Category Archives: Election 2018

Judicial Q&A: Linda Dunson

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Dallas County GOP sues to knock basically all Dallas Democrats off the ballot

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Well, that escalated quickly. Dallas County Republicans have filed a lawsuit to have 128 Democrats kicked off the March 6 primary ballot. The lawsuit, filed in Dallas County late Friday, contends that Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Carol Donovan didn’t … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: 14th Court of Appeals

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

More judicial races. We have a long way to go with these. Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 3: Jerry Zimmerer This primary race presents voters with a choice between two candidates who each offer different strengths. Jerry Zimmerer, … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Tracy Good

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Fran Watson

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As I might have mentioned once or twice before, there are a lot of contested primaries this year. In a less active year, I’d publish interviews from the same race in a given week. This year, between the large number … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Audrie Lawton

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Tahir Javed

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

So who is this guy in CD29? He’s an outsider in the 29th congressional district. He’s not Latino. He’s never lived in the congressional district he is running in until now. And he’s never run for office in his life. … Continue reading →

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More on the national wave of female candidates

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As the second Women’s March was taking place yesterday, there were stories in two national publications about the plethora of women running for office this year. Here’s TIME Magazine: Erin Zwiener returned to Texas to settle down. At 32, she … Continue reading →

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So is there a residency standard now?

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is curious. State Rep. Dan Huberty’s only primary challenger was on Friday declared ineligible to run to represent House District 127. In a summary judgment, Harris County District Court Judge Bill Burke declared Reginald C. Grant Jr. did not … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Lucia Bates

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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HuffPo on Gina Ortiz Jones

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I do love national stories about our Congressional candidates. Gina Ortiz Jones thought she could work for President Donald Trump. When he won the presidency in November 2016, Jones, a career civil servant who served in the Air Force in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fast out of the gate

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing that has no doubt been affected by the tons of candidates running for office this year: The Chron’s endorsement process, which got off to a necessarily early start yesterday as they recommended candidates in a couple of open-seat … Continue reading →

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Interview with Silky Malik

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And so we come to the end of our journey through CD02. There are as noted five candidates in the Democratic primary, but candidate HP Parvizian did not reply to my email asking to schedule an interview. If that happens … Continue reading →

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Republicans “against” Dan Patrick

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe reports on a “loose coalition” of business and education interests who are seeking to clip Dan Patrick’s wings. [FBSID Board President Kristin] Tassin is now running for a seat in the state Senate, and she is just one … Continue reading →

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Interview with Todd Litton

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

CD02 hasn’t drawn quite as much attention as CD07 has – it has fewer Democratic candidates, and the district is more Republican-leaning – but one thing it had in common with CD07 was a Democratic challenger that had outraised the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Margaret Poissant

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ali Khorasani

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s day two of CD02, the soon-to-be-former district of Rep. Ted Poe. Today’s candidate, Ali Khorasani represents a couple of themes we have seen in this year’s crop of contenders: He’s under 40, and he’s a scientist. A graduate of … Continue reading →

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Finance reports start coming in

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And once again, CD07 is the big story. The winner in the money chase so far is nonprofit executive Alex Triantaphyllis, who raised over $255,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017, bringing his total raised for the election to over … Continue reading →

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Interview with J. Darnell Jones

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Today we move into CD02, which has been since 2004 the home of Rep. Ted Poe. Like Harris County overall it moved in a Democratic direction in 2016, though it was still Republican overall. It’s on the radar this year … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Brennen Dunn

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Two upcoming candidate forums

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars, Part I, for the CD2 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum. CD2 Democratic Primary Candidate Forum Hosted by Humble Area Democrats, Kingwood Area Democrats, Spring Democratic Club, and Democracy for Houston Tuesday, January 23 at 6 PM – 9 … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lizzie Pannill Fletcher

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And so we come to the end of our week-long odyssey through the Democratic field in CD07. Next week, we shift focus to CD02, which will not require publishing interviews on weekend days. Lucky number seven in the Democratic lineup … Continue reading →

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The price of disrespect

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Greg Abbott makes another endorsement. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday endorsed the Republican challenger to Galveston state Rep. Wayne Faircloth, a move that is expected to deepen simmering divisions within the state Republican party. In a new video, Abbott called … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ivan Sanchez

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The field in CD07 was stable for quite some time, with six of the seven filers posting finance reports from both Q2 and Q3 last year. Then in the waning days of the filing period, a new challenger emerged. That … Continue reading →

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Interview with Joshua Butler

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’re more than halfway through the Democratic field in CD07, and we’ll be keeping it going through the weekend. I’m not sure what I’d have done if there were more than the seven candidates there are. Good thing I don’t … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Charles Collins

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Interview with James Cargas

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One of the themes of this year’s election is the large number of people who are new to electoral politics getting involved. That has led to a huge number of first-time candidates throwing their hats into every ring imaginable. That’s … Continue reading →

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How many more women are we likely to have in Congress next year?

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Probably at least two, and more are possible. No freshman woman has come to Congress from Texas since Granger’s election 1996, with the exception of former U.S. Rep. Shelley Sekula Gibbs, who served as a placeholder for less than two … Continue reading →

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Interview with Alex Triantaphyllis

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of reasons why CD07 has drawn so much national attention. It’s a district Hillary Clinton won in 2016 despite being held by Republicans forever – this was Poppy Bush’s seat back in the day, for goodness’ … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Michele Chimene

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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And then there were nine

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One Democratic gubernatorial hopeful is now off the ballot. Demetria Smith, a Democrat who had hoped to challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2018 gubernatorial race, has been determined ineligible to run. Smith, who attended a San Angelo forum … Continue reading →

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Interview with Laura Moser

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Today is Day Two of my weeklong tour of CD07, which is not only one of the better pickup opportunities in Texas but also a regular feature in national stories about the 2018 environment and the map that Democrats are … Continue reading →

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Lupe Valdez kicks off her campaign

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s get moving. Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County Sheriff, formally launched her Democratic bid for governor on Sunday, touting a campaign aimed at representing all Texans and listing a broad range of topics she plans to address as election … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jason Westin

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Today we kick off interview season for the 2018 Democratic primaries. There are a lot of races and a lot of candidates, and I will bring you as many as I can. This week is all about CD07, with seven … Continue reading →

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