Tag Archives: David Dewhurst

Chron overviews of the other candidates for Governor

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

On the Republican side, everybody wants to be the next coming of Ted Cruz. As Attorney General Greg Abbott sweeps toward the GOP nomination for governor, other Republicans are reminding voters that he’s not alone in the party primary. Waging … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry doesn’t want people to get health insurance

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s really no other viable explanation. On a White House conference call on Monday, Texas Democrats criticized Gov. Rick Perry and other Republican state leaders for “getting in the way” of implementing federal health care reform. During the call, which … Continue reading →

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Ted Cruz argues against his own election

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I just don’t get this. Sen. Ted Cruz, elected 13 months ago by actual voters, said Thursday he’d prefer to see state legislators pick U.S. senators – as they were until … Continue reading →

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How to assess the odds in HD134

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texpatriate informs us that two-term Rep. Sarah Davis will be getting a primary challenger in HD134 – Bonnie Parker, who lost to Davis in the 2010 primary, and who will unsurprisingly be attacking Davis from the right. There are three … Continue reading →

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More on LVdP for Lite Guv

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly from Monday’s Lone Star Project news roundup email. AP: Texas Democrats offering stark contrast. Texas voters won’t have a hard time telling the difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates next year. With the addition of San Antonio Sen. … Continue reading →

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PPP: Abbott leads Davis, 50-35

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The polls giveth, and the polls taketh away. PPP’s newest poll of next year’s race for Governor of Texas finds Republican Greg Abbott expanding his lead over Democrat Wendy Davis. Abbott now has a 15 point advantage at 50/35. That’s … Continue reading →

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UT/TT poll has Davis trailing Abbott by five

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I know today is Election Day 2013, but for better or worse much of the attention lately has been about the 2014 elections. Filing season begins later this week, and we now have a new poll result suggesting that the … Continue reading →

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It’s about not wanting people to vote

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Why take us back to the 1950s when we can go all the way back to the 1850s? Should voters be able choose their U.S. senators? Ask Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst or Sen. Dan Patrick and the answer is a … Continue reading →

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On missing KBH

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Does anyone else miss Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison? >We’re not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington, but if we could choose just … Continue reading →

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An awful lot of people tried to sign up for insurance exchanges on Tuesday

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a very good thing, even if technical difficulties prevented many of them from completing the job. On the first day of sign-ups for President Barack Obama’s health care reform, a wave of consumers across the nation, including many Texans, … Continue reading →

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We need you, Leticia

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Please decide soon. Leticia Van de Putte did not announce her candidacy for lieutenant governor when she addressed the Bexar County Young Democrats on Wednesday night. But it was the way Van de Putte didn’t announce it that provided encouragement … Continue reading →

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Davis narrows her choices

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Governor or re-election, no other options. State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, said Monday that she will either run for re-election or for Texas governor, and that she’s working hard to make her decision. Speaking at a National Press Club … Continue reading →

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Yeah, they’re still working on a transportation funding bill

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The committee hearings will continue until morale improves. After consulting with members from both the House and Senate, state Rep. Joe Pickett decided to make some minor changes to his latest transportation funding proposal. On Thursday — the third day … Continue reading →

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Lege may have found a way on transportation funding

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As of Thursday, Special Session 3: Beyond Thunderdome was looming. Both chambers of the Legislature were filled with activity Thursday afternoon but they ended up essentially where they had started: waiting on House and Senate negotiators to come up with … Continue reading →

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Once again with Wendy and the odds

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey in The Trib has his turn with the “what office should Sen. Wendy Davis run for?” question. Abbott, the Republican attorney general, is his party’s favored candidate at the moment, in spite of the presence of Tom Pauken, … Continue reading →

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Remember how concern for women’s health was supposed to be a thing?

