Tag Archives: Congress

Rep. Martinez-Fischer sues over CD35

One more federal redistricting lawsuit to add to the pile. Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer filed a lawsuit today challenging boundaries of the recently redrawn U.S. House District 35. In the lawsuit, Fischer claims that the redrawn map violates … Continue reading

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Filing update: More candidates than you can count

This headline and first paragraph are short by a couple of candidates. A dozen potential challengers to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo were among the scores who filed ahead of Monday’s deadline to run for county offices next year. […] … Continue reading

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Filing update: Not that Rick Perry

I’m going to let this speak for itself. Rick Perry is running for governor — but not that Rick Perry. The Republican Party of Texas updated its list of candidate filings Monday — hours before the deadline for the March … Continue reading

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The filings I’m still looking for

Today is Filing Deadline Day. By the end of today, we’ll know who is and isn’t running for what. While we wait for that, let’s review the filings that have not yet happened, to see what mysteries may remain. Congress: … Continue reading

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Filing update: We have an Ag Commissioner candidate

But before I can get to that and other news, I have to bring you this: A Fort Worth man is running for the State Board of Education as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Green Party member. Filing for a … Continue reading

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Justice Department sues Texas over redistricting maps

Add it to the queue. The Department of Justice is suing Texas over its new redistricting maps, alleging that lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and Black voters while redrawing the state’s political districts this year. The lawsuit, filed in federal … Continue reading

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Filing update: Judge Hidalgo makes it official

She has filed for re-election, in case you had thought there was some other possibility. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced her 2022 re-election campaign Friday afternoon as she filed paperwork at the Harris County Democratic Party headquarters. Although progress … Continue reading

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The Ike Dike is still a work in progress

I’ll be honest, I thought we were further along than this. Members of Texas’ congressional delegation are gearing up for a “marathon” effort to secure funding for a long-sought barrier to protect the Texas Gulf Coast from catastrophic storm surge. … Continue reading

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A brief filing update

Just a few observations as we head out of the holiday season and into what I expect will be the busier part of the filing period. I’m using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, the SOS candidate filing resource, and the candidate … Continue reading

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Cracking Asian-American communities

The Trib explores what the new Congressional maps did to Asian-American communities, mostly but not exclusively in the Houston area. When Texas lawmakers redrew congressional maps following the 2020 census, they split up Asian American populations in both Harris and … Continue reading

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Redistricting litigation update

Reform Austin shows that the state’s legal defense strategy against the various redistricting lawsuits is “You can’t sue us!” Because of the clear racial gerrymandering, multiple groups are launching legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act. The state has now … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: The new Congressional map

Previously: New State House map We will now take a look at how the districts of interest in the new Congressional map have changed over the past decade. Same basic idea, looking at the closer districts from 2020 to see … Continue reading

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Louie Gohmert will run for AG

I got nothing. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, announced Monday he is running for attorney general, challenging fellow Republican Ken Paxton, in the already crowded primary. “Texas I am officially running to be your next Attorney General and will enforce … Continue reading

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Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson to retire

The end of an era. Longtime U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, announced Saturday she is not running for reelection after serving nearly three decades in Congress. “I have gone back and forth … the whole time because of the … Continue reading

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ACLU and others sue over new redistricting maps

The count is now seven. Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging new Texas state legislative and congressional district plans as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders violating both the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The suit details an … Continue reading

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Michelle Beckley files for Lt. Governor

And now there are three. Democratic state Rep. Michelle Beckley of Carrollton, who gained national attention for joining lawmakers who fled to Washington, D.C., to block a Republican election bill this summer, is running for lieutenant governor, expanding her party’s … Continue reading

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Republicans want to get the I-45 project going again

We all want things. Seven Republican members of Congress from the Houston area are urging federal transportation officials to quickly wrap up a review of Texas’ planned Interstate 45 rebuild, arguing that much of the opposition to the project is … Continue reading

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Filing season is officially open

