Monthly Archives: February 2026

Final 2026 early voting report: That was something

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday, the last day for early voting, was huge: Over 77K votes cast, with 51K of them being on the Democratic side. I didn’t get the report until almost midnight last night, and so didn’t finish this post until this … Continue reading →

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Appeals court denies Paxton’s attempt to block Harris County Immigrant Legal Services Fund

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Another L for our boy Kenny. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals on Tuesday struck down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to halt Harris County’s legal fund to defend undocumented immigrants in court. While the letter appears to be a legal win for … Continue reading →

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Two polls favorable to Talarico

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

After I published Thursday’s post about the February UT/Texas Politics Project poll that showed Rep. Jasmine Crockett leading Rep. James Talarico by a 56-44 margin in the Democratic primary for US Senate, I got a comment on Facebook saying a … Continue reading →

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2026 primary early voting Day Ten: One more day to go

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

One more time from Derek Ryan. Turnout Comparison Based on the data I have, here is where things stand through Wednesday: -856,191 people have voted in the Republican Primary (4.6% of all registered voters). The Secretary of State is reporting … Continue reading →

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Camp Mystic parents sue Texas over the lack of evacuation plans at the camp

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Texas health officials failed to follow state law when they licensed Camp Mystic without making sure it had an evacuation plan, parents of nine children and counselors who died in the July 4 flood allege in a new … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to (maybe) study eliminating some bus fares

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest, at least to me. San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is asking VIA Metropolitan Transit to map out how the agency would test free bus rides on its busiest routes, a move supporters say could ease transportation burdens … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project: Crockett 56, Talarico 44

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Adding it to the poll pile. Dallas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has a double-digit lead over Austin state Rep. James Talarico in the final days of Texas’ Senate Democratic primary, according to a new poll released Wednesday. In the survey, … Continue reading →

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The TEA falls into a familiar pattern

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We feel your pain, Fort Worth ISD. Nearly 300 people want a seat on the Texas-appointed board replacing FWISD’s nine locally elected trustees, but none of their names are publicly known. The Fort Worth Report requested the list of applicants … Continue reading →

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2026 primary early voting Day Nine: Keep on keeping on

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another Derek Ryan update. Turnout Comparison Based on the data I have, here is where things stand: -747,153 people have voted in the Republican Primary (4.0% of all registered voters). -865,385 people have voted in the Democratic Primary (4.6% … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 23

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance urges everyone to vote in the 2026 primary as it brings you this week’s roundup. Off the Kuff rounded up all his interviews and Q&As for the primary cycle, including the late-breaking interview with Rep. Sylvia … Continue reading →

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2026 primary early voting Day Eight: Beyond the point of comparison

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We are eight days into early voting, past both of the Mondays that made daily comparisons to past elections a challenge, and you know what? It doesn’t matter anymore, because the early vote total in Harris County so far is … Continue reading →

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Waymo arrives in Houston

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

As anticipated, and for a select group for now. Some riders can start boarding Waymo self-driving cars in Houston and two other Texas cities Tuesday, marking the latest launch for the nationwide fleet of robotaxis. The driverless vehicles debuted in … Continue reading →

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More on the Tony Gonzales scandal

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good Lord, this is ugly. Just after midnight on May 9, 2024, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales begged an employee, Regina Santos-Aviles, to send him a “sexy pic.” When she pushed back, saying the conversation had gone too far, the married … Continue reading →

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More deep dives on primary data

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From Levi Asher: Everyone is talking about the massive early voting numbers in the Texas Democratic primary. Through Day 5, Harris County has already seen 76,555 Democratic ballots cast, more than double where we were at this point in 2024. … Continue reading →

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Another DEI ban knocked down

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, I say good. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday to block three Texas school districts, including Katy and Houston, from enforcing a new state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public schools. The law, Senate Bill … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Lousiana’s Ten Commandments law to go into effect

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not great, but not the end of the line. A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to take effect. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Ruben Ray Martinez

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Remember his name. Three months into President Donald Trump’s mass deportation undertaking, an ICE officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen in South Padre Island, long before immigration agents killed another American in Minnesota that prompted outrage across the nation, … Continue reading →

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Colorado takes up the mid-decade redistricting challenge

