Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Anti-Obamacare ruling appealed

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The big non-Mueller story to follow for 2019. The Democratic coalition of states battling Texas over the fate of the Affordable Care Act has formally begun the process of challenging a Dec. 14 decision ruling the law unconstitutional in its … Continue reading →

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Meet KP George

Posted on January 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the new Fort Bend County Judge. In December, that strange suspended-in-motion month between his election and taking office, K.P. George was checking out the quaint old domed Fort Bend County Courthouse, soon to be his domain. In November, to … Continue reading →

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Beto v Julian?

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. The presidential race could force Texas Democrats to choose between two of their brightest rising stars, in El Paso’s O’Rourke, 46, and San Antonio’s Julián Castro, 44. Castro, like O’Rourke, has never won a statewide race in … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The two types of statewide candidates

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

When we look at the precinct data in Harris County, we can separate the statewide candidates into two groups. Here’s the first group: Dist Abbott Valdez Tipp Abbott% Valdez% Trump% Clinton% =============================================================== CD02 146,399 112,272 4,345 55.66% 43.40% 52.38% 43.05% … Continue reading →

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The case against Beto (and Julian) for President

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Chris Hooks: Democrats, taking advantage of the president’s unpopularity, stand a chance of winning control of more state legislatures in 2020 and building the foundations of their party, just as Republicans did in 2010. It’s a great opportunity, and … Continue reading →

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Someone other than me notices CD24

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The closest race no one was paying attention to. Last week’s midterm elections showed that the Texas electorate is changing dramatically, and even Republicans who survived found themselves with surprisingly close calls after coasting to reelection for years. One U.S. … Continue reading →

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The decline and fall of the Republican Party in Harris County

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It can be summed up in this table: Dist Romney Trump Cruz =========================== HD126 62.1% 53.0% 51.5% HD127 69.2% 61.2% 59.5% HD128 72.4% 68.2% 66.8% HD129 64.5% 55.3% 54.0% HD130 75.9% 68.1% 66.0% HD132 58.9% 50.0% 47.9% HD133 68.1% 54.5% … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The two key CDs

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I want to break out of my usual precinct analysis posts to focus on the two big Congressional districts that were held by Republicans going into this election and are entirely within Harris County, CD02 and CD07. CD07 Candidate Votes … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Beto does Harris County

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

He won pretty much everywhere you looked. So let’s look at the numbers: Dist Cruz Beto Dike Cruz% Beto% Trump% Clint% ============================================================= CD02 132,390 129,160 2,047 50.22% 49.00% 52.38% 43.05% CD07 112,078 129,781 1,843 45.99% 53.25% 47.11% 48.47% CD08 17,552 … Continue reading →

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The Fort Bend blue wave

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s not forget that what happened in Harris County happened in Fort Bend, too. Across the state, the “blue wave” that had long been a dream of the Democratic Party faithful failed to materialize in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with Republicans … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts: Congress

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be honest: I never felt particularly confident about winning CD07 or CD32. Not because Lizzie Fletcher and Colin Allred weren’t excellent candidates, or anything to do with the trends of the national environment or what have you. I just … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts: The Lege

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Live by the gerrymander, die by the gerrymander. At the end of the 2011 legislative session, state Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat, sat down to dinner with a Republican colleague from the Texas House. Anchia was exhausted and incensed. … Continue reading →

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Initial reactions: Statewide

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to do a few of these “Initial reaction” posts about Tuesday’s elections as I try to make sense of all that happened. Here we go. Let me start with a number. Two numbers, actually: 4,017,851 and 48.26%. The … Continue reading →

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Top to bottom Congressional fundraising prowess

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Standing before a packed crowd at the Austin City Limits Music Festival earlier this month, Julie Oliver delivered an impassioned speech highlighting her support for marijuana legalization and universal health care. “Are … Continue reading →

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Buzbee for Mayor?

