Tag Archives: Congress

The economic hardship of the freeze

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We may have power and water again (mostly), but some things that were lost can’t easily be gotten back. Last Tuesday, as Houston temperatures hovered below freezing for much of the day, Gloria Sanchez’s lights — and heat — cut … Continue reading →

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May 1 special election date set for CD06

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Gov. Greg Abbott has selected May 1 as the date for the special election to succeed late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington. Wright died earlier this month after a yearslong struggle with cancer and testing positive for … Continue reading →

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Susan Wright appears ready to run in CD06

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

She’d likely make a strong candidate. Susan Wright, the wife of the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington, is getting close to launching a campaign for his seat and could announce her bid as soon as this week, according to … Continue reading →

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Jana Sachez will run in CD06

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We are now getting some candidate announcements for this forthcoming special election. A Democrat who previously ran for Texas’ 6th Congressional District is again running for the North Texas seat. Jana Lynne Sanchez on Tuesday announced her bid for the … Continue reading →

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Are people leaving the Republican Party?

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some people are, in at least some states, if you go by voter registration data. In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the phone lines and websites of local election officials across the country were jumping: … Continue reading →

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We’re not going to be able to have our primaries in March

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the obvious conclusion from this. Texas lawmakers will almost certainly be back for a rare special legislative session in the fall now that the U.S. Census Bureau has set a September deadline for releasing the 2020 census results. Facing … Continue reading →

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A few names begin to emerge for CD06

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Daily Kos Elections: A special election will take place later this year to succeed Republican Rep. Ron Wright, who died Sunday after contracting COVID-19, and a few names have already surfaced in both parties as possible special election candidates. … Continue reading →

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Republicans have their own Congressional targets for 2022

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Fresh off a 2020 election cycle in which they held the line against an ambitious Democratic campaign to capture U.S. House seats in Texas, national Republicans are signaling they’ll go on the … Continue reading →

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RIP, Rep. Ron Wright

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Condolences to his friends and family. U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, an Arlington Republican, has died. His campaign staff announced the news Monday. Wright had lived for years with cancer and was diagnosed with COVID-19 in January. He was 67. “His … Continue reading →

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How Greg Abbott wants to restrict voting

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More from that Trib story following the State of the State address. As part of his State of the State speech, Abbott designated five emergency items, or items that lawmakers can vote on within the first 60 days of session. … Continue reading →

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Getting the kids caught up at school

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be a big job, and hopefully we can do it in earnest beginning in August. With students finally settling into a pandemic-altered routine and widespread vaccine access on the horizon, Texas education leaders are turning to their next great … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend County, part 1

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE I’ve … Continue reading →

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It’ll be awhile before redistricting happens

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re waiting on Census data. The U.S. Census Bureau has again pushed back the release of the 2020 census results — a delay that will almost certainly force Texas lawmakers into legislative overtime this summer to redraw the state’s political … Continue reading →

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Just raise the minimum wage already

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s long overdue, it’s going to help a lot of people, and it’s just the right thing to do. More than a quarter of the Texas workforce — 3.5 million employees — would get a raise if Democrats succeed in … Continue reading →

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A few words from Rep. Filemon Vela

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Worth your consideration. U.S. Rep. Filemón Vela sees his new leadership role in the Democrats’ national campaign arm as being “the voice of caution, reason and taking the middle ground” as the party seeks to hold power through the 2022 … Continue reading →

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The “Resign, Ted” caucus

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not going to get what they’re asking for, but they can still get something. More than 70 Texas organizations are calling for the resignations of Sen. Ted Cruz, Attorney General Ken Paxton and the 16 Texas representatives who voted … Continue reading →

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Of course some anti-vaxx groups got PPP funds

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Completely on brand. Texas-based anti-vaccine organization Informed Consent Action Network was among five anti-vaccine groups that collectively received more than $850,000 in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Washington Post reported Monday. The organization received $166,000 in May 2020, … Continue reading →

