Tag Archives: Tarrant County

The “blue spine” and the rural counties

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Point: For the third consecutive election cycle, Democrats saw their advantage over Republicans grow in the 21 counties along Interstate 35, allowing them to further chip into the Republican dominance that has lasted for nearly three decades. The result was … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tarrant County has gone (tentatively) blue

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At the Presidential level, with votes still being counted. Though President Donald Trump has been declared the winner in Texas, former Vice President Joe Biden has taken the lead with the latest results in Tarrant County. Biden had a 427 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s Julie Oliver week

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Julie Oliver, the Democratic candidate in CD25, is getting a fair bit of attention this week. First, there’s this Statesman story about what her path to victory looks like. On a recent Zoom fundraiser with Beto O’Rourke, Democratic congressional candidate … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s Julie Oliver week

Libertarians will stay on the ballot

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Republicans. You were too late after all. The Texas Supreme Court on Saturday rejected an attempt by Republicans to kick 44 Libertarians off the ballot in the November elections. Several Republican Party candidates and organizations had sued to remove … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More on the Republican attempt to defenestrate the Libertarians

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the Statesman: Republican candidates and organizations are asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove 41 members of the Libertarian Party from the November ballots. All of the Libertarians are ineligible to run, the GOP argues, because they failed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Republicans go to Supreme Court to remove Libertarian candidates

Posted on August 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If at first you don’t succeed, make up a new statutory deadline that you claim is the real date that matters. About a week after Texas Democrats took several Green Party candidates to court and had them knocked off the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

As goes Tarrant, 2020 edition

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, old friend. Shortly after Democrat Beto O’Rourke launched his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, he made several visits to Tarrant County in North Texas to press the message that if he could flip this county, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hollins asks for some slack on when mail ballots are received

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: On Wednesday, August 19, 2020, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins sent a formal request to Governor Greg Abbott requesting that Governor Abbott extend the deadline by which county election administrators can receive mail ballots. The deadline for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hollins asks for some slack on when mail ballots are received

Harris County issues school closure order

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. Harris County and Houston health authorities on Friday ordered all public and non-religious private schools to delay opening for in-person instruction until at least Sept. 8 — a date likely to be extended unless the region sees … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Today is Primary Runoff Day

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Last chance to vote for your party’s nominees. From the inbox: Today, Tuesday, July 14th, is Election Day for the July 2020 Primary Runoff Elections.Voters can cast their ballots anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at any of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Today is Primary Runoff Day

Interview with Rep. Chris Turner

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve done two interviews about redistricting so far, with both of them focused on the litigation aspect of it, which in turn had a focus on Congress. Today I want to pay more attention to the Legislature, which is not … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Rep. Chris Turner

Ready or not, here we vote

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hope it goes all right. Poll workers [began] greeting voters from behind face masks and shields as early voting begins in primary runoffs that will look and operate differently from any Texas election in the past 100 years. Although the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Former Bloomberg staffers sue him

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. Four former workers for Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign in Texas are suing him for fraud, alleging that he went back on a promise to pay them through the November election. In lawsuits filed Monday in Tarrant County, the former … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Former Bloomberg staffers sue him

Here come the shelter-in-place orders

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The shutdowns are getting shut-down-ier. Many of Texas’ biggest cities and counties are ordering residents to shelter in place whenever possible. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff on Monday evening ordered residents to stay in … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Primary precinct analysis: Who did what in the RRC race

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Railroad Commissioner primary was a bit like the Senate primary – multiple candidates (though not nearly as many), not a whole lot of money, but the candidate who did best in fundraising was also the leading votegetter. Here’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Primary precinct analysis: Everyone did something in the Senate primary

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So while we wait for actual precinct data from the primary, I thought I’d take a look at some county-level data from the non-Presidential races, as they have the county-by-county breakdown on the SOS election night pages. The US Senate … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Let’s talk turnout

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few random bits and pieces about turnout from the primaries. On the one hand, I think it’s great that Dems got the turnout that we did, in Harris County and around the state. On the other hand, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s talk turnout

Primary early voting: Comparing 2020 to 2016

Posted on March 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks into the early voting numbers around the state. Experts cautioned that early voting data should be taken with a grain of salt — for one because the subset of people who vote early aren’t necessarily representative of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

After-deadline filing review: The Lege

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we come to the State House, which is where most of the action will be in 2020. In 2018, much of the energy and focus was on Congressional races, to the point where some hand-wringing articles were written about … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Will Kay Granger get KO’ed?

