Tag Archives: Senate

July 2023 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What a difference three months has made. Back in April you could have counted the races and candidates of interest on your fingers. Now with the larger Senate race, the openings in CDs 18 and 32, and a few other … Continue reading →

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Another Paxton roundup

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start with this big Chron story about yet another allegation of unethical legal conduct by Ken Paxton. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is suspended from duty as he awaits his impeachment trial, jeopardized his office’s prosecution of a GOP … Continue reading →

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Sen. Gutierrez officially announces for US Senate

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have ourselves a real contested primary. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, announced Monday he is joining the Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Gutierrez made his campaign official in a nearly four-minute video that starts … Continue reading →

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Republicans finally agree on a property tax cut

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Our moderate-length semi-statewide bit of unpleasantness is coming to an end. Probably. The $18 billion compromise between the Texas House and Senate — which includes more than $5 billion approved for relief in 2021 — would give increased tax relief … Continue reading →

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Another interim AG appointed

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

All hail the latest temporary overlord. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that a longtime aide, Angela Colmenero, will serve as the second interim attorney general following Ken Paxton’s impeachment. After the House voted to impeach Paxton in May, he was … Continue reading →

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Were these courts really necessary?

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Should have added these two bills to the “will be sued over” list. Republican state leaders’ plan to create two new types of statewide courts is facing backlash from critics who say they are unconstitutional and will unfairly benefit large … Continue reading →

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Allred gets off to a fast fundraising start

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see, but it’s just the first step. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He also transferred an additional $2.4 million … Continue reading →

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Paxton won’t testify at his Senate trial

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

So his defense attorney says. The lead attorney for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton said his client will not testify in his upcoming impeachment trial in the Texas Senate. Paxton’s defense lawyer, Tony Buzbee, made the announcement in a late … Continue reading →

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Houston sues over “Death Star”bill

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First out of the gate. I’m sure they will have company. Houston city attorneys on Monday filed a lawsuit against a new state law that blocks an array of local regulations, marking the first legal challenge to the sweeping crackdown on cities and … Continue reading →

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There’s still more Paxton stuff to investigate

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the grift that keeps on giving. The Texas House investigation into impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton has reportedly widened to include a series of property purchases he made as he faced a federal probe over allegations that he abused … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Another Paxton roundup

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The hits keep on coming… So, just how transparent is this Senate trial going to be? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has promised maximum transparency in the impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, but trial rules recently adopted by … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project poll: Half of Texans think Paxton impeachment was “justified”

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s one poll, yadda yadda yadda, but here you go. As the Texas Senate begins the historically unprecedented process of trying the suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton on 31 articles of impeachment, a majority of Texas’ registered voters think the … Continue reading →

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From the “Obvious reactions to dumb things” department

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Item 1: Former Congressman Will Hurd is running for President. Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, announced Thursday he is running for president, becoming the first Texan with experience in elective office to enter the Republican primary. Hurd, who represented … Continue reading →

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Here are the Senate impeachment rules

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go. Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will answer to 16 of 20 articles of impeachment at a trial to begin Sept. 5, the Texas Senate said Wednesday night after spending about 20 hours drafting the trial rules in private. … Continue reading →

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Sen. Angela Paxton will be one of her husband’s jurors

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Really, there was no other way this could have ended. After weeks of speculation, state Sen. Angela Paxton announced late Monday that she will attend the impeachment trial of her husband, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the McKinney Republican said … Continue reading →

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Funding for child DNA ID kits quietly dropped

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a weird story. For months, Texas lawmakers were on track to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to continue distributing child identification kits to Texas schoolchildren, a program championed by state officials. In April, both the Texas House and Senate approved preliminary … Continue reading →

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Paxton-palooza

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Tuesday is going to be a huge day in the Ken Paxton impeachment saga, as the Senate committee in charge of setting the rules for the Senate trial get around to doing that. There’s been a lot of energy towards … Continue reading →

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There were actually a couple of pro-voting rights bills this session

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Believe it or not. “This was a nail-biter all the way to the end. But we’re excited about all the people that will benefit from this. We’re still hopeful that the governor will sign them,” said Chase Bearden, deputy executive … Continue reading →

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That’s a lot of impeachment-related subpoenas

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some great stuff from the DMN. The day after the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, the ethics panel investigating his alleged misdeeds issued a dozen new subpoenas that indicate their inquiry is far from over. … Continue reading →

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Of course Dan Patrick has a Ken Paxton conflict of interest

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Why wouldn’t he? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has cast Attorney General Ken Paxton’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate as like a real-world courtroom, with senators sitting as jurors and Patrick serving as judge. “Would you go to a judge … Continue reading →

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Allred begins campaigning

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Go get started early. Democrats were ecstatic when U.S. Rep. Colin Allred announced his bid against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican they have come closest to beating in more than two decades of GOP dominance in statewide elections. … Continue reading →

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Who’s paying for Paxton’s defense?

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A popular question. Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton has retained for his upcoming Senate impeachment trial two top Houston defense attorneys, who will be assisted by six of his employees who took leaves of absence to help, including four of … Continue reading →

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Nate Paul arrested by feds

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Well, well, well. Nate Paul, the Austin real estate developer central to allegations of illegal conduct by Ken Paxton, Texas’ now-suspended attorney general, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday. Paul was booked into the Travis County Jail at 4:25 … Continue reading →

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Buzbee will do Paxton’s defense

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Tony Buzbee, a high-profile and boisterously outspoken Houston attorney who defended former Gov. Rick Perry against abuse-of-office charges, will lead suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal defense team in his impeachment trial. Buzbee had said on his … Continue reading →

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A Paxton threefer

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Law professor Quinn Yeargain points out something I’ve not seen discussed elsewhere. But for both ambitious Texas politicians waiting in the wings and eagle-eyed election observers, one of the most important questions is likely who will succeed Paxton if he’s … Continue reading →

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Paxton not feeling the love in Collin County

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. When the Texas House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton in the waning days of a regular legislative session, some Texans were shocked that the 121 “yes” votes included every representative from Collin County, … Continue reading →

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Two 2024 polls

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I know, it’s all ridiculously early, but what the heck. Here’s poll #1. The 2024 election is still more than a year out, but a new poll by the University of Texas at Tyler shows Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s defense team

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I feel slightly weird about this. Six top officials and employees at the Texas attorney general’s office have taken a leave of absence to help defend suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial this summer. Those employees are … Continue reading →

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Abbott names former SOS John Scott as temporary AG

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I honestly wasn’t sure he was going to bother with this. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday appointed Fort Worth lawyer and former Secretary of State John Scott as interim Texas attorney general, temporarily replacing Ken Paxton, who was suspended as … Continue reading →

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How bad is the “Death Star” bill going to be?

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll soon be finding out. House Bill 2127 has been approved by the state House and Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign it any day. Crafted by state Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), the bill aims to create a statewide, uniform set … Continue reading →

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What will Angela do?

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good and balanced article about one of the people who will sit in judgment of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate: his wife, Angela Paxton. When it came time for the high school teacher and guidance counselor … Continue reading →

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Two thoughts on the whole impeachment thing

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start with the obvious, which is the “Why now?” question. A lot of people seem to be mystified. Why, after nearly a decade of Ken Paxton’s criming, did the House General Investigations Committee decide to go all scorched earth … Continue reading →

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Impeach-a-palooza

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The impeachment debate in the House will happen today. The Texas House intends to take up a resolution to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton at 1 p.m. Saturday, according to a memo from the House General Investigating Committee. Citing Paxton’s “long-standing pattern of abuse of … Continue reading →

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