Tag Archives: Election 2026

Texas Medical Board issues some guidance on abortion exceptions

Posted on March 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sort of. The Texas Medical Board proposed a broad definition for what constitutes an emergency medical exception under the state’s otherwise strict abortion ban at its meeting Friday, disappointing some abortion rights advocates who were seeking a specific list of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Texas Medical Board issues some guidance on abortion exceptions

January 2024 campaign finance reports – City of Houston

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Harris County offices Senate Congress I did a lot of posting before now on the city finance reports, so it’s probably best to summarize: 8 Day reports for Mayoral candidates 30 Day reports – that post was … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on January 2024 campaign finance reports – City of Houston

Texas Medical Board may issue guidance on abortion exceptions

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I trust you will forgive my skepticism about this. The Texas Medical Board will consider language to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws at an upcoming March 22 board meeting. The meeting agenda was … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Getting revenge is the best revenge

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have one thing to say to these Republicans. State Rep. Glenn Rogers is mad as hell, and he’s not being shy about it. “Kiss my ass!” he recently told a statewide Republican official who had endorsed his primary opponent. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Let them fight

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let them fight. A $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that passed the Senate overnight has sparked a battle between two of Texas’ most prominent Republicans, with Attorney General Ken Paxton calling U.S. Sen. John Cornyn an … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let them fight

SCOTx pauses Paxton deposition

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Delay, delay, delay… The Texas Supreme Court has halted depositions that were scheduled to begin Thursday in the whistleblower case against Attorney General Ken Paxton. The all-GOP court issued an order Tuesday staying the depositions and giving the parties until … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

No, really, Paxton ordered to sit for deposition

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Oh yeah. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to end a whistleblower lawsuit against him has been dealt another blow after a Travis County judge denied his attempt to end the case without being deposed. The ruling, which Paxton’s office publicized … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Paxton ordered to sit for deposition anyway

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Bwa ha ha! A Travis County judge issued an order Friday for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sit for a deposition on Feb. 1 in the lawsuit brought by four of his former employees. However, some of those plaintiffs … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The whistleblowers say they aren’t going away

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to hear it. In a Monday filing to the Texas Supreme Court, the whistleblowers [Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar] argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including the $3.3 … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Paxton acquitted on all counts

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment alleging corruption and bribery, his most artful escape in a career spent courting controversy and skirting consequences of scandal. No article received more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized!, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Rep. Carl Sherman enters Senate primary

Posted on September 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Crowded in here all of a sudden. State Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto, announced Saturday he is running for U.S. Senate, becoming the latest Democrat to launch a campaign to challenge Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Sherman, a pastor, jumped in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Talarico Time

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have mixed feelings about this. The representative and aspiring preacher hadn’t planned to deliver a sermon when he went to work at the state capitol that morning. Sitting in a drab committee room last month, Texas Rep. James Talarico, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Louisiana’s turn to (maybe) fix its racial gerrymander

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the clock. The Supreme Court on Monday denied Louisiana’s attempt to block a lower court’s order that it redraw its congressional maps. That court found that the state had likely diluted the power of Black voters in violation … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Louisiana’s turn to (maybe) fix its racial gerrymander

Justice Department follows up with Tarrant County

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have committed to meeting with Tarrant County’s top Democrats to discuss the letter they sent requesting an investigation into voting rights. The Democrats, under the lead of U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey of … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tarrant County Dems seek Justice Department investigation of voting rights issues

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Elected officials who represent Tarrant County’s minority communities have asked the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to investigate County Judge Tim O’Hare and other county officials over concerns that their actions will diminish voting rights. The letter, signed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tarrant County Dems seek Justice Department investigation of voting rights issues

Sen. Gutierrez talks about 2024

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s officially still thinking about it and will announce after the session. I’d say it’s a strong bet he’s already decided to run. State Senator Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday he’s going to wait before deciding on running for U.S. Senate. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sen. Gutierrez appears to be getting set to challenge Ted Cruz

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has become a fierce champion of the families impacted by the Uvalde school shooting, is likely to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, The Texas Tribune … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

So what happens with CD18 now?

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story is a very basic explainer about Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s just-announced Mayoral campaign. There’s only so much it can tell us as she has not yet talked about what her top campaign priorities are, and most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Is it finally the time for Julian Castro?

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story is mostly about Ted Cruz and whether he might run for President again in 2024; the tone of the story is that he probably won’t. No one cares about that, but because it is a story about 2024 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Lege does its housekeeping

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In the Senate, they drew their lots to see who would have to run again in 2024. It was the luck of the draw for Texas senators on Wednesday as they drew lots to decide which half of them would … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: Hidalgo versus Mealer

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread We’ve looked at the Governor’s race, in which Beto was the top Democratic performer. Now we’ll look at the next highest profile race, in which the result was a surprise to some … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Yes, we’re talking about Texas Senate 2024

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gromer Jeffers points out that Ted Cruz may run for both President and re-election to the Senate in 2024, which he can do under the law that was passed to allow LBJ to run for Vice President in 1960 (and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yes, we’re talking about Texas Senate 2024

In which Harris County Republicans look for moral victories

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Believe me, as a Texas Democrat and a longtime fan of the Rice Owls, I know what it looks like to search for moral victories in the face of defeat. It looks like this. Harris County Republicans on Tuesday posted … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Of course the redistricting lawsuit trial will be delayed

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All we ever get is delays. The legal fight over the shape of Texas political representation for the next decade won’t be decided until next year after a federal panel agreed Tuesday to delay a trial over new political maps. … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Of course the redistricting lawsuit trial will be delayed

Everyone’s waiting on Beto

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pardon me while I brew myself a cup of tea and stare meaningfully out the window. Texas’ Republican statewide primaries are heating up as challengers emerged in recent weeks for both Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Mayor Whitmire 2.0?

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about the recent departure of HPD Chief Art Acevedo for Miami is the following tidbit: Houston insiders knew that the 56-year-old Acevedo had been considering a mayoral run once Sylvester Turner reached his term limit in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments