Tag Archives: Beto O’Rourke

Three comments about three vaccine mandate news stories

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Item one: A U.S. district judge in North Texas has blocked a mask mandate and vaccine requirement for staff and students in the Head Start program that was issued by President Joe Biden. Head Start is a federal school readiness … Continue reading →

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Nobody bullshits like Greg Abbott

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some stories I blog about require subtle thought and detailed analysis. Others pretty much speak for themselves. The two most powerful people overseeing Texas’ electric grid sat next to each other in a quickly arranged Austin news conference in early … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Joy Diaz joins the Governor’s race

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I wish her luck, but I don’t think she’s going to get very far. After 16 years on the airwaves in Austin as a journalist at KUT and the public affairs show, “Texas Standard,” Joy Diaz announced Wednesday that she’s … Continue reading →

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ERCOT and PUC swear there will be no blackouts this winter

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Do you believe them? The Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Wednesday pledged that the “lights will stay on” this winter as it inspects power generators and enforces other requirements to avoid a deadly power … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Abbott 52, Beto 37

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Brutal, but remember what we say about every poll result, whether good, bad, or indifferent: It’s one data point. Gov. Greg Abbott has a commanding lead over Democrat Beto O’Rourke in a new public poll released on Wednesday. Abbott, a … Continue reading →

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It’s the power grid, stupid

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s also a campaign theme. Texas Democrats want to talk about the power grid. Specifically, they want to talk about how it failed in February, how they don’t think enough has been done to fix it and why they believe … Continue reading →

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Beto and South Texas

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourself for a lot of stories like this in the coming months. In the first days of his campaign for governor, Beto O’Rourke made a beeline to this southernmost corner of the state, saying it was no mistake he … Continue reading →

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Greg Abbott’s bet

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What, me worry about blackouts? Gov. Greg Abbott promised that the state’s electric grid would be able to withstand pressures caused by any potential winter storm that occurs this year in a television interview Friday. “Listen, very confident about the grid. … Continue reading →

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McConaughey not running for Governor

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Thank God that’s over. Actor Matthew McConaughey on Sunday removed himself from consideration as a potential candidate for governor after months of toying with a campaign. In a video posted to his Twitter account, McConaughey, who lives in Austin, said … Continue reading →

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DMN/UT-Tyler: Abbott 45, Beto 39

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The state’s weirdest pollster does it again. Freshly announced gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke is running six percentage points behind Gov. Greg Abbott in a direct matchup, and Abbott leads both the Democrat O’Rourke and Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey in a … Continue reading →

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What if it wasn’t Beto?

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the crosstabs to the recent UT/Trib poll of Texas that gave Greg Abbott a 46-37 lead over Beto O’Rourke. If you scroll down to page 66, you will find question 21B: “If the 2022 election for Governor were … Continue reading →

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FERC report on the freeze

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was lack of weatherization all along. A shortage of natural gas during the winter storm that swept Texas and other states in the south central United States in February was primarily caused by the oil and gas industry’s failure … Continue reading →

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Beto raises $2 million on his first official day as a candidate

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I did say this would be the next story, didn’t I? Beto O’Rourke raised $2 million in the first 24 hours of his run for governor, his campaign tells The Texas Tribune. His campaign called it a record “for any … Continue reading →

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Beto makes it official

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You heard it here in Texas Monthly first. Or maybe you got the campaign announcement in your email, which I got at basically the same time as when I saw this. But either way, you’ve now heard it. For months, … Continue reading →

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Joy Diaz

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of “potential candidate” news is tucked into this story about the current state of the Democratic statewide slate. If Democrats had a mantra, it would probably be something like “diversity and inclusion.” So it’s kind of strange that … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The new State House map

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Like it or not, we have new State House districts. We may as well acquaint ourselves with them. The coverage we’ve had so far has focused on the 2020 election numbers to say whether a district will be red or … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib: Abbott 46, Beto 37

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Data point #2, arriving on schedule. Gov. Greg Abbott has a comfortable lead over potential Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, according to a new poll from the University of Texas at Austin and The Texas Tribune. The survey of registered voters … Continue reading →

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Hispanic Policy Foundation poll: Abbott 44, Beto 43

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, some new polling data, and this one is eye-catching. A year before they could meet in a showdown for the state’s top office, Gov. Greg Abbott and expected Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke are virtually tied, according to … Continue reading →

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Does this sound like a guy who’s running for Governor?

