Tag Archives: Congress

Two Paxtons are not better than one

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, good grief. Angela Paxton, the wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is considering a run for state Senate, according to people familiar with her thinking. Paxton has her sights set on Senate District 8, which is currently held … Continue reading →

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Court throws out State House map

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Once more, with feeling. Parts of the Texas House map must be redrawn ahead of the 2018 elections because lawmakers intentionally discriminated against minorities in crafting several legislative districts, federal judges ruled on Thursday. A three-judge panel in San Antonio … Continue reading →

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Debra Kerner suspends her campaign in CD07

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Dear friends: Today I am announcing that I am suspending my campaign for Congress. Over the last eight months, I have gotten to know more people in the district. It was my favorite part of the campaign. … Continue reading →

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We could get a special session on redistricting

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

At least, that’s what State Sen. Dawn Buckingham thinks. State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, expects the Legislature to be called back for another special session — this time to tackle the state’s congressional map. Monday evening at the Central Texas … Continue reading →

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Two more for CD23

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Officially a crowd now. Jay Hulings, a federal prosecutor from San Antonio, said Sunday he could no wait no longer to launch a challenge to U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes. Hulings is an ally of the Castro brothers — U.S. … Continue reading →

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Texas to appeal redistricting ruling

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. If Gov. Greg Abbott calls a second special legislative session this summer, it won’t be for redistricting. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revealed Friday that Abbott won’t ask lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map — found … Continue reading →

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Court invalidates CDs 27 and 35

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We are one step closer to having a new Congressional map. Federal judges have invalidated two Texas congressional districts, ruling that they must be fixed by either the Legislature or a federal court. In a unanimous decision Tuesday, a three-judge … Continue reading →

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Paxton joins defense of Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is backing Wisconsin in a high-profile case asking the U.S. Supreme Court whether lawmakers can go too far when drawing political maps to advantage one party. Paxton, a Republican, filed an … Continue reading →

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Dallas Observer Q&A with CD32 candidate Colin Allred

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A good read. What was it like transitioning out of football and then into your kind of life of public service? I think any football player always has a hard time coming out of it. The longer you’re in, the … Continue reading →

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Gina Ortiz Jones

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We have our first declared challenger in CD23. U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, is getting his first major Democratic challenger for re-election in Texas’ swing 23rd congressional district. Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, is entering the … Continue reading →

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How the redistricting case could play out

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Li games out how the Texas redistricting litigation may go from the anticipated court ruling to final resolution. So, in short, Texans could end up with a new set of maps (drawn by the Texas Legislature or drawn by … Continue reading →

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Let’s do talk about Democratic legislative candidates

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have so many things to say about this. The hottest new trend in Democratic politics these days is running for Congress — everybody’s doing it. So far, more than 200 Democrats have filed to challenge Republican incumbents and raised … Continue reading →

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Collins responds to Farenthold

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Please keep this up forever. On Monday, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) offered a novel — and sexist — explanation and solution for the Republican health care bill’s struggles: He blamed “some female senators from the Northeast” for holding up the … Continue reading →

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You’re never so weak as when you try to act tough

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Blake Farenthold, ladies and gentlemen: A Texas GOP congressman says if the three female Republican senators who oppose a bill repealing Obamacare were men from South Texas, he might challenge them to a duel. “The fact that the Senate does … Continue reading →

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July 2017 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s July, and that means it’s campaign finance report season. Everyone has reports due at the end of June, so at every level of government there are reports to look at. I’ll be working my way through them, starting today … Continue reading →

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One side benefit of the continued Republican repeal follies

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It depresses the base. Texas-based Republican political consultant Brendan Steinhauser’s early read of the fallout was that the party has reasons to be worried about next year’s midterm elections. “I think that you will see that if this fails, Republicans … Continue reading →

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Will we have enough candidates for the opportunities?

