Tag Archives: President

Endorsement watch: A Libertarian moment

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron thinks outside the box in endorsing for the Railroad Commission. Our editorial board interviews scores of candidates for political office every election year, but seldom do we find ourselves wholeheartedly endorsing a nominee from the Libertarian Party. Then … Continue reading →

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The ground game in Texas

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks at the Trump campaign in Texas, such as it is. Just over two months before the November general election, Bryant typifies the Trump campaign in Texas, a mostly invisible but active network of supporters that Republican Party … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A Halley’s Coment event

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Every 75 years or so, the Dallas Morning News endorses a Democrat for President. This is one of those years. There is only one serious candidate on the presidential ballot in November. We recommend Hillary Clinton. We don’t come to … Continue reading →

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Washington Post: Clinton 46, Trump 45

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whoa. With nine weeks until Election Day, Donald Trump is within striking distance in the Upper Midwest, but Hillary Clinton’s strength in many battlegrounds and some traditional Republican strongholds gives her a big electoral college advantage, according to a 50-state … Continue reading →

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Independent candidate lawsuit update

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s already been a lawsuit filed by a wannabe independent candidate for President seeking to get on the ballot in Texas, but not by that guy you might have heard of. It’s still up in the air whether Evan McMullin, … Continue reading →

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We won’t have Robert Morrow to kick around any longer

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Valar morghulis, y’all. The brief, zany tenure of Travis County GOP Chairman Robert Morrow came to an end Friday, as party officials made clear the conspiracy theorist abandoned his post by running for president and he accepted their conclusion without … Continue reading →

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What can we do to increase the odds of a downballot Democratic victory?

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday, I raised the possibility of downballot Democrats winning statewide races if 1) polling in the Trump/Clinton matchup remained at or below the six point spread in the recent PPP poll and 2) Democrats did a better job voting all … Continue reading →

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It’s not crazy to think that a downballot Democrat could win statewide this year

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that headline in a minute. I’ve got some reading to sort through first. We’ll start with the most pessimistic, or perhaps the least blue-sky, story of how things are likely to go. Arizona. Georgia. Utah. Indiana. Is … Continue reading →

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Who watches the election watchers?

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong with this? In 2012, Greg Abbott caused a stir when he issued this warning to international election observers: Don’t set foot inside Texas polling places. Abbott, then the attorney general, was worried the Organization for … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Optimism for the future

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

WIRED does what it has never done before. For nearly a quarter of a century, this organization has championed a specific way of thinking about tomorrow. If it’s true, as the writer William Gibson once had it, that the future … Continue reading →

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Evan McMullin to sue for ballot access in Texas

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know, that guy who recently turned up as the latest NeverTrump dreamboat? He wants on the ballot in Texas. Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, an ex-CIA officer and congressional policy wonk who launched his campaign last week to offer … Continue reading →

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PPP: Trump 44, Clinton 38

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We knew this poll was coming, and it confirms what we have been seeing elsewhere. PPP’s new Texas poll finds a relatively tight race, at least on the curve of recent Presidential election results in the state. Donald Trump leads … Continue reading →

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Still considering the possibility that Hillary could win Texas

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Josh Barro looks at recent national poll numbers and contemplates the possibilities. If things get just a little bit worse for Trump nationally, he could start losing a lot of states we normally think of as very safe for Republicans … Continue reading →

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KTVT/Dixie Strategies poll: Trump 46, Clinton 35

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s poll #3 for Texas. Most national presidential polls have put Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in front of GOP nominee Donald Trump by as much as 15 percentage points. But the latest KTVT-CBS 11/Dixie Strategies Poll shows that the Lone … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: P for Trump

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Better to be P’ed off than P’ed on, as they say. Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who has not endorsed Donald Trump, is now asking Texas Republicans to support the party’s presidential nominee. Addressing state GOP activists Saturday, Bush said … Continue reading →

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Will Texas Republicans dislike Clinton as much as they dislike Obama?

