Category Archives: Election 2018

Shame on you, Stan Stanart

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Just go away. Judging by Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart’s campaign website, you might think that he is running against George Soros — the billionaire Jewish philanthropist who’s become a worldwide lightning rod for anti-Semitic groups, white supremacists and conspiracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Early voting, Day 9: Who are these people?

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The question keeps getting asked, who is it that has been voting so far? An unprecedented number of Texans cast their ballots during the first week of early voting, but it is impossible to predict whether that surge will benefit … Continue reading →

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“The least-discussed vulnerable Republican on the ballot”

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Grits: Grits does not expect Beto O’Rourke to win. But if he were to pull off the upset, many other dominos could fall in succession as a result, with at least three Republican senators, Texas’ Attorney General, and potentially … Continue reading →

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Translators

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I wish there were a better way to handle this. The Harris County Clerk’s office on Monday defended a decision by election workers to bar translators offering assistance to Korean-American voters from a Spring Branch polling site the day before. … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day 8: On to Week 2

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the totals for Monday, and here are the daily totals from 2010, from 2014, and from 2016, as well as a spreadsheet with totals from 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. The running tallies: Year Mail Early Total ============================== … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Cruz 51, O’Rourke 46

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One last poll for the road. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, leads El Paso Democrat Beto O’Rourke by 5 percentage points, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University. The poll, released Monday with just a over a week left … Continue reading →

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More campus voting issues

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, Texas State. The long early voting line that wrapped around the LBJ Student Center earlier this week was a welcome sign to those at Texas State University who were hoping for strong enthusiasm among young voters on campus. But … Continue reading →

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Day 7 early voting: Let the hot takes begin

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to quote this bit from this story about how the Senate campaigns are interpreting the early vote turnout so far. Derek Ryan, a GOP data consultant who previously worked for the state party, said there are a … Continue reading →

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Will teachers turn out for Mike Collier?

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

He sure hopes so. On his long-shot campaign to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Collier is hoping he’s popular in a lot of rooms that look like this one — where after hearing from him, education-focused voters in a … Continue reading →

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Day 6 early voting: A very early stab at projecting turnout

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is the point in the early voting process where early voting hours expand, and as a result daily EV reports come in later. That may affect my ability to present the latest data each day, so I’m going to … Continue reading →

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The eSlate issue

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone please take a deep breath. Some straight-ticket voters have reported that voting machines recorded them selecting the candidate of another party for U.S. Senate, exposing a potential problem with the integrity of the state’s high-profile contest between U.S. Sen. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fort Bend DA

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One last recommendation. The race for Fort Bend District Attorney presents voters with a choice that’s starting to feel familiar in Texas politics: An experienced Republican who represents the past and an upstart Democrat who wants to welcome the future. … Continue reading →

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Early voting Day 5: It’s been a long week (in a good way)

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Did I mention it’s been busy? Voters across the state have come out in massive numbers during the first five days of early voting, and soon, more Texans will have voted early in 2018 than in all of 2014’s early … Continue reading →

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Omnibus polling update

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One last Trib poll: Republican Ted Cruz leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke 51 percent to 45 percent in the Texas race for the U.S. Senate, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Libertarian Neal Dikeman was the choice of … Continue reading →

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When Ken Paxton attacks

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

He’s gotta be a little scared. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has started airing a statewide TV ad against his Democratic challenger, Justin Nelson, as Nelson presses to close the race with an emphasis on the indictment that has dogged … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: City propositions

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron says Yes on Prop A: Here’s the blunt truth: Voting “against” on Proposition A won’t cut your taxes. It will, however, open the door to more municipal debt. That is why Houstonians should vote “for” Proposition A, which … Continue reading →

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Day 4 early voting: A brief look around the state

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has it all organized for you. As of day three of early voting, 1,344,741 Texans have cast in-person ballots and 240,601 cast mail-in ballots in the 30 counties where most registered voters in the state — 78 percent … Continue reading →

