Tag Archives: Congress

Another look at MJ Hegar

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of this is stuff we’ve seen before, but there are a couple of points worth mentioning. Flipping a conservative stronghold like Texas’ 31st Congressional District, centered on Round Rock, would qualify as the high-water mark of any “blue wave” … Continue reading →

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Going for Section 3

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I wouldn’t get my hopes up, but Lord knows this is desperately needed. The voters of color, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers who have long challenged the validity of Texas’ political maps were dealt a bruising loss earlier this … Continue reading →

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Beto and the downballot Dems

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t sweat this too much, but there are a couple of points to address. “If there’s $20 in a room, $10 of it is going to Beto. That’s just happening right now,” said [Joanna] Cattanach, who’s challenging Republican state … Continue reading →

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On giving to “longshot” candidates

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Thara Narasimhan, who hosts an Hindu radio program in Houston, has already given $1,200 to a Democrat running against Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, who once drove around his solidly conservative Texas … Continue reading →

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Crosstab versus 538

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You are familiar with the Congressional race projections from G. Elliott Morris at The Crosstab, which I’ve noted here and here. He uses a probabilistic model for each district. Which as it happens is also the approach taken by FiveThirtyEight … Continue reading →

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Blake Farenthold is still a toad

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. A former Texas congressman had tried steering a federal contract to the owner of a business who gave him a $160,000-a-year job after the congressman resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, according to a newspaper investigation … Continue reading →

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CD32 poll: Sessions 47, Allred 45

Posted on August 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another internal poll, another close race. Texas Rep. Pete Sessions’ re-election race is looking increasingly competitive, with Democrat Colin Allred polling close to the longtime Republican lawmaker, according to a new internal Democratic survey. The Dallas-area 32nd District is traditionally … Continue reading →

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It depends what the meaning of “intent” is

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Give me a break. It has been about three weeks since state Sen. Sylvia Garcia submitted a letter declaring her “intent to resign,” but whether it qualifies as an actual resignation has fallen into dispute — and has threatened to … 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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The meta-campaign for Senate

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s talk about what we talk about when we talk about the Senate campaign. It’s the most backhanded of compliments. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for U.S. Senate has caught so much fire throughout the state that the new favorite … Continue reading →

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We really need to replace our crappy old voting machines

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is embarrassing. Local election administrators in Texas are eager to replace voting machines purchased more than a decade ago in time for the 2020 presidential election. Increasingly susceptible to malfunctions, upkeep for the aging machines can exceed $300,000 annually … Continue reading →

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CD06 poll: Wright 48, Sanchez 39

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Via Patrick Svitek on Twitter, I learned of a recent PPP poll in CD06. Here’s the polling memo, and here’s the information you’re most interested in: Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance? 48% Approve … Continue reading →

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Culberson’s continued stock problems

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Oopsie. Two members of Congress from Texas — Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Conaway of Midland and John Culberson of Houston — purchased stock in a company last year that is now at the center of insider trading charges against one … Continue reading →

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From the “Many are called, but few are chosen” department

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here are your non-standard choices for the November election. Independent candidates Candidates unaffiliated with a political party are allowed access to the general election ballot as long as they file the necessary paperwork and gather a certain number of signatures — depending … Continue reading →

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Stalking Sessions

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It sure would be sweet to beat Pete. The man who engineered the 2010 Republican takeover of the House is racing to save himself in his own election this year — and he admits, in so many words, that President … Continue reading →

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Who wants to protect our voting systems from hackers?

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You would hope the answer to that question would be “everyone”, but that’s not the world we currently live in. A bipartisan group of 21 state attorneys general are demanding Congress’ assistance in protecting the 2018 election. Writing to Rep. … Continue reading →

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The STEM candidates

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

If there was ever a year for scientists to run for office, this was it. Across the country, hundreds of candidates with academic or professional experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics have left their businesses and laboratories to compete … Continue reading →

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If we actually wanted to increase voter participation

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s what we’d do, courtesy of the Center for American Progress: This report examines the problem of low voter participation in America, which includes structural barriers that keep Americans from having their voices heard as well as widespread disillusionment with … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: 2018 vs the rest of the decade

