Tag Archives: TDP

More on the SD13 race

From the Trib: In the span of a month, a Texas Senate seat will have been vacated and effectively filled, an unconventional turn of events that has Houston Democrats scrambling to replace one of their most venerated legislators. The highly … Continue reading

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SD13 nomination process update

Two possible candidates have taken themselves out of the running. State Rep. Garnet Coleman and former City Councilman C.O. Bradford have decided not to run for Rodney Ellis’ state Senate seat, citing a desire to retain seniority in the state … Continue reading

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Another FEC complaint filed against Cruz

We’re up to two. The Texas Democrats have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz and his associates violated campaign finance laws. The complaint, dated April 22, asserts that Cruz national co-chair, J. … Continue reading

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Appeals court rules against KSP

From last week, from the inbox via the Texas Democratic Party: (Yesterday), the Texas Democratic Party prevailed in King Street Patriots v. Texas Democratic Party, when the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District confirmed a lower court decision … Continue reading

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Dems prep for voter ID

It’s good to have a plan. Texas Democrats are renewing their opposition to the state’s voter-identification law, rolling out a program to educate voters ahead of a decisive few months that could see the controversial statute become a top issue … Continue reading

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Convention coverage

Wendy and Leticia and a whole host of others rally the crowd in Dallas. Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte shared the spotlight at the Texas Democratic Party convention on Friday night, promising to change the direction of the … Continue reading

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What is the sound of one politician switching?

It depends. When Lawrence Meyers won a seat on the statewide Court of Criminal Appeals in 1992, he was the first Republican elected to the state’s highest criminal court. This month he made history again. After switching parties, Meyers, who … Continue reading

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The people want Wendy to run for Governor

The Democratic people certainly do. Though speculation is still rampant on state Sen. Wendy Davis’ possible run for governor, some Democratic groups aren’t waiting for her call before pledging their support. Annie’s List, a political group that supports Democratic female … Continue reading

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Messing with the primaries

It’s like deja vu all over again. State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, has filed a bill to move up the primary one month in even-numbered years, to the first Tuesday in February. Patrick said people in both parties should support … Continue reading

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Runoff turnout

Who knows what to expect? Texans are voting in July for the first time in decades, the result of a lengthy federal court battle over new political districts that delayed the primary from March 6 to May 29. The unusual … Continue reading

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Steve Brown: The Grown-Up’s Platform

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Texas Democrats recently adopted a very progressive platform that addresses critical areas of need in our state. It also gives reasonable, … Continue reading

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Things to do this weekend

The Texas Democratic Party State Convention is in town starting tomorrow. Here are some of the things I plan to do: Thursday The HDCC was instrumental in getting the House Democratic caucus to 74 members after the 2008 election. It … Continue reading

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Harris County rejecting fewer voter registrations

In other lawsuit-related news: Harris County officials have rejected far fewer would-be voters since 2008, but Democrats are demanding more proof that voter rolls are not being illegally suppressed – particularly among Hispanics – as another U.S. presidential election approaches. … Continue reading

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If it walks like a PAC and talks like a PAC…

…the odds are pretty good that it’s a PAC. A Travis County district court judge ruled this week that a Houston-based tea party group is not a nonprofit corporation as it claims, but an unregistered political action committee that illegally … Continue reading

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Trying to save the April 3 primary date

The race is on to get new maps in hand in time to keep the April 3 primary date, since all the options for after that date are distinctly unpalatable in one way or another. On Friday, the State of … Continue reading

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Redistricting litigation threatens party conventions

With the April 3 primary date now almost certainly no longer in play, the two parties’ biennial conventions are also at risk as the redistricting litigation drags on. The state’s Democratic and Republican parties made substantial down payments months ago … Continue reading

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We have a deal on a unified primary date

From the Inbox: Joint Statement from TDP and RPT on Agreement Regarding 2012 General Primary Election Parties have submitted a joint agreed proposal to the San Antonio federal panel. Today, the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) and the Republican Party of Texas … Continue reading