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Eventually we’ll settle the debate about straight ticket voting and judicial races

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

But for now we have one last chance to provide a baseline for comparison. As Harris County goes, so go its judicial races. In three of the last five elections, a single party has swept every Harris judicial contest, with … Continue reading →

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The Fort Bend DA race

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been a lot of focus on how Harris County will vote this year after Hillary Clinton’s wide margin of victory in 2016 – I’ve certainly contributed to that – but it’s important to remember that Clinton carried Fort Bend … Continue reading →

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Day 3 early voting: In shorter hours

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve heard a few people complain about the shorter early voting hours in the first week. For the first five days for early voting, Harris County’s 46 polling locations open at 8 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m., the earliest … Continue reading →

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The Beto-Abbott voters

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Barring divine intervention, Greg Abbott will handily beat Lupe Valdez — the only real question is by how much. The floor, if there is one, is Wendy Davis’ crushing loss to Greg … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: County time

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron circles back to the county races they didn’t get to the first time around, and for reasons I cannot fathom, they still love them some Orlando Sanchez. The race for Harris County treasurer always seems to raise the … Continue reading →

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Day 2 early voting: Reporting from elsewhere

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It was busy everywhere. Tens of thousands of Texas voters turned out across the state to cast their ballots on Monday, the first day of early voting for the 2018 midterm elections. The state’s largest counties all saw much larger … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Don’t forget the judges

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron got some national buzz for their blanket non-endorsement of judges who support the current bail structure, but overall they’re supported a large number of Republican incumbents on the bench. Not all by any means, but well more than … Continue reading →

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October 2018 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. It’s not just Beto. Newly filed campaign finance reports show that money flooded into Democratic congressional campaigns all across the state over the last three months. Along with Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s blockbuster $38 million haul in his bid against … Continue reading →

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Day 1 early voting totals: Like three days in one

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was busy. Harris County residents on Monday set a new record for the first day of early voting in a midterm election, as 63,188 went to the polls to cast ballots. The turnout smashed the previous mark, set in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Patrick and Patrick-lite

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Chron has done an endorsement in every race of interest, I’m going to try to catch up on them, by group if not by individual race. We’ll start with the race for Lt. Governor, where there was … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mayor Turner

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We finish up our interviews for the 2018 election season with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and a conversation about city propositions A and B. Prop A, which has largely flown under the radar, is the update to Renew Houston intended … Continue reading →

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On the air

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You might be seeing some TV ads from Texas Democrats who aren’t Beto O’Rourke or Lizzie Fletcher. There’s Justin Nelson: Attorney Justin Nelson, a candidate for attorney general, on Tuesday became the first — and likely only — Democrat running … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Of course it’s Beto

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron finally corrects an old and egregious error. With eyes clear but certainly not starry, we enthusiastically endorse Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate. The West Texas congressman’s command of issues that matter to this state, his unaffected eloquence and … Continue reading →

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Early voting for November 2018 starts today

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: “Study the long November 6, 2018 Election ballot to ensure you make the right choices when voting,”  said Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, encouraging voters to visit www.HarrisVotes.com  and select “Find your Poll and Ballot” to review their personal sample … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Incumbency is no advantage, part 3

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when Land Commissioner George P. Bush was considered a rising star? The Chronicle does. Four years ago we enthusiastically endorsed George P. Bush for land commissioner. We said he was “the real deal.” Turns out, we were really off. … Continue reading →

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Hotze and the judges

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From family law attorney Greg Enos, who publishes a legal blog/newsletter called The Mongoose (I’ve referenced him here before): Real Journalists Should Investigate How Republican Judges Are Funneling Money to Hotze’s Hate Group I am a full-time lawyer and only … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Incumbency is no advantage, part 2

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron lays down a marker on the county criminal courts. Each election cycle we determine our judicial endorsements by interviewing the candidates, researching their backgrounds, consulting with experts and coming to a conclusion about who best would be able … Continue reading →

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