Tag Archives: Congress

Trib overview of CD24

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The focus of this story is mostly on Democrat Candace Valenzuela, as it should be. She experienced homelessness at a young age. She worked several odd jobs throughout high school and college to make ends meet. A high school car … Continue reading →

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Is the GOP punting CD07?

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s one possible interpretation of this, though probably not the most likely. The National Republican Congressional Committee has canceled about $2 million worth of advertising it had reserved for campaigning in the Houston television market, according to several Democratic and … Continue reading →

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Bar owners still mad at Abbott

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t blame them, but the situation is complicated. As Gov. Greg Abbott outlined his latest reopening plan this week, bar owner Greg Barrineau watched in disbelief. Abbott, who announced that Texas restaurants could expand dine-in service to 75% capacity, said … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rashad Lewis

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Moving closer to my home base but staying in mostly rural territory, we visit CD36 where Rashad Lewis is running on the Democratic ticket. Lewis is a former city council member in Jasper, where he won as a write-in candidate … Continue reading →

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Interview with Hank Gilbert

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I will have a few interviews to present for the November election. Nearly all of the people I wanted to talk to in the greater Houston area were in contested primaries, and thus I have already interviewed them, but there … Continue reading →

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A matter of timing

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the stated reason why SCOTX overturned the earlier decision that booted three Green Party candidates off the ballot. The Texas Supreme Court in a new opinion Friday explained its decision to reinstate to the November ballot Green Party candidates … Continue reading →

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CD03 poll: Taylor 44, Seikaly 43

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Nate Cohn: If there’s any single competitive district you could look at on Election Night to know whether Texas went blue, this might be the pick — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) 8:47 AM – 17 September 2020 All we get … Continue reading →

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Matt Glazer: To see boon, clean energy needs Congress

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: The following is a guest post that was submitted to me. I occasionally solicit guest posts, and also occasionally accept them from people I trust.) I’m a bit of an Austin-area expert when it comes to weird homes. So, … Continue reading →

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The Green Party owes Ken Paxton a thank-you note

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He did them a solid, that’s for sure. In the legal fight to exclude minor party candidates from the November ballot, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton took a flexible view of time and deadlines. After the Texas GOP filed suit … Continue reading →

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CD25: Williams 45, Oliver 43

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Congressional polls, they keep coming. Progressive Democratic candidate Julie Oliver is in a close race with her GOP incumbent opponent Rep. Roger Williams, a new internal poll finds. The poll of 400 likely voters by EMC Research shows Oliver … Continue reading →

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SCOTX puts Greens back on the ballot

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is my head spinning. The Texas Supreme Court has ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them. Last month, a state appeals court sided with the … Continue reading →

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The case for voting in person

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Wired, an argument for worrying less about voting by mail because voting in person is still a fine way to do it. Casting a ballot in person, it turns out, isn’t so dangerous after all. Early in the pandemic, … Continue reading →

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CD31 poll: Carter 43, Imam 37

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another interesting Congressional race poll. With less than two months to go until Election Day, an increasing number of eyes are looking toward Texas, where Republicans are fighting to keep their grip on the once-reliably conservative state. There is perhaps … Continue reading →

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CD21 poll: Davis 48, Roy 47

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Second poll in this district. Between August 31 and September 4, Garin-Hart-Yang interviewed a representative sample of 401 likely general election voters in Texas-21st CD. The survey, which was conducted on both landlines and cell phones, was fully representative of … Continue reading →

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No, seriously, what are we going to do to prepare for the next Hurricane Laura?

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, the next one is coming whether we’re ready or not. We just don’t know when it will be here. Though the storm ultimately tracked east, sparing Houston, the problem remains: The region is disastrously unready to handle any … Continue reading →

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Census shenanigans halted for now

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. [On] Saturday, US District Judge Lucy Koh issued a temporary restraining order to stop Census Bureau officials from winding down door-knocking and online, phone, and mail response collection by September 30—a month early—writing that the shortened census timeline could … Continue reading →

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Wait, there’s a Census going on?

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I smack my forehead so hard. Through a small notice tucked into the state’s business register, Texas appears to have acknowledged that the 2020 census count is going badly. With just a month of counting to go in the crucial … Continue reading →

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Why endorse Sarah Davis?

