Tag Archives: Election 2018

Bathroom bills and business interests

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly’s Dave Mann reviews the Republican schism over the bathroom bill and comes to the same conclusion as I have. At the moment, the Legislature—and the Republican party, for that matter—has settled into an uneasy stalemate between Patrick’s right-leaning … Continue reading →

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It’s already crowded in CD07

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna need a scorecard to keep track of all the players. On Wednesday, two Texas Democrats are launching separate campaigns for Congress in a district that’s served as a Republican stronghold since the congressional days of former President George H.W. … Continue reading →

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Castro will not run for Senate in 2018

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well, that’s settled. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, has decided not to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2018. He announced the decision in an email to supporters Monday, saying he wants to remain focused on his work … Continue reading →

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Court denies motion for appeals in redistricting case and sets trial date

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We are moving along in this process after such a long long looooooooooooooooong wait to get here. A three-judge panel on Monday denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to appeal a March ruling that said the Legislature intentionally discriminated … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Congressional districts

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Legislative Council now has full data from the 2016 elections on its site, so this seemed like as good a time as any to take a look at the data from Congressional districts. I’m much more limited in … Continue reading →

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Nonprofit VOTE report on voter turnout

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For your perusal. NATIONAL TURNOUT Voter turnout exceeded 2012 at a level consistent with the last three presidential elections. 60.2% of the nation’s 231 million eligible voters cast ballots, according to ballots counted and certified by state election boards, compared … Continue reading →

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Harris County bail system ruled unconstitutional

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Damn right. A federal judge in Houston Friday issued a scathing denouncement of Harris County’s cash bail system, saying it is fundamentally unfair to detain indigent people arrested for low-level offenses simply because they can’t afford to pay bail. In … Continue reading →

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Trial to be set to determine 2018 maps

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Some questions answered, still more raised. As the 2018 election cycle nears, it appears Texas and its legal foes are headed for a trial — yet again — over what the state’s House and congressional boundaries will look like, and … Continue reading →

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Big day for redistricting in court

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow the questions of what happens next in the redistricting lawsuits begin to get answered. Will Texas soon see new political maps that are friendlier to Latino and black voters and, in turn, Democrats? If so, who would draw them: … Continue reading →

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What will Joaquin do?

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Getting to be close to decision time. After U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro wrapped up speaking here Wednesday, completing the latest stop on his statewide tour ahead of a potential Senate run, one man in the crowd turned to another and … Continue reading →

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Two more redistricting updates

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From KUT, will we have a new Congressional map for next year? [Gerry Hebert, one of the plaintiff attorneys], says he’s hopeful there won’t be yet another election with the old maps. “The timing of the court’s decision is absolutely … Continue reading →

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Very early speculation about Congressional campaigns

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib rounded up all the scuttlebutt about who may be running for various Congressional districts next year. I’ve picked out a few to comment on. CD07: National Democrats are interested in Houston attorney Collin Cox and Alex Triantaphyllis, the … Continue reading →

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Texas Lyceum poll on Trump and 2018

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, the promised Day Two results: Statewide poll numbers released today by the Texas Lyceum, the state’s premier, non-partisan, nonprofit statewide leadership group, show U.S. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Houston (Lyceum Class of 2004) isn’t guaranteed another … Continue reading →

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Another study of bathrooms and business

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Short answer: Bathroom bills are bad. Legislation viewed by many as discriminatory toward LGBT Texans — including proposals to regulate which bathrooms transgender individuals may use — could cost the state $3.3 billion in annual tourism dollars and more than … Continue reading →

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State wants to appeal redistricting ruling

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The State of Texas filed a motion [Wednesday] afternoon with the three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case, asking the panel to give the state permission to appeal the panel’s March 10 ruling on the state’s 2011 … Continue reading →

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Would a contested primary for Senate be bad for Dems in 2018?