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

When I posted about the Q2 Congressional finance reports, I said I would try to put the totals in some more context at a later time. This is where I do that. Take a look at this table: Dist 2012 … Continue reading →

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The rising cost of losing

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Womp womp. The price of losing keeps going up for Republican Kathaleen Wall. Four months after losing her campaign for Congress, the Houston Republican had to put yet another $150,000 of her own money into her campaign to pay for … Continue reading →

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Two views of Democratic fundraising

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Positive: For the first time in a generation, there is a Democrat running for Congress in every single district in the state. Most of those candidates vying to unseat Republicans will likely lose. Many are running in districts where President … Continue reading →

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July 2018 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

So we know that Texas Democratic Congressional challengers really crushed it in Q2, and that’s on top of three strong quarters before that. How good was it? Let’s quantify. Here are the July 2017 finance reports, here are the October … Continue reading →

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Dems keep posting very strong finance reports

Posted on July 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. There are few bigger warning signs for a member of Congress that their re-election may be in doubt than when a challenger outraises them. In Texas, it just happened to seven incumbents, all Republicans. Since last week, when U.S. … Continue reading →

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Monday “day before reports start showing up” campaign finance roundup

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good things keep happening to MJ Hegar. EMILY’s List, a powerful organization that backs female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, is putting its support behind Hegar, an Air Force veteran who has shot to national prominence in recent weeks … Continue reading →

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Kulkarni reports $234K raised in Q2

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress, Sri Preston Kulkarni, raised over $400,000 in receipts to date for his campaign to unseat incumbent Pete Olson (R-TX). This is the largest total ever for a Democratic candidate for the current … Continue reading →

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Republican reactions to Beto’s fundraising

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The interesting bits of this story: El Paso Democrat Beto O’Rourke, the underdog challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, recently burnished his grass-roots credentials by completing a tour of all 254 counties in Texas. Now O’Rourke has proven his fundraising chops as … Continue reading →

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We are going to get some Congressional polling soon

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Nate Cohn on Twitter: Well we’ve been working pretty hard over here in Upshot land for the last few months, but I think we’ll have at least one thing to show for it fairly soon: results from a test of … Continue reading →

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CD07 candidates endorse the August flood bond referendum

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

What I would expect. U.S. Rep. John Culberson and his challenger, Lizzie Fletcher, found rare common ground on Wednesday as both endorsed Harris County’s proposed $2.5 billion flood infrastructure bond proposal. Culberson said he can match every local dollar Harris … Continue reading →

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The story behind the MJ Hegar video

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Cool little “making of” feature. Mary Jennings “MJ” Hegar, a 42-year-old mother and Republican turned “independent Democrat” running for Congress in Texas, is an Air Force veteran and retired Air National Guard helicopter pilot who didn’t let an abusive biological father, … Continue reading →

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What the prognosticators are saying about Texas

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve covered some of this before, but with Daily Kos releasing their initial House race rankings, let’s see how the national prognosticators are classifying Texas Congressional races. Daily Kos Elections Tossup – CD23 Lean R – CD07, CD32 Likely R … Continue reading →

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Three more Dems top $1 million in Q2

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

In the morning there was Gina Ortiz Jones. Gina Ortiz Jones, the Democrat running against U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, raised more than $1.2 million over the last three months, a huge haul that far outpaces the fundraising by her … Continue reading →

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Where best to attack Culberson?

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Flooding is an obvious issue, but it’s hardly the only one. After Hurricane Harvey flooded much of Houston – including the hotly contested Seventh Congressional District – Republican incumbent John Culberson used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to … Continue reading →

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Fletcher reports raising $1 million in Q2

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Our first story about a strong finance report from the just-ended previous quarter. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, the Democratic challenger in one of the Texas congressional seats that Democrats hope to flip in November, reported more than $1 million in contributions … Continue reading →

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Same maps, different day

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The coda to the SCOTUS redistricting ruling. The 2018 elections will move forward without any tweaks to Texas’ political maps. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold all but one of the state’s political districts, a three-judge federal panel … Continue reading →

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