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good question. Planned Parenthood’s Texas political arm on Thursday endorsed state Rep. Sarah Davis, rebuffing abortion rights activists who had lobbied the group to deny political support for the Houston Republican. The efforts to deny Davis the endorsement … Continue reading →

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CD17 poll: Sessions 45, Kennedy 42

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another mind-blowing poll result, in a district that no one has seen as competitive. In a district where 56 percent of voters supported President Donald Trump in 2016, Democratic congressional candidate Rick Kennedy is in a strong position to challenge … Continue reading →

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Six file in SD30

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One of these folks will be a State Senator. The most prominent contenders for the solidly red seat are state Rep. Drew Springer of Muenster and fellow Republican Shelley Luther,the Dallas salon owner who was jailed earlier this year over her … Continue reading →

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DCCC expands the field in Texas again

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is as wide as it goes. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding three more districts to its Texas target list, expanding an already ambitious battlefield in the state. The new targets of the House Democratic campaign arm are … Continue reading →

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Just build the effing Ike Dike already

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Enough waiting around. As twin hurricanes converge on the Gulf Coast this week, including one with a decent chance of affecting the Houston-Galveston region, a highly ambitious proposal for protecting the area from a massive storm continues to slowly grind … Continue reading →

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Republicans try and fail to remove Libertarian candidates from the ballot

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Patrick Svitek: . Texas appeals court rejects last-minute lawsuits by @NRCC, @TravisGOP to kick Libertarian candidates off November ballot for not paying filing fees: http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=fee8c1fc-f70a-4d57-baf0-5775ccdea786&coa=coa03&DT=Opinion&MediaID=9242cd19-73c0-441c-bc1f-786be9ec000f — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) 12:00 AM – 26 August 2020 The Third Court of … Continue reading →

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The state of the Democratic bench

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s deeper now, and it could keep getting deeper after this year. The speaking turns may have been brief and the spotlight not as bright, but Texas Democrats got a glimpse at their national convention this week of their emerging … Continue reading →

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Special election set for SD30

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t wait till November, apparently. Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday announced the special election to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, will be Sept. 29, setting off a sped-up race to fill his seat ahead of the next legislative session … Continue reading →

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Weekend voting litigation news

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have two news items about voting-related lawsuits. Both of these come via the Daily Kos Voting Rights Roundup, which has been increasingly valuable to me lately, given the sheer number of such lawsuits and the fact that some news … Continue reading →

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As goes Tarrant, 2020 edition

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, old friend. Shortly after Democrat Beto O’Rourke launched his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, he made several visits to Tarrant County in North Texas to press the message that if he could flip this county, … Continue reading →

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Recount ends in CD23

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans finally have a candidate to defend their most vulnerable Congressional seat in Texas. The recount of the Republican primary runoff for the national battleground seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, has reached an end, and Tony … Continue reading →

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Further thoughts on the Dems defenestrating the Green candidates

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But first, the Chron story about yesterday’s legal action. An appellate court on Wednesday blocked three Green Party candidates from the November ballot because they failed to pay candidate filing fees. The candidates are David Collins, who was running for … Continue reading →

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More challenges to Green Party candidates

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Patrick Svitek: . @ChrystaForTexas, @wendydavis sue to remove their Green Party opponents from the ballot, saying they didn’t pay filing fees on time: http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=6f9426d1-7b86-4718-b99a-8356e5d806a6&coa=coa03&DT=Brief&MediaID=297d5426-ee45-4039-8bfc-dc8891686f76 The Green Party candidate in Davis’ race is @Wakely2020, who was the 2016 Democratic nominee … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed to restore original Census deadline

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Citing the high stakes of a botched census, Harris County and two of its Democratic county commissioners have signed on to a federal lawsuit trying to block the Trump administration’s efforts to end counting for the 2020 census a … Continue reading →

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Postal service update

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, destroying the US Postal Service has real effects on real people. Delays in mail sorting and processing are leaving Houston-area businesses, brides and voters wary of the coming months. Whether it’s essential medication, ballots or important letters … Continue reading →

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Despite it all, voter registration keeps increasing

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You love to see it. Not even the worst pandemic to hit Texas in a century was enough to stem the surge in voter registrations that has remade the state’s electorate over the past four years. Just since March, Texas … Continue reading →

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More on mail ballots

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a second story from the Trib on the attempted destruction of the Postal Service in the name of vote suppression by Donald Trump. “I think the goal of Donald Trump’s comments are to destabilize faith in voting systems and … Continue reading →

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