Bill Keffer, a former Dallas Republican state representative for the White Rock Lake area, is hoping to grab back the seat he lost in the Democratic sweep in 2006.

But it will be a tough task upending incumbent Allen Vaught, a young lawyer and Iraqi war veteran who didn't make a lot of news in his first term, but still seems to have retained the loyalty of his constituents. To wit: He easily is winning the battle of the yard signs in his district.

Then there's the delicate issue of Keffer himself. In his two terms in office, he built a reputation as a staunch critic of public education, often voting in support of voucher programs. That might play well in parts of North Dallas, but not as much in his own less conservative district. My guess too is that the people there might not be a big fan of what he wrote about busing eight years ago in a community publication called the Lake Highlands Advocate: (H/T Burnt Orange Report).

The market for alternative schools is the direct result of government-forced integration of the public schools. The demise of the public schools has followed on the heels of federal courts mandating integration about as directly as any example of cause-and-effect in social policy in American history.

Um, it might have been OK to say that in Dallas in 2000. Not so much anymore. Besides, Lakewood, the heart of the district, is one of the few white neighborhoods in Dallas that still supports--and often fawns over--its schools, which last time I checked included blacks, whites and Hispanics.

Still, don't write off Keffer just yet. He only lost by three points in 2006 and if the Republican presidential ticket can bring out the base in some of the more conservative parts of Lake Highlands, Keffer can certainly pull off the victory. For now, it might help if he got some signs up.

Also on the web: In July, the great Jeff Seigel, the Chuck Todd of East Dallas politics, had a write-up on this race on the blog Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas. There, Seigel gives his take on the two candidates followed up by a series of chatty, insidery comments dishing on both men. It's good stuff.