Tag Archives: Senate

Beto is in for President

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here he comes. After months of intense speculation, Beto O’Rourke is entering the presidential race Thursday, marking an extraordinary rise from little-known El Paso congressman a few years ago to potentially formidable White House contender. “Amy and … Continue reading →

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Kim Olson looking at CD24

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m down with this. While retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson, a Democrat who lost the 2018 general election for state agriculture secretary by a respectable 51-46 margin, has shown some interest in challenging GOP Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Tribune’s … Continue reading →

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McCraw falls on his sword

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a good company man, I’ll give him that much. After being rebuked by Gov. Greg Abbott for the state’s botched review of the voter rolls, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety took “full responsibility” Tuesday for … Continue reading →

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Is the anti-sick leave bill also anti-equality?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Could be. Whose word do you take for it? What started as seemingly simple state legislation hailed as good for Texas businesses is drawing skepticism from legal experts and outrage from advocates worried it would strike employment protections and benefits … Continue reading →

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SOS screws up again

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Are you kidding me? The list of missteps in the Texas secretary of state’s review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens grew again Monday, when the office inadvertently added additional people to its already flawed list of voters flagged … Continue reading →

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Senate files its school finance bill

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. On the night of the deadline to file bills this legislative session, Texas Senate leaders turned in their first crack at legislation designed to reform school finance — rounding out a series of proposals in the upper … Continue reading →

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Bills to restore Open Meetings Act filed

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is good to see. Two state legislators are aiming to restore a provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act that was struck down last week by the state’s highest criminal court. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Dade Phelan, … Continue reading →

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Add one more to the list of potential Cornyn opponents list

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Joe Kopser, who made a strong showing in CD21 in 2018, puts himself on the roster of possible not-Beto challengers for John Cornyn in 2020. Call it the other “Beto Effect“. Just months after Democrat Beto O’Rourke outperformed expectations by … Continue reading →

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In the cloud

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta say, this makes sense. What do a warehouse in North Austin and a building at Angelo State University have in common? They hold trillions of bytes of data about some of Texans’ most sensitive information, including health and education … Continue reading →

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Cornyn still thinks he may face Beto

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He could be right, but I would not expect it. Beto O’Rourke has ruled out another run for the Senate, and as he edges closer to a bid for president, Texas Democrats are still searching for someone to challenge Sen. … Continue reading →

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Senate presents disaster relief bills

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never, though why they’re late remains a subject of interest. More than a year and a half after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the state, Texas Senate leaders announced a $1.8 billion trio of disaster relief bills on Wednesday that they … Continue reading →

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What about Wendy?

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

If not Beto and not Joaquin… Wendy Davis of Texas said Tuesday she is considering a U.S. Senate run in 2020 but is waiting to see whether another high-profile Democrat, Rep. Joaquin Castro, goes through with challenging Republican incumbent John … Continue reading →

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Here comes the House school finance plan

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not surprisingly, they go bigger than the Senate. With Texas House lawmakers unveiling their long-awaited school finance proposal Tuesday and the Senate’s version likely close behind, teacher pay appears to be emerging as one of the biggest sticking points between … Continue reading →

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Blaming DPS

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your new scapegoat for the SOS non-citizen voter advisory fiasco. Amid the fallout surrounding his administration’s botched review of the voter rolls, Gov. Greg Abbott has picked a side. Who’s to blame for the state’s mistaken challenge to the … Continue reading →

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Can we turn the anti-vax tide in the Lege this session?

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It sure would be nice, and this needs to be the primary goal. In Texas, children are required to have certain sets of vaccinations before they can be enrolled in public school – including the vaccine for measles. But parents … Continue reading →

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What about Joaquin

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

If Beto O’Rourke is indeed not running for Senate, Rep. Joaquin Castro may step up to do it. Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro told the Associated Press on Thursday that his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is … Continue reading →

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Ridiculously early Quinnipiac poll: Trump has a small lead

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Consider this to be for entertainment purposes only. In a very early look at possible 2020 presidential matchups in Texas, President Donald Trump is essentially tied with former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders or former U.S. Rep. … Continue reading →

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Senate committee advances Whitley nomination