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There’s always something to worry about. With the Texas case moving forward, the boundaries of the congressional districts remain in question with the 2018 elections less than 18 months away. The Lone Star State’s primary filing deadline is in six … Continue reading →

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Tom Wakely

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

As noted in the update and comments to Wednesday’s post about our first Democratic candidate for Governor, we now have a second such candidate, Tom Wakely. PDiddie brings word of Wakely’s announcement, which he made on Down with Tyranny, a … Continue reading →

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Gallego-Hurd 3.0

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. Less than a year after he lost his bid to reclaim his U.S. House seat, former U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, is seriously considering another run for Congress, citing shifting political winds in Texas’ 23rd congressional district … Continue reading →

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Let a thousand hypothetical alternative Texas Congressional maps bloom

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Stephen Wolf of Daily Kos Elections takes a crack at drawing a remedial Congressional map for Texas. Just how effective is GOP gerrymandering in Texas, and what might a redrawn map look like in 2018 as a consequence of a … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial wraps up

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait. The state of Texas faced a healthy dose of judicial skepticism on Saturday as its lawyers laid out final arguments in a trial over whether lawmakers intentionally discriminated against minority voters in enacting current Texas House and … Continue reading →

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Coming home to run

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Another Washington Post story about 2018 Congressional candidates that spends a lot of time on a Texas race. Before Donald Trump was elected president, Laura Moser was a freelance writer delving into a project about alternative religions in America. In … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial update: Invoking privilege

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting choice. Texas’ defense of its electoral maps suffered a setback Friday when a state witness couldn’t defend lawmakers’ intentions for much of his testimony. […] Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, was the chairman of the House Select Committee on … Continue reading →

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Who will run statewide for the Dems?

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For several statewide offices, it is unclear at this time who might run. Lillie Schechter, the new chairwoman of the Harris County Democratic Party, has watched in recent months as at least seven candidates have come through the doors of … Continue reading →

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Finance reports still slowly coming in

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Lizzie Pannill Fletcher announced today that she raised more than $365,000 in her first seven weeks of the campaign as a Democratic candidate for Texas’ Seventh Congressional District, a seat currently held by Representative John Culberson. Fletcher’s … Continue reading →

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Redistricting update: It’s all about the emails

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Two days into the trial, and there’s more drama. Plaintiffs challenging Texas’ 2013 redistricting maps Tuesday accused the state of improperly delaying the release of thousands of pages of documents from them, including 113 documents that state lawyers refuse to … Continue reading →

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Culberson does his Culberson thing to Metro again

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is. But maybe, just maybe, there’s now a sell-by date on it. Houston may have stopped building light rail lines, but the fight over them rages on — right to Washington where Rep. John Culberson again … Continue reading →

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MJ Hegar in CD31

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. In a Texas congressional district that includes one of the country’s largest military bases, a military hero is betting she can stage a political upset. Air Force veteran MJ Hegar is launching a Democratic challenge against U.S. Rep. … Continue reading →

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Who wants to give Greg Abbott power over their health insurance?

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I sure don’t, but then I’m not the median voter in this state. The Senate Republicans’ health care plan would give governors virtually unchecked discretion over health insurance plans. In red states with governors hostile to health care expansion, such … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial week begins

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This will be the main event of the week. Eight months ahead of the 2018 primaries, Texas and its legal foes on Monday will kick off a week-long trial that could shake up races across the state. The state and … Continue reading →

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First finance reports for Congressional challengers start coming in

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Democratic candidate and nonprofit leader Alex Triantaphyllis announced he raised over $450,000 from more than 1,100 contributors since his entrance into the race for Texas’s 7th Congressional District. He will report over $400,000 cash on hand entering … Continue reading →

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Trumpcare would be a hospital killer

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is hardly a new problem, but it’s yet another aspect of Trumpcare that gets too little attention. Texas hospitals stand to lose billions under the Republican-backed health plan, as federal Medicaid dollars shrink, leading to a rise in uncompensated … Continue reading →

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WaPo looks at a couple of our Congressional primaries

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is supposed to be a story about how there’s a lot of people running for Congress as Democrats but (surprise!) they have different opinions about what to emphasize and how to win and stuff like that. Weird, right? Anyway, … Continue reading →

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Another look at redistricting in Texas

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in the spotlight right now. The odd shapes tell the story. A huge Republican majority in the Houston-area 2nd congressional district represented by Ted Poe curls around the region from Lake Houston, northeast of the city, makes a meandering, … Continue reading →

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