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the omnibus anti-abortion bill has been passed and signed, the Republicans can quit pretending to care about the state of health care access for women in Texas as before. Three Planned Parenthood family planning clinics in Southeast Texas … Continue reading →

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Transportation bill heads to conference committee

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still that fundamental disagreement in approach to be worked out somehow. Representatives from the House and Senate are preparing to spend the next week informally negotiating a compromise proposal to boost funding for the Texas Department of Transportation, with … Continue reading →

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Senate passes non-abortion bills, committee passes HB2

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The decks are cleared on the Senate side for the main event. In a speedy Thursday morning meeting with little debate, the upper chamber passed Senate Bill 2 with a 30-1 vote, allowing Texas judges and juries to sentence 17-year-olds … Continue reading →

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Patrick is in for Lite Gov

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were three challengers to David Dewhurst. Citing the need for “authentic conservative leadership” in Texas, state Sen. Dan Patrick announced on Thursday that he would run for lieutenant governor against incumbent David Dewhurst. “Today begins roughly 18 … Continue reading →

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Still standing with Wendy

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let me just say that I hope Sen. Wendy Davis slept in yesterday, and did nothing more strenuous than channel surfing and ordering takeout. She’s earned a lazy day, and a lot more than that. And while she (hopefully) took … Continue reading →

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No action on SB5 in the Senate

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The name of the game is running out the clock. Texas Democrats, far outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, are nonetheless on the verge of killing one of the most restrictive abortion proposals in the nation … Continue reading →

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Last redistricting bill passes Senate, House debates abortion bills

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It was destiny. The Texas Senate on Sunday wrapped up final redistricting loose ends by concurring with changes made by the House to political boundaries for the lower chamber. In an 18-11 vote, the Senate signed off on a series … Continue reading →

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Perry still leads Abbott in UT/TT poll

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I remain unconvinced that Greg Abbott is a sure thing to be the GOP nominee for Governor next year. Only 25 percent of Texas voters — Republicans and Democrats — are ready to give Perry another term, saying they would … Continue reading →

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Patrick involved in another Senate squabble

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Must be something in the water. A powerful Republican urged the Senate last week to strip a plum committee chairmanship from a GOP colleague who voted against the state budget, six senators said Friday. Chief Senate budget writer Sen. Tommy … Continue reading →

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Weekend redistricting update

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I couldn’t find any news coverage from Saturday’s Senate Redistricting Committee hearing at UH, so you should read Greg’s liveblog of the event to find out what happened. The roadshow is in San Antonio today, and there will be two … Continue reading →

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Trying to read the Rick Perry tea leaves

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The National Journal takes a crack at it. Conventional wisdom holds that the longest continuously-serving governor in the country is done after almost 15 years on the job. But the CW might be changing: Maybe Perry wants another shot. This … Continue reading →

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Who will be on the Ten Best and Ten Worst lists?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib starts the speculation. Texas Monthly‘s list of the best and worst legislators of the 83rd session doesn’t come out until June 12, but why should Paul Burka and his colleagues have all the fun? Use this interactive to … Continue reading →

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Wrapping up the rest of the regular session

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So as we now know, a special session on redistricting has been called, though we don’t yet know what if anything else may be added later. I covered that last night, so let’s cover what else got done at the … Continue reading →

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Special session is called

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And no one is surprised. With the ink barely dry on the bills passed during the 83rd Legislature’s regular session, Gov. Rick Perry called lawmakers back into an immediate special session to consider redistricting measures for the Legislature and the … Continue reading →

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Don’t count your victories too soon

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

While I wouldn’t call this legislative session anything to be terribly happy about, it could have been far worse. That’s because a whole lot of nasty red meat bills never got voted on, and Democrats are justifiably happy about that. … Continue reading →

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Budget deal reached

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And the crowd goes wild. Top House and Senate negotiators agreed to a two-year budget for the state of Texas Friday that restores about $4 billion of $5.4 billion in cuts to public education made in 2011. It also creates … Continue reading →

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Hotze sues Obamacare

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You would think that once the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act was constitutional that that would settle things, but then you would not be Steve Hotze. Steve Hotze, a Houston-area physician and major Republican campaign donor who … Continue reading →

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Yes, Rick Perry still hates Medicaid

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not surprised by this, right? The Texas rhetoric around a key facet of federal health reform — whether the state will expand subsidized insurance to its poorest adults — reached the high water mark on Monday, with back-to-back press … Continue reading →

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More concern of convenience

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

David Dewhurst channels Dan Patrick. Dewhurst, noting his differing view from Straus, said he’s a product of public schools and wants to support them, but said he doesn’t want to leave an estimated 315,000 Texas students in academically unacceptable schools. … Continue reading →

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