Tag Archives: Congress

The history of CD07

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good read, though not really anything we didn’t already know. West University could have been the set for “Leave it to Beaver” when Serpell Edwards and his wife Betsy bought their home there 45 years ago. The neighbors were mostly … Continue reading →

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Does primary turnout in a district predict the November result?

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Karl Rove would like you to think so. At the House level, Democrats hope to win three districts won by Hillary Clinton and now held by Republican incumbents, as well as some of the six seats opened up by GOP … Continue reading →

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Stockman’s trial set to start

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready. Former U.S. Congressman Steve Stockman stood before a federal judge in a mostly empty Houston courtroom Friday and confirmed he wants a jury to decide if he diverted nearly $1.25 million in charitable donations intended for conservative organizations. … Continue reading →

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Post-Primary Day thoughts

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Various thoughts and observations that are better aggregated into one post… – I believe this is the first time that all of the statewide candidates I voted for either won or advanced to the runoff in the primary. Statewide primaries … Continue reading →

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The race for SD06 has already begun

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s State Rep. Ana Hernandez on Facebook: The Trib has picked up on this as well. Not long thereafter, I received this in my mailbox: Dear Friends, I would like to congratulate State Senator Sylvia Garcia on her hard-earned victory … Continue reading →

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2018 primary results: Congress

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Statewide Dem totals Statewide GOP totals Harris County Dem totals Harris County GOP totals (Please note that all results were coming in very slowly. I expect there will still be some precincts not yet reported by the time this publishes. … Continue reading →

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On CD02 and CD29

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib asks whether there’s a race worth watching in CD29 or not. Months ago, [Sen. Sylvia] Garcia appeared poised to easily win this race, but something happened along the way to the nomination: Out of nowhere, health care executive … Continue reading →

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Shared fundraising

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I like this. Seven Democrats facing off in a single Texas congressional primary have an odd way of fighting it out. On Tuesday, they plan to put aside their differences and fundraise, together. That’s because the money they raise will … Continue reading →

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The Republican poll of the Democratic CD07 primary

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I would not pay too much attention to this. A poll in a pivotal Democratic congressional primary in Houston shows that activist Laura Moser could be in a position to make the run-off despite recent attacks by the Democratic Congressional … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in the Texas redistricting case in April

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

On April 24, to be specific, according to Michael Li on Twitter. Both the Congressional and state legislative cases will be consolidated into one for the arguments. That means we should have a ruling by the end of June. See … Continue reading →

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Trib overview of CD23 primary

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Definitely a key race. Now, CD-23 is faced with its most crowded Democratic race in decades to determine who will duke it out in November in what is regularly ranked as one of the country’s most competitive districts. It spans … Continue reading →

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Hey, let’s file another lawsuit to kill Obamacare!

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Texas is suing the federal government over President Barack Obama’s landmark health law — again. In a 20-state lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that after the passage of the GOP’s tax … Continue reading →

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The Socialists are coming

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

To a primary ballot near you. The revolution will be down-ballot. Or such is the implicit promise of Franklin Bynum’s campaign for Harris County misdemeanor court judge. A 35-year-old former public defender, Bynum said he’s seen Houston’s criminal courts routinely … Continue reading →

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Possibly the last thing I’ll have to say about Laura Moser and the DCCC, at least for now

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like having a seemingly bloodless bit of tactics turned in to a multi-day story. Democratic congressional candidate Laura Moser packed her Saturday with campaign events: spinning in the morning, drinking mimosas shortly after, block walking in the afternoon and … Continue reading →

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A look at CD16 and CD03

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As one might expect, the primary race for Beto O’Rourke’s soon-to-be-former Congressional seat is compettiive and < and getting a little salty. [Now-former El Paso COunty Judge Veronica] Escobar is running, in part, on her experience as a former leader … Continue reading →

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More on the DCCC-CD07 mess

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Other folks have weighed in on the DCCC drive-by on Laura Moser from Thursday – Mother Jones, Stace, Campos, Indivisible Houston, the HCDP, and others. I’ve seen plenty of talk of this on Facebook, and I’ve yet to see a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 5

