friends in Arlington were just fed up. They walked into the booth, hit the button to vote straight 'D,’ and walked out."

Cross said Brimer was "vilified" by Davis’ ads. Texas Democrats took aim at a little-known senator who had moved away from his original home base in Kennedale.

But Cross’ analysis was simple:

"If I could go back and tell Brimer anything, I’d say, 'Don’t let somebody take a picture of you that looks like it’s off an FBI surveillance tape.’ "

Photographer George Wada of Arlington took the Brimer photo along with snapshots of other candidates in the Crowley Celebration of Freedom parade in July.

The photo was first published July 17 on the local online blog WestandClear.com under the headline "A Sartorial Question." Blogger Pete Wann teased Brimer about his corporate-logo shirt.

One of the partners in WestandClear.com — the name refers to the two forks of the Trinity River — is Davis’ campaign spokesman, former City Council candidate Bernie Scheffler.

Wada said Thursday that he was surprised to see the photo.

"I would never, ever in my entire life have thought that this photograph would take off on its own," he said.

But Brimer never showed voters a better side.

He skipped campaign forums and, the way I hear it, he didn’t walk as many blocks or shake as many hands as Davis.

Davis said on Election Night that she worked in Arlington to win University of Texas at Arlington community support.

"I always thought the way to win this race was to go out and listen to the people," she said.

In a surprise, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama won Arlington.

Davis won six boxes — and a trip to Austin.

Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 817-390-7538

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