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A primary showdown between two well-liked and well-funded Democrats would add an extra layer of time and money for [Rep. Beto] O’Rourke and potentially [Rep. Joaquin] Castro – and could make it … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Castro will decide this month

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We should know soon if there are two Democratic challengers to Sen. Ted Cruz. After Joaquin Castro exhorted a room full of Dallas-area activists Sunday to mobilize against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, a man asked the San Antonio … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

O’Rourke’s “calculated gamble”

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a look back at Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s successful for for Congress in 2012 to see what we might learn about his current campaign for the Senate. In announcing Friday his challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, … Continue reading →

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Some Texas voting rights lawsuit updates

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a busy week for litigation related to voting rights issues in Texas. Here are updates to some cases, all of which happened this past week. From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has … Continue reading →

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Dukes fails to get charges tossed

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Too bad for her. A Travis County state district judge denied a motion by state Rep. Dawnna Dukes to dismiss four felony counts against her for tampering with public records. Dukes’ attorneys on March 8 asked Judge Brad Urrutia to … Continue reading →

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Steeleworkers unite

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So there I was perusing the Campaign Events section of the weekly HCDP email blast, when I spotted this Facebook event and damn near fell out of my chair. Have coffee with the candidates for US House District 36! On … Continue reading →

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Three candidates so far for CD07

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One of the interesting things to come out of the early days of the Dear Leader regime is the number of candidates for office in 2018 who have already made themselves known. We all know that CD07 is on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Beto-mania

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Beto O’Rourke made his first visit to Houston as a Senate candidate over the weekend. Senate hopeful and U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke introduced himself to Houston on Sunday as a potential check on President Donald Trump, urging voters to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

State files opposition to motion for new Congressional maps

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The State of Texas has filed its opposition to redistricting plaintiffs’ request for an order that would permanently block the current Texas congressional map and require a redraw of the map for the 2018 election. The state … Continue reading →

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Here comes Beto

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

He says he’s going to run a different kind of campaign. We’ll see what that means. No Texas Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in nearly thirty years or any statewide office since 1994. It is hard to find … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paxton stands by that Muslim ban

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Till the bitter end. Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday led a coalition of 13 states in filing a brief with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals defending President Donald Trump’s revised immigration order. In the brief, Paxton and … Continue reading →

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O’Rourke to announce for Senate today

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here he comes. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke will launch a campaign to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 on Friday, according to a colleague with direct knowledge of the El Paso Democrat’s thinking O’Rourke’s campaign team sent an email … Continue reading →

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A tale of two Congressmen

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Ted Poe has a status update. U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican from Humble, announced Sunday afternoon he is resigning from the hardline Republican group that helped sink GOP attempts to repeal former President Obama’s 2010 health care law. … Continue reading →

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January 2017 campaign finance reports: Harris County officeholders

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We may or may not have City of Houston elections this year, but we will definitely have Harris County elections next year. Here’s a brief tour of the finance reports for Harris County officeholders. First up, Commissioners Court: Rodney Ellis … Continue reading →

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Motion filed to block current Congressional map

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project. Moments ago the Plaintiffs in the ongoing Texas congressional redistricting case filed a joint motion asking the San Antonio Federal District Court for an injunction to block the use of the current congressional map during … Continue reading →

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What might it take to beat Ted Cruz?

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Roll Call considers the question. As Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro mulls a challenge to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Democrats and Republicans both say it would be a tall order in a deep-red state with little Democratic power. “I think what … Continue reading →

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Seems like it’s just a matter of time before Beto O’Rourke announces his Senate campaign

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Soon. Eyeing a takedown of Ted Cruz, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke may be on the verge of declaring his candidacy for a 2018 Senate race, the next best gauge whether Texas Democrats are enjoying the resurgence they claim. O’Rourke, D-El … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Millennials for office

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. These days, Kylie Mugleston spends a lot of time on street corners, piquing drivers’ curiosity with a sign that says “Talk to Your Future Politician.” The 19-year-old is heading a political campaign … Continue reading →

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Beware the coming shenanigans on SB6

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The full House may not get to vote on Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t get a chance to vote onwhat’s in the bill. But speculation that SB 6 may not make it to the … Continue reading →

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