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here and the full endorsements page is here. We finish with the Republican races with challenged incumbents. And the first thing to note is the … Continue reading →

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DCCC versus Laura Moser

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t care for this. The campaign arm of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives set its sights on a surprising target Thursday: Democratic congressional hopeful Laura Moser. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted negative research on Moser, a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 4

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, and the full endorsements page is here. I had thought this would finish up all the races of interest for us, but then I decided the Republican races … Continue reading →

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Sri Kulkarni’s youthful indiscretion

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how big a deal this turns out to be. A candidate’s drug arrest at the age of 18 has riled up a Democratic primary contest for the right to challenge five-term Republican incumbent Pete Olson in a potentially … Continue reading →

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Action alert: Rally at Culberson’s office for a clean DREAM Act

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mothers, children, and other allies will gather in front of John Culberson’s office to demand a Clean DREAM Act this Thursday at 4 PM. The gathering will feature remarks from children of mixed status parents and mothers … Continue reading →

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Will we ever get an Ike Dike?

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We will when it gets funded. When might it get funded? Ummm… If the Houston-Galveston region continues to boom for the next 60 years and sea level rises as scientists predict, a direct hit to Galveston from a massive hurricane … Continue reading →

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So where are we on Harvey response?

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Stuff is happening. Local and state leaders are moving toward a major, lengthy and costly overhaul of the region’s flood defenses that includes regulating development, massive buyouts of flood-prone properties and flood-prevention projects that have been discussed for decades but never built. Few of the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Congresspalooza

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron

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Endorsement watch: Republican roundup

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes a conventional choice in CD02. Poe’s vacancy has attracted nine contenders in the Republican primary, and we encourage voters to look for a candidate who will aspire to embody the party’s values while also striving to represent … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: CD02 and the road ahead

Posted on February 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes their pick on the Democratic side for CD02. If the primary race in the 7th Congressional District is the major-league showdown for Houston-area Democrats, then consider this election to be the Triple-A minor league version. In a … Continue reading →

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Will we or won’t we get a county bond election for flood control?

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Answer unclear, try again later. In an interview with the Chronicle, [Harris County Judge Ed] Emmett described the various factors that are at play as the county grapples with the possible bond referendum, which would be one of the biggest … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Two for CD07

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron wades into the deep waters of CD07 and comes away with two favorites. If Democrats are going to win this race, they’ll need a strong candidate whose views will appeal to voters disillusioned with their tea party Republican … Continue reading →

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More on Tahir Javed

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Raising a lot of money is certainly one way to get noticed in a crowded election field. Twenty-six years ago, a Houston political fixture named Sylvia Garcia ran for Congress. She came up short, placing third in the Democratic primary … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Sylvia and more

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes the obvious choice in CD29. The frontrunner is clearly state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, the only current elected official on the ballot, who has name identification with this area’s voters that stretches back more than 20 years. The … Continue reading →

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The women challenging Democratic men

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One more point of interest from The Cut: And Democratic women aren’t leaving the men of their own party undisturbed. In Minnesota, former FBI analyst Leah Phifer is challenging incumbent Democratic representative Rick Nolan; Sameena Mustafa, a tenant advocate and … Continue reading →

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January 2018 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the Q2 finance reports, here are the Q3 finance reports, and here’s the FEC summary page for Democratic Congressional candidates in Texas. The Trib summarizes some of the highlights. For many Texas congressional races, Wednesday was the most … Continue reading →

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Independent candidates’ day

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with a theme, there are a lot of wannabe independent candidates for various offices, most of whom will never make it onto the ballot. Dallas billionaire Ross Perot did it in 1992 and 1996. Satirist Kinky Friedman and Comptroller … Continue reading →

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Congressional maps from an alternate universe

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

FiveThirtyEight goes a little nuts. Drawing clever political districts is one way politicians in Texas and elsewhere avoid accountability — by protecting themselves from voters who disagree with them. They do this by stuffing weirdly shaped geographic districts with voters … Continue reading →

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