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course they will. I mean, come on. Texas Democrats will miss Obama. But so too will Texas Republicans. Those three syllables — O-Bah-Mah — were all it took for Republicans to signal what they stood against. “There was an … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Not wasting any time

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle has seen enough. On Nov. 8, 2016, the American people will decide between two presidential contenders who represent the starkest political choice in living memory. They will choose between one candidate with vast experience and a lifelong dedication … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry still toadying for Trump

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Dude must really need a job. Former Gov. Rick Perry says he is open to serving in the administration of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his former rival in the race for the White House. “They know that I … Continue reading →

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Castro ruled to have violated the Hatch Act

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Julián Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development and rumored Democratic vice presidential prospect, violated a law prohibiting federal employees from politicking on the job when he commented on the presidential election in an April interview with Katie … Continue reading →

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Trump’s white voter problems

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Add another group to the long list of those who can’t stand Donald Trump. Wanda Melton has voted for every Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1980, but now the Georgia grandmother plans to cross over to support Democrat … Continue reading →

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Another view of Democratic goals for 2016

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds about right. Some Democrats say Clinton has a chance at winning a majority in Texas, where interest is heightened because U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro has been mentioned as a possible Clinton running mate. Castro said … Continue reading →

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Mixed signals on voter registration

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s mostly good news, but it could be better. While nonpartisan groups say funding is lagging to sign up Latinos to vote in the November election, voter registrations — likely fueled by Donald Trump’s salvos against people of Mexican heritage … Continue reading →

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Three polling-related observations

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the tough spot that Donald Trump is putting professional Latino Republicans in. I have no sympathy for any of them, of course, but what caught my eye in this article was this little nugget: “I’m not … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project poll: Trump 41, Clinton 33

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poll #2 is in the books. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump leads Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 8 percentage points in Texas, according to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll released Monday. Trump is ahead of Clinton 41 … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS punts on immigration order

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. ealing a major blow to President Obama’s controversial executive immigration order, the U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it had failed to produce a majority opinion on the policy — meaning that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ November … Continue reading →

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Castro back on as VP possibility

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro is on the shortlist of potential running mates for Hillary Clinton, and has been asked by her campaign to provide personal information, San Antonio Express-News … Continue reading →

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Our first general election poll of Texas

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In a poll released today and conducted June 13-14, 2016, Texas voters are specifically rejecting Donald Trump’s lies and the corruption of State GOP elected officials. While Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 7 points (36.8 % – … Continue reading →

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What should the goals for 2016 be for Texas Dems?

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Given that carrying the state is highly unlikely, what else is there to aim for this year? So will Democrats make a presidential play for Texas or not? Presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton stoked the issue last month by saying she … Continue reading →

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You support Trump, you own Trump

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is what I’m talking about. A group of Democratic state lawmakers from along the Texas-Mexico border is applying pressure to a bank whose CEO is helping raise money for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. In a letter … Continue reading →

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Abbott, Patrick, and Trump

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

William Saletan: Republicans who have sworn allegiance to Donald Trump—the majority leaders of the United States House and Senate, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and numerous governors and members of Congress—don’t think this country can return to the … Continue reading →

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The Florida-Trump U plot thickens

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Florida’s attorney general personally solicited a political contribution from Donald Trump around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates The new disclosure from Attorney General Pam Bondi’s spokesman … Continue reading →

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Rep. Filemon Vela has a few words for Donald Trump

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Well, all righty then. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela took a poison pen to the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, in an open letter Monday morning. “Mr. Trump, you’re a racist and you can take your border wall and shove … Continue reading →

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Hillary Clinton on the Trump effect in Texas

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton posed a wild notion in a new interview: She could carry Texas in the fall. In a newly published New York magazine interview with reporter Rebecca Traister, … Continue reading →

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Still no indies

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that no matter who or what may be the flavor of the month, the deadline for filing as an independent candidate for President in Texas was last month. If an independent presidential candidate wanted to get on … Continue reading →

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