Tag Archives: Lite Gov

Joy Diaz

A bit of “potential candidate” news is tucked into this story about the current state of the Democratic statewide slate. If Democrats had a mantra, it would probably be something like “diversity and inclusion.” So it’s kind of strange that … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

UT/Trib: Abbott 46, Beto 37

Data point #2, arriving on schedule. Gov. Greg Abbott has a comfortable lead over potential Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, according to a new poll from the University of Texas at Austin and The Texas Tribune. The survey of registered voters … Continue reading

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

The Trib on Collier/Dowd

Good story. Mike Collier is willing to bet Texas voters know his name. In fact, he’s confident that when he last ran for lieutenant governor three years ago and came within 5 percentage points of winning, it was because most … Continue reading

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Collier announces

It’s officially official, we have a contested primary for Lite Guv. Mike Collier has been itching for a rematch with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for nearly three years, after coming within 4.9 points of unseating the Republican in 2018. “I … Continue reading

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Matthew Dowd has entered the Dem primary for Lite Guv

We have another contested primary for Dems. Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for George W. Bush’s presidential reelection campaign who later split with the former president publicly, is running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat. Dowd also has worked for … Continue reading

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Matthew Dowd

Not sure what to make of this. A little more than a week after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Matthew Dowd announced he was leaving his job as chief political analyst with ABC News after thirteen years with … Continue reading

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

Buckingham to run for Land Commissioner

That’s the sound of opportunity knocking. State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, is set to run for land commissioner, according to two sources familiar with the decision not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Buckingham has made calls to potential supporters … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mike Collier gearing up again

I was hoping he’d be back. Mike Collier, the 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor who lost to Dan Patrick by 5 percentage points, is gearing up for another run. Collier is launching an exploratory committee to challenge Patrick again … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Abbott vs Patrick on power outage blame game

This ought to be interesting. The blame game over the state’s faulty electrical grid is creating a rare public rift between the two top Republicans in state government that could have a major financial impact on some utility companies and … Continue reading

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Is there really a primary threat to Abbott?

Maybe, but it’s not a serious one. As Gov. Greg Abbott races to reopen all businesses and end mask mandates this week, it hasn’t been fast enough to defuse escalating political pressure from fellow Republicans who see Texas lagging behind … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Beto for Governor?

He says he’s thinking about it. Democrat Beto O’Rourke has left no doubt that he’s weighing a run for governor next year. “You know what, it’s something I’m going to think about,” O’Rourke said in an exclusive interview on an … Continue reading

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So is anyone going to try to collect Dan Patrick’s reward money?

Here’s a nice little research paper for you: On November 10, 2020, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick put out a press release stating, in relevant part, “[S]tarting today [I] will pay up to $1 million to incentivize, encourage and reward … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Looking ahead to 2022

Continuing with the brain dumps, which are my post-election tradition. This is a collection of thoughts about the next big election, in 2022. As I said earlier, I take no position on the question of what effect the disparity in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

We still need that equality bill in the Lege

That SCOTUS ruling was huge, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. LGBTQ Texans marked a major victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights law prevents employment discrimination on the basis of … Continue reading

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A bipartisan equality bill

I appreciate the effort, but we can’t expect too much to come of this. Five Democratic and two Republican state legislators announced plans Wednesday to file a bill next legislative session that would bar discrimination against LGBTQ Texans in housing, … Continue reading

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The fight over sick leave has to be at the state level

I get this, but it’s not going to work. The coronavirus outbreak is sparking a debate over paid sick leave in Houston, the largest U.S. city without a law requiring businesses to provide paid time off for workers who fall … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

How partisan is concern about coronavirus?

On the one hand: Texas’ economy is taking a catastrophic hit — and hundreds of thousands of Texans are out of work — as officials shutter businesses and limit some establishment’s operations to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. But while Texans’ optimism … Continue reading

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Does getting to 40% make you likely to win the runoff?