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll take Pointless Wastes of Time for $200, Alex. A Texas Senate committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of Texas Secretary of State David Whitley — the most forward motion he’s made in weeks in a stalled nomination that … Continue reading →

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The state of equality 2019

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Equality Texas: IN 2019, THE STATE OF EQUALITY IS: OUT OF STEP WITH TEXAS VALUES As the 2019 Texas Legislature approaches the mid-point, Equality Texas has surveyed the current state of equality and concluded that urgent legislative action is … Continue reading →

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Of course there are bills to do something with that bogus SOS advisory

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

What else did you expect? Among other things,  Senate Bill 960 and Senate Bill 953, filed late last week, would require voter registrars across the state to kick every person off the voter rolls who at one point said they were not a citizen … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s talking about John Cornyn

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’ve read more stories about John Cornyn lately than I read about Beto a year ago at this time. As President Donald Trump embarked for El Paso on Monday to rally support for a border wall, Texas … Continue reading →

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Texas is not going to expand Medicaid

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t get me wrong, Texas should have expanded Medicaid at its first opportunity. It would do so much to improve health care in the state, including and especially mental health care, which would have significant spillover effects on criminal justice. … Continue reading →

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Another reason David Whitley has to go

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

County elections officials feel like they can’t trust him or his office right now. That’s a big deal. As the Texas secretary of state’s office rolled out its botched effort to review the citizenship of nearly 100,000 voters, Betsy Schonhoff … Continue reading →

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Civil rights groups want Whitley to not be confirmed

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No kidding. More than 30 civil rights and community groups are calling on Senate Democrats to block the confirmation of embattled interim Secretary of State David Whitley, who oversaw the botched rollout of an investigation into the citizenship of tens … Continue reading →

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On special election runoff turnout and HD125

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I figured a story like this was inevitable after Round One of the HD125 special election, in which Republican Fred Rangel got 38% of the vote and four Democrats combined to take the rest, with three of them being close … Continue reading →

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The family that grifts together

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I am utterly flabbergasted. In what state Sen. Angela Paxton describes as an effort to safely expand Texas’ burgeoning financial tech industry, the freshman Republican from McKinney has filed a bill that would empower the office of her husband, Attorney … Continue reading →

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More looking forward to 2020

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna have some more of that sweet Congressional election action. Smelling blood after picking up two Texas congressional seats in November – along with Beto O’Rourke’s narrow loss in the U.S. Senate race – House Democrats [recently] announced six new … Continue reading →

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Beto may yet be a Senate candidate in 2020

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s at least talking about the possibility. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke last week to discuss a possible 2020 Senate campaign against GOP Sen. John Cornyn, according to a source familiar with the … Continue reading →

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Whitley’s “apology”

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He can do a lot better than this. He should do a lot better than this if he wants to get confirmed. Facing an uncertain path to confirmation after ordering a deeply flawed voter citizenship review that seemingly focused on … Continue reading →

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A beer truce is declared

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, glory be. Beer brewers and distributors and have been battling for years over what can be bought and sold at breweries across Texas. This week, two key groups in the fight finally signed a truce. The Texas Craft Brewers … Continue reading →

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MJ Hegar considers a Senate run

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we’re getting somewhere. Military veteran MJ Hegar, a former U.S. House candidate, is seriously considering a run for the Democratic nomination to take on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. Hegar, who served in the Air Force in Afghanistan, … Continue reading →

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Paxton double-talks on that SOS advisory

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Ken Paxton really can’t be trusted. Not exactly earth-shattering, I know, but always good to remember. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton assured lawmakers on Friday that his office hadn’t launched criminal investigations into nearly 100,000 voters flagged by the secretary … Continue reading →

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On to the runoff in HD125

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We could still have a recount, given how close the race for second place was. A Republican and a Democrat are moving on to a runoff in the race to replace ex-state Rep. Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, in a traditionally … Continue reading →

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We’ll know soon enough if Beto is running for President

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Oprah. Beto O’Rourke said Tuesday he will decide whether to run for president by the end of the month, signaling his closely watched deliberations over a 2020 run are entering their final stages. The former Democratic congressman from El … Continue reading →

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