Tag Archives: President

DCCC says it will aim for three Texas Congressional seats

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what this means in practice. The House Democratic campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, announced Monday morning that the party intends to target two longtime GOP incumbents that, until recently, have long been considered locks for re-election: … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Dallas County Presidential numbers

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

News flash: Hillary Clinton won every Dallas County State Rep district. See for yourself: Dist Trump Clinton Johnson Stein ======================================== CD32 117,758 127,824 5,751 1,056 HD100 8,405 33,647 647 217 HD102 24,768 30,291 1,312 287 HD103 8,710 28,689 683 205 … Continue reading →

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Marching

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

In Austin. Up to 50,000 activists swarmed the Capitol grounds on Saturday to fight for women’s rights on the heels of Trump’s inauguration. The high-spirited crowd joined more than a million protesters nationwide. The Austin march was so large that … Continue reading →

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“Nixon in China” returns to HGO

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is very cool. It’s been three decades since the Houston Grand Opera presented John Adams’ “Nixon in China,” the company’s beloved world premiere that changed not only how modern political operas were viewed but signified an audacious move by … Continue reading →

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The coming legislative border battle

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. House Republicans on Wednesday said they aren’t backing away from recent efforts to secure the southern border despite an incoming president who made beefed-up immigration enforcement a hallmark of his campaign. And as a final admonishment … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Texas Congressional districts

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Daily Kos: Texas’s GOP-drawn congressional map was designed to create 24 safely red seats and 11 safely Democratic districts, with only the 23rd District in the western part of the state being truly competitive. In 2012, Mitt Romney carried … Continue reading →

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Feds officially file appeal in transgender bathroom directive lawsuit

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This may be the last stop. With two weeks left, the Obama administration has asked a federal appeals court to throw out a lower court’s decision that suspended policies designed to protect transgender people’s access to restrooms — a sign … Continue reading →

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The other “faithless elector” speaks up

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Bill Greene, political science professor at South Texas College, and the other Texas member of the Electoral College who did not cast a vote for Dear Leader Trump. Greene, who has kept a low profile since the vote, explained … Continue reading →

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The Trib looks at Fort Bend’s Democratic trend

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s worth noting. Despite long being considered a Republican county, Fort Bend went blue on Nov. 8 when Hillary Clinton won the county with an almost seven-point margin of victory. It wasn’t just an electoral flip — it was a … Continue reading →

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Rep. Sam Johnson to retire

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One of Texas’ longest-serving members of Congress will call it quits next year. U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson announced Friday morning that he will not seek re-election to represent his Plano-based seat in Congress. Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran, made the … Continue reading →

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Chris Suprun’s eventful year in voting

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How weird is this? The self-described “voting addict” was an apparent casualty of the confusion amid legal wrangling over the state’s 2011 voter ID law. Now, [Texas Republican elector Chris] Suprun is calling for courts to clarify the rules once … Continue reading →

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So what happens to all those Texas lawsuits against the feds?

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It depends, but basically it’s up to the new Solicitor General, since he is the one defending the federal government’s actions. Since Paxton assumed office as AG in January 2015, Texas has sued the federal government more than a dozen … Continue reading →

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Another take on the potty drama

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey plunges in, and no I don’t regret that at all. Gov. Greg Abbott wants lawmakers to take a bathroom break, and you can’t blame him for trying to find relief. The next legislative session hasn’t even started and … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Brazoria County

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I had some time to spare, so I spent it with the canvass reports from Brazoria County. You know, like you do. Here’s what I was able to learn. Trump Clinton R Avg D Avg Weber Cole ======================================================= Votes 36,572 … Continue reading →

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Two “faithless electors”

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, Donald Trump got thirty-six of Texas’ 38 electoral votes. All but two of Texas’ 38 electors voted Monday to officially put Donald Trump in the White House, with one elector casting a ballot for Ohio Gov. John … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Don’t be mesmerized by the Clinton/Trump numbers

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the DMN: Donald Trump may have carried Texas and clinched the White House in November, but support for the Republican presidential nominee waned in parts of the Dallas area — news that, in a typical election year, could spell … Continue reading →