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If we finally get immigration reform…

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It would have a big effect in Texas, for obvious reasons. Just after being sworn in on Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden plans to propose a major immigration overhaul that would offer a pathway to citizenship to up to 1.7 million … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

A brief summary of what the next two years will be like

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What will Republicans do without Trump? “The Republican Party is at a crossroads like it’s never been before, and it’s gonna have to decide who it is,” said Corbin Casteel, a Texas GOP operative who was Trump’s Texas state director … Continue reading →

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Census apportionment shenanigans to be officially curtailed

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As it should be. The Trump administration’s protracted efforts to keep some immigrants from being counted when congressional seats are divvied up after the 2020 census ended with the former president’s departure from the White House, but President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading →

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If we’re lucky, Congress will short circuit the Lege’s attempts to curtail voting

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That would be nice. Elections have consequences. So does the Republican enabling of the worst, most corrupt chief executive in the nation’s history. Hence, the first piece of legislation to be introduced in the new Democratic Senate will be S. 1, The for the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Presidential results by Congressional district

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Daily Kos Elections, the breakdown of how Presidential voting went in each of Texas’ 36 Congressional districts: Two districts did in fact flip on the presidential level: Trump lost the 24th District in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs while recapturing … Continue reading →

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How bad will the attack on voting be this session?

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to say, but there’s no reason to be particularly optimistic. As the country’s political polarization reaches a boiling point — illustrated vividly Wednesday by the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president who believed his … Continue reading →

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Assistance for renters coming

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but of course much more is needed. Houston officials expect to get up to $70 million in federal stimulus funds to help renters in the city make their monthly payments and use toward other housing expenses. The $900 billion … Continue reading →

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Impeach him again

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is Donald Trump’s fault. All of it, though he did have plenty of assistance. Impeach him again, convict him this time, and then arrest him on the way out the door. There had been a call for censure before … Continue reading →

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One last (?) pointless gesture

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because true desperation never dies, I guess. Rep. Lance Gooden of Terrell is one of the latest members of Congress to say he is going to object to the Electoral College certification on Jan. 6. Now, he says he just … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Appellate courts, part 2

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Here’s the more traditional look at the Court of Appeals races. Unlike the Supreme Court and CCA, all of … Continue reading →

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Trump commutes Stockman sentence

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Crooks of a feather. President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday commuted the remaining prison sentence of former Republican Texas congressman Steve Stockman, who was sentenced to 10 years in 2018 after he was convicted of nearly two-dozen felonies, including fraud. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

We still need more than the vaccines

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The vaccines are great, don’t get me wrong, and they couldn’t have come at a better time, but they’re going to take awhile to be administered, and in the meantime a whole lot of people are still getting sick and … Continue reading →

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Here comes the vaccine

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Houston’s first doses have arrived. Months of waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Houston are almost — but not quite — over, as hospitals prepare to move the first doses from sealed subzero shipments and into the arms … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Congressional districts

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction All right, let’s get this party started. In the past I’ve generally done the top races by themselves, but any race involving Trump provides challenges, because his level of support just varies in comparison to other Republicans depending on … Continue reading →

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2020 precinct analysis: Introduction and overview

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So I finally got a full canvass of the 2020 election in a nice and convenient spreadsheet form. I spent a fair amount of the Thanksgiving week doing what I usually do with it, to generate totals for all of … Continue reading →

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The bar conundrum

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Halloween this year in downtown Austin was a raucous affair. Nightclubs advertised dancing and drink specials. Thousands of people crowded 6th Street, partying shoulder to shoulder, some with masks and some without. All of this happened as bars in … Continue reading →

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Even the White House thinks Texas sucks at COVID response

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean… The White House Coronavirus Task Force says Texas is in the swing of a “full resurgence” of COVID-19 and the state’s mitigation efforts “must intensify,” while Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders decline to take some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments