Tag Archives: President

The Trump effect and the State Supreme Court

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib touches on a subject I addressed awhile ago. Three Republican members of the Texas Supreme Court running for re-election are facing Democratic challengers who say they may have a chance in the solid-red state with Donald Trump at … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day One: Hope you didn’t mind waiting on line

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of people were out there with you. After more than 18 months of intensive election coverage, early voting kicked off in Harris County on Monday with long lines at some polling locations. As polls closed at 6 p.m., more … Continue reading →

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UH Hobby School (Harris County only): Clinton 43, Trump 36

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

More polling locally. A new survey released Thursday by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Democratic challengers for county wide office rising sharply against Republican incumbents. It also showed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with a … Continue reading →

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The state of the polls

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just trying to get a handle on the numbers, with the idea of establishing some kind of guide for what to expect in the Presidential race in Texas. Bear with me. The RCP average for the two-way Trump/Clinton race … Continue reading →

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UH Hobby School: Trump 41, Clinton 38

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Damn! Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has one of his slimmest leads yet over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in Texas, 41 percent to 38 percent, according to a new poll among registered voters. Trump’s support falls within the survey’s margin … Continue reading →

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Clinton campaign to run ads in Texas

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s come to this. Hillary Clinton’ campaign is going on the air in solid-red Texas, a remarkable move by a Democratic presidential nominee as her Republican rival, Donald Trump, struggles across the country. Clinton is launching a one-week ad buy … Continue reading →

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Republicans remain concerned about their turnout in Texas

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Exhibit A: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is stepping up his travel for state Republicans amid concerns about GOP turnout in November. Cruz is set to attend a trio of events next week in North Texas aimed at getting out … Continue reading →

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Flipping Fort Bend

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

FiveThirtyEight projects a national insight down to the local level. In August, Nate Cohn of The New York Times put it well when he wrote: “The simple way to think about Mr. Trump’s strength is in terms of education among … Continue reading →

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WFAA/SurveyUSA: Trump 47, Clinton 43

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The margin keeps narrowing. After perhaps the most damaging week of his campaign, Donald Trump’s lead in Texas has slipped to four percentage points – within the margin of error – according to a new poll released Thursday night. The … Continue reading →

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Interview with David Cay Johnston

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This interview is a little different than the ones I usually present. Barbara Radnofsky got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago to say that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Cay Johnston was going to be in … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick doesn’t care about sexual assault

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Such a moral exemplar you are, Danno. Amid a wave of reports of women alleging Donald Trump kissed or groped them without their consent, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrickmaintained Thursday that the Republican presidential nominee has effectively pushed the issue behind … Continue reading →

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Record registration numbers for Harris County

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. As registration closed, Harris County’s voter roster had grown by more than 6 percent since 2014, the steepest increase in 16 years. More than 323,890 new names have been added, bringing the county voter roll to more than 2.2 … Continue reading →

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The Trump dilemma

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’d almost feel pity for them, if they hadn’t brought this on themselves. Leading GOP elected officials — including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn — condemned the words but continued … Continue reading →

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KTVT/Dixie Strategies: Trump 45, Clinton 38

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is post-debate but pre-“grab her by the pussy”. In a state where it is generally accepted that a GOP nominee is almost guaranteed a win in a presidential election, real estate mogul and presidential nominee Donald Trump has “under-performed” … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of judicial races

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In case anyone is paying attention to them. As Harris County goes, so go most of its judicial races. That truism appears to be good news for Democrats seeking to scoop up more district court benches in November, when two … Continue reading →

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“Grab her by the p—-“

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Donald Trump, ladies and gentlemen: Donald Trump bragged in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation caught on a hot microphone, saying that “when you’re a star, they let you do … Continue reading →

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YouGov: Trump 50.1, Clinton 41.5

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So says the YouGov Election Model for Texas. Here is how that works. The raw data for our analysis is a rolling sample of over 30,000 respondents to YouGov’s polling over the past two weeks, updated with around 3,000 new … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Who stands with Trump?