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, good grief. Tony Buzbee, a high-wattage trial lawyer, big-time political donor and Texas A&M University System regent, says he is running to be the mayor of Houston in 2019. “The mayor’s race in Houston traditionally has been as boring … Continue reading →

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“The least-discussed vulnerable Republican on the ballot”

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Grits: Grits does not expect Beto O’Rourke to win. But if he were to pull off the upset, many other dominos could fall in succession as a result, with at least three Republican senators, Texas’ Attorney General, and potentially … Continue reading →

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The Beto-Abbott voters

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Barring divine intervention, Greg Abbott will handily beat Lupe Valdez — the only real question is by how much. The floor, if there is one, is Wendy Davis’ crushing loss to Greg … Continue reading →

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Trump’s slightly less tiny Ted rally

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s true what they say, size does matter. President Donald Trump’s rally Monday in Houston with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been moved to a bigger venue. Originally set to take place at the NRG Arena, the event will now … Continue reading →

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Trump’s tiny Texas rally for Ted

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Aww, how cute. President Donald Trump will make good on his promise to help Texas Republican Ted Cruz, announcing plans to hold a large rally next Monday night in Houston. The Trump campaign on Monday said the next stop on … Continue reading →

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CD31 “live poll” Carter 53, Hegar 38

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great result in CD31, where Democratic challenger MJ Hegar and her fundraising and amazing vidoes have moved this race against Rep. John Carter into lean-Republican territory on multiple forecasters’ lists, with two minor caveats and one addendum. Nate … Continue reading →

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CD32 “live poll”: Sessions 48, Allred 47

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another on of these polls, another close result. Incumbent Republican Pete Sessions and Democratic challenger Colin Allred are in a dead heat in the much-anticipated race for Dallas County’s 32nd Congressional District. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll … Continue reading →

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The Dallas County House battleground

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lot of seats in play here. [Julie] Johnson is among several Democratic candidates in Dallas hoping national and statewide talk of a blue wave will trickle down to several local state House races. A mix of Democratic enthusiasm this cycle, … Continue reading →

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CD23 “live poll”: Hurd 51, Ortiz Jones 43

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Give this one a bit of side-eye. Incumbent Republican Will Hurd is leading his Democratic challenger, Gina Ortiz Jones, in one of the country’s most competitive races in this year’s midterm elections, according to a new poll by The New … Continue reading →

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Southwest Key sues city over permit for child detention warehouse

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Screw them. The Austin-based nonprofit trying to open a shelter to house migrant children east of downtown sued the city of Houston Friday, alleging a discriminatory, baseless and politically motivated campaign to prevent it from opening the facility. Southwest Key … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Yes, Republicans really are worried about Ted Cruz

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Their actions speak volumes. With a string of polls showing GOP Sen. Ted Cruz’s lead slipping, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick showed up in Washington on July 25 to deliver an urgent plea to White House officials: Send President Donald … Continue reading →

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How can Beto win?

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is from the weekly newsletter put out by G. Elliott Morris: Let’s talk about voter turnout in Texas. The statewide voting-agedpopulation is a mixed bag, made up of 45% White, 37% Hispanic, 11% Black, and 6% Asian/other residents, according to projections from the Center … Continue reading →

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The hearing for the lawsuit to kill Obamacare

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. At the hearing Wednesday, Texas aimed to convince U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to block the law across the country as it continues to fight a months- or years-long legal case that could land before the … Continue reading →

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The 2006 question

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It always comes back to turnout. It was the worst day of the worst month of the worst season in years for Republicans hoping to mitigate political damage in this fall’s midterm elections. And Texas political operatives were left stunned … Continue reading →

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#TrumpTruckTweet

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I love this. Deep in the heart of Texas, a billboard truck will soon hit the road with a curated list of President Donald Trump’s tweets — attacks on Sen. Ted Cruz, a former political foe. Trump popularized the term … Continue reading →

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DACA lives another day

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

But don’t relax just yet. A federal district judge on Friday denied the state of Texas’ request that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program be put on hold after Texas and nine other states sued to halt the Obama-era … Continue reading →

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Trump administration denying passports to US citizens born near the border

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is infuriating. On paper, he’s a devoted U.S. citizen. His official American birth certificate shows he was delivered by a midwife in Brownsville, at the southern tip of Texas. He spent his life wearing American uniforms: three years as … Continue reading →

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Trump administration seeks to dismiss MALDEF lawsuit over Census citizenship question

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to keep all these Census lawsuits straight. As multiple court fights over the addition of a citizenship question to the once-a-decade census heat up, the Trump administration is working to keep several Texas groups representing Latino and Asian … Continue reading →

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NBC News: Cruz 49, O’Rourke 45

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been three weeks since our last poll result. In a head-to-head match up, Cruz held a 4-point lead over O’Rourke. Forty-nine percent of respondents backed Cruz, compared to 45 percent who supported O’Rourke. Six percent of respondents remain undecided. … Continue reading →

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Trump’s Texas beneficiaries

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Six Texas Republican in Congress received a show of financial support from their party’s leader this week. President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign announced Thursday that it was donating the maximum contribution possible to around 100 House and Senate Republican … Continue reading →

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