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Texas AFL-CIO wants to be the defendant in the overtime case

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Because they don’t trust the feds post-January 20 to do the job for them. “We’re not saying that the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice haven’t forcefully defended the regulations [so far], but as for whether that will … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend State Rep districts

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Following on from yesterday’s post, here’s a look at the vote in Fort Bend from the perspective of the State Rep districts. Office Rep Dem Rep % Dem % =============================================== President 35,005 31,558 52.59% 47.41% CJ, 1st CofA 40,047 28,336 … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit agrees to expedited appeal of overtime injunction

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news and bad news. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an expedited hearing for the Department of Labor in litigation over new overtime regulations. The Labor Department is seeking a hearing in its effort to … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend Commissioners Court precincts

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have not done Fort Bend precinct analyses in the past because I don’t get easily-worked-with CSV-format canvass reports from them after elections. However, it turns out that their election returns page for this year has a “Reports” button on … Continue reading →

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You can’t stop the faithless electors

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So says Carolyn Shapiro, associate professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she is co-director of the Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States. Earlier this week, in a New York Times op-ed, Texas presidential elector Chris … Continue reading →

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An awful lot of Texans could lose health insurance

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It sure will suck to be them. New public-health studies warn that hasty congressional action toward repealing the Affordable Care Act could have dire consequences for the poor and uninsured both in Texas and nationwide. The dismantlement of portions of … Continue reading →

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No faithless electors!

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Dan Patrick has had enough of this nonsense. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that a Texas Republican elector’s decision not to vote for Donald Trump may lead state legislators to pass a law requiring electors to support the winner … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: None of the above

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We have been told that this was a year where many people were unhappy with the two main choices they had for President. We looked at Presidential numbers in Harris County before, and now we’re going to look again, at … Continue reading →

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Another non-Trump elector

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if this is becoming a thing, but it is interesting. I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. Since the election, people have asked … Continue reading →

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California is the new Texas

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Or will be, as far as litigating against the federal government goes. Gov. Jerry Brown has tabbed Rep. Xavier Becerra to serve as California’s interim attorney general, selecting the Los Angeles Democrat to fill a vacancy opened by the imminent … Continue reading →

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The thing you need to know about the guy behind the “three million illegal votes” claim

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a known liar and grifter. When President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Sunday — without evidence — that “millions” of people voted illegally in the race for the White House, he invited a wrath of condemnation for again stoking doubts about … Continue reading →

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Trump’s toll roads

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Who wants more toll roads? Part of president-elect Donald Trump’s promise to create new jobs for Americans relies on a “deficit-neutral plan” to spend $1 trillion on public works projects, including hundreds of billions for roads and rail. But the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Ogg v Anderson

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Kim Ogg had the second highest vote total in Harris County this year. Let’s see how that looked at a more granular level. Dist Anderson Ogg Anderson% Ogg% ========================================== CD02 156,027 117,810 56.98% 43.02% CD07 135,065 118,837 53.20% 46.80% CD09 … Continue reading →

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Dropping out of Electoral College

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have some respect for this. A Texas Republican elector is resigning over the election of Donald Trump, saying he cannot “in good conscience” vote for the incoming president. The elector, Art Sisneros of Dayton, detailed his decision in a … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: District courts

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Today we will look at the Harris County-specific judicial races, by which I mean the district courts plus two County Court benches. I’m going to begin with something a little different, which is a look at the distribution of how … Continue reading →

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Two more lawsuit updates

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The ban on the transgender bathroom rule remains in place pending appeals. Continued lack of access in public schools to bathrooms matching transgender persons’ gender identity won’t cause them irreparable harm, a Texas federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Reed … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State courts

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We return to our tour of the precinct data with a look at the statewide judicial races. These tend to be interesting mostly as proxies for base partisan support, but there are variations that reflect qualities about the candidates. That’s … Continue reading →

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So now what for voter ID?

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to say how much prospects have changed now that Donald Trump gets to appoint the ninth Supreme Court justice, but it’s fair to say that thing haven’t improved for the plaintiffs. Five years ago, Texas passed one of … Continue reading →

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