Tag Archives: Donald Trump

One thing our state loves spending money on

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Defending unconstitutional anti-abortion laws in the courts. As Texas defends abortion laws in federal court that mandate fetal burials and seek to outlaw certain medical procedures, the state has been ordered to pay pro-abortion attorneys $2.5 million — fortifying women’s … Continue reading →

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UT-Tyler: Trump still looks weak in Texas

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Two months later, there may be a story line to watch. Beto O’Rourke remains competitive against President Donald Trump in a Texas head-to-head matchup, according to a poll released Thursday by the Center for Opinion Research at the University of … Continue reading →

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Bell officially begins his Senate campaign

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I know, I also thought that this had already happened. Just a reminder that these things occur in stages. Democrat Chris Bell, the former Houston congressman and gubernatorial nominee, is formally announcing his U.S. Senate campaign. Bell, who has … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Lots of Texans don’t intend to vote for Trump

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

More nice polling news. President Trump’s job approval rating remains marginally underwater in Texas, with 45 percent of registered voters saying that they approve and 50 percent saying that they disapprove. Thinking ahead to 2020, 48 percent of Texas voters … Continue reading →

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Univision News poll: Trump 42, Dem 47

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a fun poll. Days away from the third Democratic debate in Houston and over a year from the 2020 presidential election, an exclusive poll by Univision News found that 40% of registered voters in the state say they will … Continue reading →

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It’s not really a campaign until there are attack ads

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner launched a television ad Monday attacking Tony Buzbee for donating to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, marking the mayor’s first major attempt to link his political opponent to the … Continue reading →

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The Harris County GOP thinks it can come back in 2020

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re so adorable. Once a rock of Republican politics in Texas, Harris County has become nothing short of a nightmare for the GOP over the last four years as Hillary Clinton and Beto O’Rourke carried the county and Democrats dominated … Continue reading →

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McCaul’s hustle

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out, running for re-election is hard work. Rep. Michael McCaul does not have to be here, at Carl’s BBQ on the side of a highway, in a wood-paneled backroom, seated at a bare table in front of a stuffed, … Continue reading →

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A reminder about the local legislative races

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s review the facts together. State Rep. Jon Rosenthal wasn’t supposed to win his Texas House seat last year. He was too much of a Democrat for the swath of northwest Harris County that had long elected Republicans. But in … Continue reading →

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Yet another story about suburbs shifting away from Republicans

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Collect the whole set! Texas is currently experiencing two trends that are favorable to Democrats: increasing urbanization, and big demographic shifts. The Texas Tribune recently reported that Hispanics are expected to become the largest demographic group in the state by 2022, with … Continue reading →

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How many Congressional seats are really in play for Texas Dems?

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

By one measure, more than you probably think. From Jonathan Tilove of the Statesman: Last weekend, I read an interview in Salon with Rachel Bitecofer, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. She is also an … Continue reading →

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Our all-important metro areas

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Another look at the trouble Republicans face in Texas now. The key to Texas’ political future is whether it finally follows the geographic realignment that has transformed the politics of many other states over the past quarter century. Across the … Continue reading →

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The psychological shift

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. [Democratic operative Jason] Stanford has a theory about how [Texas Democratic] angst started. He says it began with the 1996 U.S. Senate race in Texas. Democrats were recovering from losing two years … Continue reading →

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Once again with GOP anxiety

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I recommend Xanax. Or, you know, marijuana. I’ve heard that’s good for anxiety. Republicans have long idealized Texas as a deep-red frontier state, home to rural conservatives who love President Donald Trump. But political turbulence in the sprawling suburbs and … Continue reading →

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Emerson’s weird polls

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a poll, so we do the thing. A new poll has former Vice President Joe Biden leading Beto O’Rourke in the Texas presidential primary and toppling Donald Trump in a head-to-head showdown. The survey, conducted by Emerson College for … Continue reading →

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With silver linings like these…

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

…Who needs misfortune? Even Texas Republicans are a bit amused with the clever new Democratic battle cry that’s emerged amid a recent spate of GOP congressional retirements: “Texodus.” First came U.S. Rep. Pete Olson of Sugar Land on July 25. … Continue reading →

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By the way, Trump is also a deadbeat