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DC court sets date for preclearance trial, primary dates still up in the air

Via email from the Lone Star Project: [Monday], a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Federal District Court set January 17, 2012 through January 26, 2012 as the trial dates to formally review the Congressional, State House and State … Continue reading

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DOJ pushes back on State House and Congressional maps

Good. The Justice Department said Monday that Texas’ state House and congressional redistricting plans didn’t comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting … Continue reading

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The districts in dispute

The redistricting lawsuit in San Antonio wrapped up on Friday, so at this point all we can do is wait for the three-judge panel to issue its opinion, and for the DC Circuit Court to have it say on preclearance. … Continue reading

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How long will we talk about Latino turnout before someone does something about it?

Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before. On Saturday, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project announced its 2012 goal of raising Latino voting in Texas to 2 million from the 1.7 million who voted in the last presidential … Continue reading

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More redistricting plaintiffs

Here’s an update to the scorecard, for those of you hoping to keep track of the players. The Texas Democratic Party officially entered the court fight over Republican-dominated redistricting maps Wednesday. The new claims by the state Democratic Party came … Continue reading

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Richie will not run for another term as TDP Chair

Over the weekend, Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie announced that he would not seek another term when his current one expires next year. I’ve put his press release beneath the fold. I think Richie did some good work as … Continue reading

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Petition for new HCDP Chair

I don’t know how I feel about this, but it’s out there so I feel I should say something. The time has come for new leadership in the Harris County Democratic Party. After November’s defeat, we should look to new … Continue reading

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TDP to get KSP’s financial records

Good. Houston tea party spinoff King Street Patriots will grant the Texas Democratic Party access to its financial records, forestalling an injunction hearing that had been set for Monday afternoon in Austin, according to TDP. According to a TDP news … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hey, big secret spender

I know you’re as shocked as I am to learn that there are unknown entities spending large quantities of money in this election. Campaign finance watchdogs say the tactic conceals important information about who is backing a political cause, but … Continue reading

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TPJ files complaint against King Street Patriots

From the inbox: TPJ today filed a formal complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission alleging that the King Street Patriots and KSP/True the Vote have violated the state’s prohibition on corporate contributions to political parties and candidates. The complaint says … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TDP sues Tax Assessor again over voter registrations

This happened late last week while I was still affected by my site outage. For the second time in as many years, the Texas Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County tax assessor-collector, accusing the Republican-led voter … Continue reading

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Birdwell will be on the ballot

So says the Fifth Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel from that court ruled against the Democrats and said it won’t consider rehearing the case because of pending election deadlines: We conclude relators have not shown they are entitled to … Continue reading

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Is that really the argument you want to make?

SD22 special election winner and GOP nominee for November Bill Birdwell filed his response to the lawsuit that challenged his residency on Friday, and, well, color me puzzled. “It has been Texas law for over 40 years that a person’s … Continue reading

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Birdwell ballot challenge timeline

As you know, the Texas Democratic Party and its candidate for SD22, John Cullar, have filed a lawsuit challenging the residency of Republican candidate Bill Birdwell. Here’s the latest news regarding that: The Dallas Court of Appeals has asked Sen. … Continue reading

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There goes the bag drag

That sound you heard was many thousands of dollars being taken in by the President and the DNC. For the past 22 years, some state Democrats complain, the national party has used Texas like an ATM. The national party’s constant … Continue reading

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Dems drop effort to remove Greens from the ballot

After the initial Supreme Court ruling, it was probably a long shot. The Texas Democratic Party today cleared the way for Green Party candidates to remain on the ballot this year by dropping its state Supreme Court challenge to the … Continue reading

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Supremes give Greens a reprieve

They’re on the ballot for now. The Texas Supreme Court today stayed a district judge’s order blocking the Green Party of Texas from certifying its candidates for the general election ballot. The order allows the Green Party to legally establish … Continue reading

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