I was talking with some fellow political nerds last week, and one of the topics was the forthcoming runoffs. As is usually the case, this year we have some runoffs between candidates who finished fairly close together in round one, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dan Patrick makes the most predictable announcement ever

Really, who didn’t see this coming? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Thursday he may further lower the threshold required to bring bills to the Senate floor if Republicans lose one or two seats in November. Patrick made the comment at … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

We’re not going to get an independent redistricting commission

Nice to think about, but the set of circumstances that might lead to it are exceedingly narrow. Most of the seven states that have independent commissions adopted them by a citizens’ initiative. Since Texas doesn’t have that option, the only … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Everybody hates Dan

You just hate to see it. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is doubling down on his call for closing loopholes in gun sales background checks despite withering criticism from other Republicans, conservative groups that have ardently supported him, and the … Continue reading

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Is there anything Houston can do about gun violence?

Not much, unfortunately. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday said he wants state lawmakers to give cities and counties more flexibility to address gun violence in response to mass shootings this month that killed 31 people, including 22 in El Paso. … Continue reading

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The Straus PAC

We’ll see what this does. Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, a San Antonio Republican, announced Wednesday he was launching a new political action committee that he said will aim to help him continue to carry out “a thoughtful, responsible … Continue reading

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Ten Best and Ten Worst 2019

Here’s that famous biennial list from Texas Monthly. The Best House Speaker Dennis Bonnen Representative Joe Moody Representative James White Representative Donna Howard Representative Dade Phelan Representative Victoria Neave Senator Kirk Watson Representative Tom Oliverson The Worst Lieutenant Governor Dan … Continue reading

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A starter agenda for when we have a Democratic state government

I’ve been pondering the recent legislative session, which as we have discussed wasn’t great but also wasn’t nearly as bad as some other recent sessions have been. The qualification for all this is that the key defining factor for our … Continue reading

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We won’t get rid of Dan Patrick that easily

We’ll have to do it ourselves. He won’t do it for us. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has no plans to leave Texas, he said on the day before lawmakers finish up what he called the “most successful session in modern … Continue reading

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Once again with how the property tax system is rigged

Your taxes are higher than they need to be so that large commercial properties can have lower taxes. As property owners across Texas receive their notices this month of their tax values, appraisers are bracing for another round of appeals … Continue reading

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House approves budget, and other news

Always a major milestone. In Dennis Bonnen’s first major test as speaker of the Texas House, the chamber he oversees resoundingly passed a $251 billion budget Wednesday after a long but largely civil debate — a departure from the dramatics … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend

Did you know that Fort Bend County went blue in 2018 as well? Of course you did. Let’s take a closer look at how that happened. Dist Cruz Beto Dikeman Cruz% Beto% Dike% ====================================================== HD26 32,451 33,532 406 48.88% 50.51% … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Collier versus Beto

The Trib looks at some numbers. Mike Collier, the Democrat who ran for and lost the race for lieutenant governor last month, wasn’t the star of his party’s ticket. But by some measures, Collier did better in this year’s general … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Precinct analysis: The two types of statewide candidates

When we look at the precinct data in Harris County, we can separate the statewide candidates into two groups. Here’s the first group: Dist Abbott Valdez Tipp Abbott% Valdez% Trump% Clinton% =============================================================== CD02 146,399 112,272 4,345 55.66% 43.40% 52.38% 43.05% … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Initial reactions: Statewide

I’m going to do a few of these “Initial reaction” posts about Tuesday’s elections as I try to make sense of all that happened. Here we go. Let me start with a number. Two numbers, actually: 4,017,851 and 48.26%. The … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Texas and Tarrant

The Trib looks at Beto O’Rourke’s campaign focus on Tarrant County. Fort Worth and its outlying ranches and suburbs are mostly a backwater in Texas politics. Gerrymandered to the hilt, the national parties have mostly ignored this county. But since … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Will teachers turn out for Mike Collier?

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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