We wait all year for this. This Saturday marks the start of the battle for control in Texas politics, a key landmark for the upcoming 2022 elections. Democratic and Republican candidates will start filing for their candidacies for the March … Continue reading

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What the BIF means for Texas

That’s the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was passed last week. The White House estimates that Texas will receive about $35.44 billion over five years for roads, bridges, pipes, ports, broadband access and other projects after federal lawmakers passed a long-anticipated … Continue reading

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Sometimes, you really do have to hand it to Louie Gohmert

Of all the Louie Gohmerts in the world, he’s the Louie Gohmertiest. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, appears to be exploring a run for Texas attorney general, weighing a late entry into the already crowded primary to unseat GOP incumbent … Continue reading

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A redistricting lawsuit twofer from MALC

One federal, one state. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus in the Texas House has opened a second front in the legal war over the state’s new political maps. The caucus on Wednesday turned to the state courts to challenge the … Continue reading

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We have a third Dem candidate for AG

Welcome to the race, Rochelle Garza. Democrat Rochelle Garza, a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union from the Rio Grande Valley, is running for attorney general after redistricting complicated her campaign to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, … Continue reading

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Trump Train lawsuit update

San Marcos Police Department, wyd? As supporters of then-President Donald Trump surrounded and harassed a Joe Biden campaign bus on a Central Texas highway last year, San Marcos police officials and 911 dispatchers fielded multiple requests for assistance from Democratic … Continue reading

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A brief update on the Gutierrez/Eckhardt redistricting lawsuit

First news we’ve had in awhile. Plaintiff: Democratic state Sens. Roland Gutierrez and Sarah Eckhardt What the lawsuit argues: Ahead of lawmakers’ third special session, two Democratic state senators sued to block the Legislature from redistricting in a special session … Continue reading

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Redistricting lawsuit #2 filed

This one focuses on just the Congressional map. An organization affiliated with Eric Holder, who was attorney general in the Obama administration, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s GOP-drawn redistricting map for Congress on behalf of … Continue reading

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Rep. Vicente Gonzalez to switch to CD34

And in doing so, he’s probably going to make it harder to hold onto CD15, the swingiest district in the state (as far as we can tell from 2020 data). U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, announced Tuesday he is running … Continue reading

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The new maps are now official

Expect further lawsuits to follow. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday approved Texas’ new political maps for the state’s congressional, legislative and State Board of Education districts, according to Texas Legislature Online. The maps were drawn to keep Texas Republicans in … Continue reading

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October 2021 campaign finance reports: Congress

Another three months have passed, and so we review the Congressional finance reports again. I fear these reports are about to get a lot more boring post-redistricting, but for now we will plow onward. The July 2021 reports are here, … Continue reading

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I think we are going to have a regular March primary

This happened in the second special session, after the Dems came back from Washington DC. Senate Bill 13, from Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston), has been sent to Governor Greg Abbott after being approved by the House and Senate this week. … Continue reading

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Comings and goings

Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in a new district again. Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has decided to run for reelection in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, opting to vie for one of Texas’ two new congressional districts — a … Continue reading

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Congressional map passes

And so the work is done. The lawyers are warming up their engines as we speak. The Texas Legislature has signed off on new congressional districts that shore up the GOP’s dominance and yield little ground to the people of … Continue reading

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First lawsuit filed against the redistricting maps

Why wait? We already know they suck. Before they’ve even been signed into law, Texas’ new maps for Congress and the statehouse are being challenged in court for allegedly discriminating against Latino voters. Filing the first federal lawsuit Monday in … Continue reading

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Down to the wire for Congressional redistricting

Time is running out in this session. Of course, there’s always the next session shudder. A redraw of the state’s congressional map to include a decade of population growth could be headed to last-minute backdoor negotiations after the Texas House … Continue reading

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The Lege is now 3/4 done with redistricting

All but the Congressional maps are done. They’re just plowing through it. The Texas Legislature is nearing the end of its work to incorporate a decade’s worth of population growth into new political maps — pressing forward with efforts to … Continue reading

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