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly wonders if any Texas newspaper will endorse Donald Trump. Between the three newspapers with the largest circulations in Texas—the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the San Antonio Express-News—there have been exactly two endorsements of a Democratic presidential nominee in the … Continue reading →

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Registration versus turnout

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey throws a bit of cold water on the surge in voter registrations. Turnout isn’t nearly as volatile as registration. Over the past 10 presidential elections in Texas, the percentage of Texas adults registered to vote has gone as … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of SBOE races

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are a few races of interest, though the usual bet is that nothing unusual will happen. Dakota Carter, a Democrat and underdog in District 6, said he got “fired up” to run for the board because he is tired … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three State House races

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly the only State Rep race endorsements we’ll get, depending on how much the Chron cares about the less-competitive races. House District 23: Lloyd Criss We endorse Lloyd Criss, a Democrat whom Texas Monthly rated as an outstanding freshman legislator … Continue reading →

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More DNC presence in Texas

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it, even if I’m not really sure what it means. The Democratic National Committee is expanding its presence in Texas as polls continue to show a closer-than-usual presidential race in the solidly red state. Texas is set … Continue reading →

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More on Republican turnout concerns

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a thing that is happening, though it’s hard to say to what extent. On Monday, one of the most prominent Republicans in Texas has a warning for supporters that Texas could go blue this election. Governor Greg Abbott is … Continue reading →

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Clean Power Plan’s day in the DC court

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes. Dozens of lawyers from the government, industry and public interest groups packed the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, to hear the divisive case that comes just weeks before a heated presidential election … Continue reading →

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Voter registration way up statewide

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a lot. Nearly 15 million people are now registered to vote in Texas, a state record. Texas currently has more than 14.8 million voters registered — over 1 million more than were registered in the 2012 presidential election, according … Continue reading →

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Back to court for the Clean Power Plan

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. One of the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s final acts on Earth may have been to doom it. Last February, on the final Tuesday of Scalia’s life, the Supreme Court handed down a 5–4 decision suspending the Obama … Continue reading →

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McMullin will “appear” on the ballot

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

To the extent that a write-in candidate “appears” on the ballot, anyway. Texas voters will be able to vote for former CIA operative Evan McMullin for president in November. The Texas secretary of state’s office on Friday certified McMullin, who … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Let your conscience be your guide

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That Ted Cruz sure does stay firm to his principles, doesn’t he? U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz endorsed Donald Trump on Friday after months of withholding his support from the Republican presidential nominee who defeated him in the primaries. “After many … Continue reading →

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UH Hobby School (Harris County only): Clinton 43, Trump 34

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have many thoughts about this. Between September 1 and September 20, 2016, the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs conducted a telephone survey of 550 Harris County registered voters as part of a larger Hobby School study … Continue reading →

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Two more Clinton campaign offices opened in Texas

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In Austin: The Democratic National Committee opened its Austin headquarters on Sunday. The move comes amid a surprisingly narrowing gap (given the longtime deep-red status of the state) between Clinton and her GOP rival, Donald Trump, for the presidency. The … Continue reading →

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Lyceum: Trump 39, Clinton 32

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Texas Lyceum, another single-digit poll result. If the U.S. presidential election were held today, ballot tests show a tighter race at the top of the ticket in deep red Texas than recent history would suggest, according to independent … Continue reading →

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ECPS: Trump 42, Clinton 36

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another state poll result to add to the list. A new Emerson College poll in Texas, which has long been a Republican stronghold, shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by only 6 points (42% to 36%), with 10% of respondents … Continue reading →

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The local and state party perspective

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is the flip side of yesterday’s story about the national Democratic campaign opening an office in Houston. As long-beleaguered Texas Democrats look toward November, they see opportunity in the fallout from Trump’s rhetoric targeting Latinos and women. Surveys have … Continue reading →

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More on the ground game here

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A few days ago I wrote about the opening of a national Democratic campaign office here in Harris County. I had the opportunity to pose a few questions to the campaign over the weekend about this office and their larger … Continue reading →

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