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This one’s a little different, but the concept is the same. A new Democratic-backed group unexpectedly announced on Wednesday that it would seek to place a measure on the November ballot asking voters to temporarily adopt a new congressional map in response to … Continue reading →

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The best-laid plans to hand-count ballots often go awry

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, Gillespie County. You rascals, you. Gillespie County Republicans have scrapped plans to hand count all of their 2026 primary ballots after failing to recruit enough workers — at least for early voting. The lack of manpower prompted party officials … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 22

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

“The era of “Dark Woke” is upon us.” “But beyond lowering prices, an affordability agenda needs to reckon with how the economy feels. Nominal price levels certainly matter, but they are compounded by the proliferation of corporate rent-seeking that makes … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the EV data so far

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Derek Ryan is back with his analysis of the three-day EV numbers. Through the first three days of early voting (Tues – Thurs), I have been able to identify 303,095 people who have voted in the Republican Primary (1.6% turnout) … Continue reading →

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A useful guide to spotting AI images

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff from the Trib. Misinformation and disinformation are especially common during election times, and the spread of AI-created content — such as the AI-generated video of Jasmine Crockett and John Cornyn dancing — has only made it harder to discern fact … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s attempt to block Bexar County Immigrant Legal Services Fund denied

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Different county, same result. A Bexar County district judge on Friday ruled that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton does not have the legal authority to sue Bexar County over its immigration legal services fund, blocking the state’s attempt to halt … Continue reading →

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Hearing held on Maria Rojas’ injunction appeal

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping a close eye on this. Attorneys for Maria Rojas, the Texas midwife accused of providing illegal abortions, asked an appeals court to reverse a temporary injunction that prevents her from practicing medicine while her landmark case moves through the … Continue reading →

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The TDP coordinated statewide campaign

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Works for me. A coalition of the biggest Democratic groups in Texas on Tuesday unveiled a new effort to pool their resources to help candidates with overhead costs that can devour campaign coffers, build a data hub to analyze stats … Continue reading →

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The race and poverty factor in school district takeovers

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

A deep dive by the Trib. The Texas Education Agency last year launched plans to take over four school districts due to low academic performance, confiscating decision-making power from elected leaders based on state-issued F grades at six campuses. All … Continue reading →

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The Tony Gonzales scandal

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a headline I did not expect to see: “Rep. Tony Gonzales accuses dead staffer’s husband of trying to blackmail him amid affair scandal”. Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio on Thursday claimed he was being blackmailed by … Continue reading →

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HISD parents upset about sudden school closure announcement

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t blame ’em. As Houston ISD families returned to school Tuesday after the holiday weekend, many said they were shocked by the district’s plan to close or consolidate 12 campuses next year. Some rallied, and many demanded answers, especially about … Continue reading →

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2026 primary early voting Day Three: With additional miscellany

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start with the numbers and then go on to the items of interest. Here are the final daily EV reports for the 2022 and 2018 primaries. Here’s the Day Three EV report, and here are the numbers: Year Mail … Continue reading →

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An erratic look at Day One turnout in a few counties

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’d love to give you a full-ish look at Day One primary turnout around the state, but that data is harder to find than you might think. The current SOS interface for this is clunky and incomplete. You can be … Continue reading →

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UH/Hobby poll: Parker 46, Plummer 25

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to take the easy way out on this one and just point you to the source. In the Democratic primary for the position of County Judge of Harris County, Annise Parker leads Letitia Plummer among likely voters by … Continue reading →

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On data centers and the resistance to them

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Noting this for the record. From Amarillo to Waco, College Station to Harlingen, Texans are raising concerns over the proliferation of data centers — and the tremendous amounts of water and energy they are poised to suck up. Seemingly overnight, … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 16

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people of Minnesota as it brings you this week’s roundup. Off the Kuff interviewed three Congressional candidates: Todd Ivey in CD09, Jarvis Johnson in CD29, and Justin Early in CD31. SocraticGadfly offered up … Continue reading →

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2026 primary early voting Day One: And we’re off

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, we are voting for the 2026 primaries. I will do my thing with the numbers as we go. Let’s recap where we are and what we’re doing. Here are the final daily EV reports for the 2022 … Continue reading →

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