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s his brand. President Donald Trump publicly pledged “all the support of the federal government” on Saturday after 22 people were shot to death in an El Paso Walmart this weekend. But his statements are prompting charges of hypocrisy because the … Continue reading →

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That UT-Tyler poll

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose I have to talk about this. A poll conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at the University of Texas at Tyler showed [Beto O’Rourke] leading among Texas voters in the Democratic presidential primary. The survey showed O’Rourke … Continue reading →

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The next Census threat

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From TPM: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has directed the Census Bureau to prepare to offer states the data they’d need to do a redistricting overhaul that would boost “Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites,” in the words of a deceased GOP consultant. That … Continue reading →

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We need a coordinated strategy to fight these immoral immigration raids

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I feel such despair about this. Federal authorities are expected to try to arrest thousands of immigrant families in at least 10 cities, including Houston, beginning as early as Sunday, rattling communities across the country who faced a similar scare … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit Obamacare hearing

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember, the Fifth Circuit is where hope goes to die. Adjust your expectations accordingly. On the left was Judge Carolyn Dineen King, an appointee of Jimmy Carter; on the right sat Judge Kurt Engelhardt, a nominee of Donald Trump, and … Continue reading →

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Some Census shenanigans short-circuited

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The head, it spins. In a scalding order that called the Justice Department’s motion to change lawyers “patently deficient,” a federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday blocked the move by the Justice Department to withdraw several of its attorneys from … Continue reading →

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The lawsuit to kill Obamacare has its hearing at the Fifth Circuit today

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Last year, after a federal judge in Texas declared the entirety of the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, throwing into question millions of Americans’ health coverage, the state’s Republican leaders promised they would come up with a plan to … Continue reading →

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Yeah, we spoke too soon about the Census citizenship question

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s maximum chaos time. The Justice Department affirmed Friday that it still is pursuing a path for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, according to a filing in federal court in Maryland. The filing followed statements earlier in … Continue reading →

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No Census citizenship question

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hallelujah. The Trump administration is dropping plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday just days after the Supreme Court described the rationale for the question as “contrived.” The decision to back away … Continue reading →

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Census citizenship question stopped for now

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

“For now” being the key point. The Supreme Court on Thursday put on hold the Trump administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form sent to every household, saying it had provided a “contrived” reason for … Continue reading →

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The battle for the Lege is gonna be lit

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Fasten your seat belts. While the Texas Senate appears safe for Republicans, Clinton’s comments underscored the emphasis that some Democrats — both in Texas and outside it — are already putting on the fight for the majority in the state … Continue reading →

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The lamentations of Big John

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

You guys, he may finally lose a race. I’m serious! There is no ghostwritten Cornyn memoir. His ego does not seem to live and die on how many times he appears on Sunday morning talk shows. And he’s never launched … Continue reading →

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Biden talks big about Texas

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And other states, too. Democratic front-runner Joe Biden said Monday he plans to campaign during the general election and win in South Carolina, Georgia and Texas, states that have consistently supported Republicans for about four decades. “We plan on campaigning … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib: So this is what a swing state looks like

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is not the poll I’m looking for, but it still tells us something. Half of the registered voters in Texas would vote to reelect President Donald Trump, but half of them would not, according to the latest University of … Continue reading →

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Scouting the opposition in CD07

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not impressed so far. Facing a roomful of conservative voters at a meet-and-greet earlier this month, Republican Wesley Hunt laid out the stakes for his party’s primary in Texas’ 7th Congressional District. “This is about putting the best candidate forward … Continue reading →

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Checking in on the national political atmosphere

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, via G. Elliott Morris’ weekly email blast: Are Democrats doing as well as they were in 2017-2018? The plural of “anecdote” is not “data”, but that’s what special elections and the generic ballot are for. These numbers … Continue reading →

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In which I plead for a boon from national writers

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Dear national political writers: The former Texas congressman and one-time Senate hopeful has attended at least 67 Iowa town halls, driven nearly 3,000 miles across the state, and hired dozens of staffers there. He’s tall, white, charismatic, and handsome—traits that should serve … Continue reading →

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Still ridiculously early poll: Biden leads Trump by four

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Encouraging, but the usual caveats apply. President Donald Trump is locked in too-close-to-call races with any one of seven top Democratic challengers in the 2020 presidential race in Texas, where former Vice President Joseph Biden has 48 percent to President … Continue reading →

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