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, probably not. But you never know. Actor Matthew McConaughey is apparently not interested in running for Texas governor unless he thinks the role would allow him to truly make a difference. On Thursday, the Texas-born actor went on … Continue reading →

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Beto and McConaughey

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Our guy has a few thoughts about that other guy. Beto O’Rourke says he is still “very seriously” thinking about running for governor — and that he is not surprised Matthew McConaughey, another potential candidate, is polling so well against … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Everyone is under water

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great poll for anyone. As Governor Greg Abbott faces reelection in 2022, a slight majority of voters say 51 – 42 percent that he does not deserve to be reelected, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University poll of … Continue reading →

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Matthew Dowd has entered the Dem primary for Lite Guv

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We have another contested primary for Dems. Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for George W. Bush’s presidential reelection campaign who later split with the former president publicly, is running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat. Dowd also has worked for … Continue reading →

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UT-Tyler/DMN: Abbott loses ground

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A well-timed poll result. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) may be feeling the pressure, the latest poll from The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows. Abbott’s approval rating has dropped to 45 percent in the … Continue reading →

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Signs pointing to Beto running for Governor

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, God, yes. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke is preparing to run for governor of Texas in 2022, with an announcement expected later this year, Texas political operatives tell Axios. Why it matters: O’Rourke’s entry would give Democrats a high-profile candidate with a … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: SBOE

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading →

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Matthew Dowd

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what to make of this. A little more than a week after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Matthew Dowd announced he was leaving his job as chief political analyst with ABC News after thirteen years with … Continue reading →

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The real reason (that we already know) why Greg Abbott hates mask mandates

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s pandering to the base. I mean, duh! When Texas had its first big surge of COVID hospitalizations, Gov. Greg Abbott responded by shutting down bars and mandating masks. As the second surge hit, Abbott put in place an automatic … Continue reading →

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A look ahead to Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Census redistricting data is out, and that means a whole lot of map-drawing is in our future. The main focus on this will be in Austin where the Congressional and legislative maps are re-drawn, but those … Continue reading →

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The march for voting rights

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good work, but it can’t be the end. Saturday marked the third time in as many months that former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke has headlined a voting rights rally at the Texas Capitol, as Democrats hope to keep momentum with … Continue reading →

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Day 11 quorum busting post: The Beto factor

Posted on July 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Early on I mentioned how one potentially limiting factor in the Democratic exodus to Washington DC was funding, as housing and feeding 50+ people in the Capitol for up to four weeks would run into some money. Turns out, Beto … Continue reading →

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Day 3 not as long omnibus quorum busting post

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s jump right in… Who’s paying for Texas Democrats’ trip to DC? Beto O’Rourke has already raised $400K. Beto O’Rourke’s political action committee has raised nearly half a million dollars to support Texas Democrats’ escape to Washington, D.C., he said … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Yeah, Greg Abbott has a ton of money

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the one thing he’s really good at. Gov. Greg Abbott is starting his 2022 reelection campaign with $55 million in the bank, a staggering figure even by the already high standards for which his fundraising is known. His campaign … Continue reading →

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Other questions from McConaughey Poll II

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Part Two of my look at the June DMN/UT-Tyler poll, which has its share of interesting results. Still, not everything is coming up roses for Abbott. His job approval rating is respectable, with 50% approving of his performance and 36% … Continue reading →

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McConaughey Poll II: It’s all still ridiculous

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, none of the canonical sequel subtitles fit here. Gov. Greg Abbott, after trailing potential challenger Matthew McConaughey in the spring, has rebounded and now has a slight — but not statistically significant — lead over the movie star in … Continue reading →

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