Tag Archives: Election 2018

2022 primary early voting, Day One: Let’s get this started

I’ll jump right in. Here are your Day One early voting totals. The table for comparison: Election Mail Early Total ================================ 2018 D 4,174 3,883 8,007 2018 R 6,138 3,509 9,647 2020 D 11,571 6,819 18,390 2020 R 12,890 5,411 … Continue reading

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We don’t really need more prosecutors on the bench

Ugh. On a winter afternoon nine months into the pandemic, Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg held a Zoom meeting with felony judges and prosecutors to discuss the backlog of cases caused by COVID-19 shutdowns at the downtown Houston courthouse. … Continue reading

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On to the next mail ballot problem

A lot of the people who managed to fill out the mail ballot application form correctly have failed to fill in the newly-required voter ID information on the ballot and have to get that fixed or have their ballot tossed. … Continue reading

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January 2022 campaign finance reports: Congress

The filing deadline has passed, the primary lineups are set, and we have a new set of races and candidates to review. As was the case in the past two cycles, I’ll follow the contested primaries as well as the … Continue reading

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Chron overview of the HD26 primary

I can’t do interviews in all of the primaries of interest, so I’m glad to see articles like this in the Chron, in which they sent out a brief Q&A to the two Democrats and one (incumbent) Republican running for … Continue reading

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Trib overview of the Democratic candidates for Lt Governor

It’s a good field, I’ll be happy to support any of them, but boy do I wish they’d all raise more money. Three Democrats are facing off in the lieutenant governor primary for the chance to challenge a veritable Goliath … Continue reading

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Three very early primary thoughts

1. After the exceedingly small number of mail ballots requested and cast in the District G special election, the primaries will be our next test of the SB1 effect on voting by mail. I will be interested to see if … Continue reading

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Huffman wins District G election

No runoff needed. Mary Nan Huffman, an attorney for the Houston Police Officers’ Union, has won a special election to become the next District G representative on City Council, according to the unofficial returns. With all voting centers reporting Tuesday … Continue reading

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District G special election final early turnout

I’m going to start this post with some numbers, to provide context. Election Mail Early E-Day Total Mail% Early% ========================================================== May09 Dist H 647 1,259 2,280 4,186 33.9% 45.5% May18 Dist K 1,737 1,867 1,531 5,135 41.2% 70.2% Jan22 Dist … Continue reading

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An early look at the primary for Commissioners Court, Precinct 4

I have a few thoughts about this. With a new Harris County precinct map in place, Democrats may have their best chance in a dozen years of capturing Precinct 4. That’s set up a fierce, three-way contest in the Democratic … Continue reading

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Filing update: This is why we have to wait a few days before we know for sure who’s running

In the end, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher avoided a contested primary. In less than 24 hours, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher went from having a competitive primary election in March to getting a free pass to the November general election for Houston’s … Continue reading

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Filing update: More candidates than you can count

This headline and first paragraph are short by a couple of candidates. A dozen potential challengers to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo were among the scores who filed ahead of Monday’s deadline to run for county offices next year. […] … Continue reading

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We are making progress on the flood bond projects

Let’s not lose sight of that. Three years into Harris County’s historic $2.5 billion flood bond program, progress can feel maddeningly slow. After decades of underinvestment in flood protection, however, any completed project is a welcome improvement for nearby residents. … Continue reading

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Kim Olson running for TDP Chair

Of interest. A retired Air Force colonel and former nominee for agriculture commissioner is running for chair of the Texas Democratic Party. Kim Olson is the first major candidate to announce a challenge to the party’s current leader, Gilberto Hinojosa, … Continue reading

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Filing update: Judge Hidalgo makes it official

She has filed for re-election, in case you had thought there was some other possibility. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced her 2022 re-election campaign Friday afternoon as she filed paperwork at the Harris County Democratic Party headquarters. Although progress … Continue reading

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Beto and South Texas

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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A brief filing update

Just a few observations as we head out of the holiday season and into what I expect will be the busier part of the filing period. I’m using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, the SOS candidate filing resource, and the candidate … Continue reading

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The growing field for Land Commissioner

We have some interesting candidates on our side. A member of a South Texas family that owns one of the largest ranches in the country is seeking the Democratic nomination for Texas land commissioner, the statewide office overseeing the Alamo’s … Continue reading

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Gina Calanni joins the Commissioners Court Precinct 4 race

We’re up to three Democratic candidates for Harris County Commissioners Court in Precinct 4 as former State Rep. Gina Calanni throws her hat in. The announcement can be seen here, but it’s an embedded image so I’m not going to … Continue reading

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Joy Diaz

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

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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Is there no way to fully close the flood bond funding gap?

Not looking great right now. For three years, Harris County Commissioners Court members have bickered, haggled and negotiated over the $2.5 billion flood bond program voters passed after Hurricane Harvey. Throughout all the discord over how projects should be prioritized … Continue reading

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Fort Bend Commissioners Court redistricting update

Was supposed to be done this week, but has been delayed. Fort Bend County Judge KP George has thrown a wrench in the Commissioners Court’s posted agenda to hold public hearings and adopt a final redistricting map on Oct. 26. … Continue reading

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Rep. Vicente Gonzalez to switch to CD34

And in doing so, he’s probably going to make it harder to hold onto CD15, the swingiest district in the state (as far as we can tell from 2020 data). U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, announced Tuesday he is running … Continue reading

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October 2021 campaign finance reports: Congress

Another three months have passed, and so we review the Congressional finance reports again. I fear these reports are about to get a lot more boring post-redistricting, but for now we will plow onward. The July 2021 reports are here, … Continue reading

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Fort Bend County Commissioners Court redistricting

From last week. Fort Bend County commissioners has formally called for the redistricting process to begin this week. The Commissioners Court will have to prepare maps of new precincts, following the 2020 census, to ensure that the boundaries retain “one-person-one-vote” … Continue reading

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Commissioners Court redistricting has begun

The Republicans are apoplectic. I have no sympathy. The two Republican Harris County commissioners say a proposal by Democrats to re-draw commissioner precinct boundaries will cut services and dilute the influence of conservative residents. The proposed map by Precinct 1 … Continue reading

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Comings and goings

Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in a new district again. Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has decided to run for reelection in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, opting to vie for one of Texas’ two new congressional districts — a … Continue reading

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The Trib on Collier/Dowd

Good story. Mike Collier is willing to bet Texas voters know his name. In fact, he’s confident that when he last ran for lieutenant governor three years ago and came within 5 percentage points of winning, it was because most … Continue reading

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Collier announces

It’s officially official, we have a contested primary for Lite Guv. Mike Collier has been itching for a rematch with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for nearly three years, after coming within 4.9 points of unseating the Republican in 2018. “I … Continue reading

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What about Lizzie?

Rep. Lizzie Fletcher is waiting to see what happens to her district with redistricting, just like the rest of us. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher’s political career became something of a trophy to Washington Democrats in 2018 after she won the Houston-based … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Congress, part 2

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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The electoral dress code lawsuit

Still interesting. A U.S. magistrate judge this week recommended striking down parts of Texas law that prohibit wearing political apparel within 100 feet of a polling place as unconstitutionally vague — but upholding a narrower provision that specifies that clothing … Continue reading

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The Republican AG primary just got bigger

The more, the more miserable. Attorney General Ken Paxton just got another Republican primary challenger, but this time it is someone who has been close to him for years: state Rep. Matt Krause. The Fort Worth lawmaker and founding member … Continue reading

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