Tag Archives: Election 2016

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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Chron overview of HD23

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We go to Galveston for one of the few interesting Legislative races in the area. A former Democratic state legislator is trying to recapture the Texas House District 23 seat from the first Republican to hold the office since Reconstruction. … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Robert Schaffer

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As … 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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Chron overview of HD134

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks at that perpetual swing district, HD134 Artful redistricting has squeezed the general election suspense from nearly all of Harris County’s legislative races, rendering most districts solidly red or blue. Democrat Ben Rose is hoping to prove his … Continue reading →

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Interview with Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Two-term Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan is currently the only countywide Democrat, though we hope he’ll have some company after November. An Army veteran and former City Council member, Ryan served under former County Attorney Mike Driscoll and maintains an … 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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Chron overview of Commissioners Court Precinct 3 race

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Lower profile, and less competitive, but still worth paying attention to. Steve Radack has built close to five dozen parks and spent millions of dollars expanding road and trail networks in 28 years as Harris County commissioner for Precinct 3. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: More courts

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a bunch of judicial race endorsements to make, beginning with the First and 14th Courts of Appeals. 1st Court of Appeals, Chief Justice: Sherry Radack Both Republican incumbent Sherry Radack and challenger Jim Peacock strongly agree that … 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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Three State Rep race overviews

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In the order of their publication, beginning with HD149: For more than a decade in Texas House District 149 – where Harris and Fort Bend counties meet – a growing, ethnically diverse voting population has done something rare for the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: More State Reps

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Part 2: State Representative, District 135: Jesse A. Ybanez Consider this an endorsement against Gary Elkins. The Republican incumbent has been in office for 22 years, and his greatest claim to fame is a consistent self-serving advocacy for payday lenders … 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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Statewide registrations top 15 million

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. Texas has a record-breaking 15 million people registered to vote ahead of the November election, the Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday. Texas has 15,015,700 voters registered according to a preliminary estimate — over 777,000 more than … 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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Endorsement watch: Back to the State House, part 1

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron ventures outside Houston to make some Legislative endorsements. State Representative, District 13: Cecil R. Webster As an engineer who worked in weapons testing and procurement, retired Col. Cecil R. Webster knows his way around a firearm. But decades … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Herb Ritchie

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As … 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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Interview with Jay Aiyer

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

On Monday, I published an interview with David Thompson, the general counsel for the HISD Board of Trustees, about the forthcoming recapture referendum. Thompson, who said in the interview that he would vote against the referendum, joins a long list … 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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Judicial Q&A: Judge Maria T. Jackson

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I ran a series of judicial Q&As for Democratic candidates in contested primaries earlier this year. I am now doing the same for the candidates who were unopposed in March, which includes most of the sitting incumbent judges. As … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Harris County Sheriff race

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a good look at the race for Sheriff. Policing Texas’ most populous county is just one item on a laundry list of challenges facing Harris County’s next sheriff. Voters next month will choose between the appointed Republican … Continue reading →

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HEB confirms interest in Heights location

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As rumored. Residents have seen and heard speculation and rumors for months, wondering what the fate would be regarding H-E-B’s potential Heights move. Well wait no more. After the rumor mill ran wild following the No-Dry Vote petition spearheaded by … Continue reading →

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Appeals Court judge Terry Jennings switches parties

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. It was just after presiding over a same-sex wedding, in January, that the formerly Republican Justice Terry Jennings, of the Texas First Court of Appeals, started thinking more seriously about changing his party affiliation. Jennings had been considering becoming … Continue reading →

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Interview with David Thompson

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You’re probably aware of the HISD referendum on the ballot this fall, which authorizes the Board of Trustees to pay $162 million to the state of Texas to comply with recapture, a/k/a Robin Hood laws. There’s a lot of opposition … 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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Endorsement watch: In case you didn’t hear us the first time

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its opposition to the HISD recapture referendum. Statewide property taxes are unconstitutional in Texas, but don’t tell that to the legislators in Austin. For decades, the Legislature has been shifting its obligation to fund public education to … 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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Endorsement watch: First, reform the office

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has almost as much to say about the office of Constable as it does about the candidates for Constable that they prefer. Harris County needs to bring these law enforcement fiefdoms in line: Update precincts to equalize populations, … Continue reading →

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Stan Stanart talks election security

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have a few thoughts as well. Over the course of the presidential race, concern has grown about digitally safeguarding election results. New cyber security threats seem to emerge monthly. Republican Donald Trump has repeatedly contended the presidential election will … 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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Endorsement watch: CCA

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes its recommendations for the Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Lawrence “Larry” Meyers Accusing someone of having “the feels” seems more at home in a teenager’s Facebook argument than in a dissenting … 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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