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Henry Cuellar isn’t the only longtime Texas Congressperson facing a serious primary challenge. It’s the question on the minds of Republicans from Washington to Cowtown: Is one of Texas’ most powerful U.S. House members in political trouble? Enough people … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The need for voter registration never ends

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A small step back, but I expect a big step forward next year. Democrats in Texas see registering new voters as crucial to winning statewide elections in 2020, but the number of registered voters in Harris County, the state’s largest, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The need for voter registration never ends

Other counties also considering property tax rate hikes

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. A statewide property tax relief plan that takes effect next year is prompting hefty tax increases this fall in many of the biggest cities and counties in Texas, even in places that … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Appealing the Crystal Mason illegal voting conviction

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This continues to be an appalling travesty. When Crystal Mason got out of federal prison, she said, she “got out running.” By Nov. 8, 2016, when she’d been out for months but was still on supervised release, she was working … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Our all-important metro areas

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Another look at the trouble Republicans face in Texas now. The key to Texas’ political future is whether it finally follows the geographic realignment that has transformed the politics of many other states over the past quarter century. Across the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Raising money to register Republicans

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Just keeping an eye on things. A new super PAC focused on registering new Republican voters in Texas has raised nearly $10 million from some of the state’s biggest GOP donors, according to its first report to the Federal Election … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The main concern about voting centers

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story, which is about the implementation of voting centers in multiple counties across Texas for the 2020 election, delves into one of the main concern about them: Voting centers can change from one election to the next, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Our measles risk

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Do I spend too much time worrying about stuff like this, or do I not spend enough time on it? Harris County is one of the nation’s most vulnerable counties to a measles outbreak, according to a new study based … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Our measles risk

Is the Lege going to try to “fix” HD90?

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a legislative to do list item that has been completely off the radar. Federal courts last year gave Texas lawmakers 45 days from the beginning of this year’s legislative session to start redrawing boundary lines for Fort Worth’s House … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Fort Worth Mayor’s race

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. Mayor Betsy Price has competition. Democrat Deborah Peoples announced Tuesday night she is running for mayor in Fort Worth. As Peoples addressed a crowd of several hundred people at 6 p.m., the back room of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas and Tarrant

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib looks at Beto O’Rourke’s campaign focus on Tarrant County. Fort Worth and its outlying ranches and suburbs are mostly a backwater in Texas politics. Gerrymandered to the hilt, the national parties have mostly ignored this county. But since … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Early voting Day 5: It’s been a long week (in a good way)

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Did I mention it’s been busy? Voters across the state have come out in massive numbers during the first five days of early voting, and soon, more Texans will have voted early in 2018 than in all of 2014’s early … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

This is not how you secure elections

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is atrocious. If she had known it was illegal, Crystal Mason said she would have never cast a vote in the 2016 presidential election. The 43-year-old former tax preparer hadn’t even planned on voting until her mother encouraged her … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The rural/suburban tradeoff

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Martin Longman returns to a point he has been making about the way the vote shifted in the 2016 election. Let’s try to be clear about what we mean. Hillary Clinton won a lot of votes in the suburbs from … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Someone really doesn’t like the Paxton case judge

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s dirty tricks time. An anonymous campaign-like piece of mail has begun appearing in Texas attacking the judge overseeing Attorney General Ken Paxton’s criminal securities fraud trial, discrediting the Tarrant County jurist who has said he plans to stay with … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments