Tag Archives: Election 2024

Once again with SCOTx and abortion

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’d like to think abortion will make a difference in the Supreme Court races, but it’s not so easy. Three Texas Supreme Court seats are up for grabs this November and, for the first time in a long time, Republican … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Justice Sarah Beth Landau

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am continuing the series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested November elections. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. Much more information … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Don’t Paxton the CCA

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A good message. Before this year, even reasonably well-informed Texans didn’t know much about the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals. Then Attorney General Ken Paxton took a keen interest in ousting several of the court’s justices. Suddenly, many voters knew … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Fredericka Phillips

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am continuing the series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested November elections. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. Much more information … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit pauses vote harvesting injunction

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Here they come to do what they do. A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated portions of Texas’ 2021 voting law regulating ballot handling, ruling that a judge’s previous decision to strike certain rules came too close to the 2024 … Continue reading →

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The South Texas Congressional races

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Feels like I’ve heard less about them this year than in 2022, but as the story notes, the Dems are on offense this time. It’s déjà vu in South Texas. Texas’ two most competitive congressional races will feature rematches from … Continue reading →

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Interview with Kristin Hook

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I said on Monday that I had reached out to the campaign of Dr. Kristin Hook in CD21 for an interview but hadn’t heard back. As fortune would have it, I got a reply from her later that morning, and … Continue reading →

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UH-Hobby Center: Cruz 50, Allred 46

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just checking in. The Texas Senate race remains close just a week out from early voting, with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz up 4 percentage points over U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, according to a new statewide poll. The Hobby School of … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The Chron gets on the “no trust, no bond” train

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The students of HISD shouldn’t have to worry if traces of lead are seeping into the water, past the district’s jerry-rigged mitigation efforts. Or whether a troubled individual with a semi-automatic can slip past a lack of fencing and … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Justice Meg Poissant

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am continuing the series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested November elections. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. Much more information … Continue reading →

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Paxton lawsuit against Travis County over voter registration returned to state court

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Is this even still germane? A federal court on Thursday returned a lawsuit to state court that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had filed against Travis County over an effort to register voters before the November election. The federal court … Continue reading →

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Interview with Laurel Swift

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We know that in our post-redistricting world there aren’t many legislative districts that are truly competitive, but sometimes opportunities arise where you hadn’t expected them. HD121, the San Antonio district that was once represented by Speaker Joe Straus, is nominally … Continue reading →

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On longshot candidates

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks at candidates running in districts they are highly unlikely to win. I have a few thoughts. In the 2022 election, a Houston Chronicle analysis found only about 5% of Texans lived in districts with competitive races for … Continue reading →

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DACA at the Fifth Circuit

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A big week for that terrible court. On Thursday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case to determine the future of “Dreamers” who came to the country as children, including an estimated 27,000 Houstonians. The hearing is the latest … Continue reading →

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More of the omnibus voter suppression bill blocked

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Better (very) late than never. Certain provisions of Texas’ sweeping 2021 voting law that restrict voter assistance violate the federal Voting Rights Act and cannot be enforced, a federal judge in Texas ruled Friday. Among the rules struck down by … Continue reading →

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HISD cornucopia

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Too much news, too little time, so a-rounding up we go… Houston coalitions hold dueling press conferences to support, oppose HISD’s $4.4B school bond HISD parents, Houston’s NAACP branch, the Houston Federation of Teachers, the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor … Continue reading →

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Some finance and fundraising bits

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Colin Allred keeps raking it in. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised $30.3 million for his Senate campaign in the third quarter of the year, outpacing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s haul over the same three-month period, according to figures announced by … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The obvious choice in the special election

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Erica Lee Carter in the special election for CD18. Erica Lee Carter isn’t her mother. “I can never be that iconic,” she told the editorial board. When her mother, the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee passed … Continue reading →

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Of course Ted Cruz doesn’t want to talk about abortion

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

He has nothing good to say and he’s trying not to lose. Simple as that. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been a loud anti-abortion crusader throughout his political career. But as reproductive rights loom over the election season as a … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rhonda Hart

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the Railroad Commission to Congress today, where we meet a candidate that I specifically wanted to meet. I wrote about Rhonda Hart after she announced her candidacy in CD14, a red district with a truly awful incumbent (yes, even … Continue reading →

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The “Can Allred win?” question

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

At least we’re asking the question. Usually, we don’t even get that. Democrats are closing the gap in their uphill campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, with polls showing improvement for Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and national Democrats’ … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Justice Julie Countiss

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am continuing the series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested November elections. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. Much more information … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS leaves Texas anti-EMTALA ruling in place

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Another reminder of what the stakes are this election, in case you needed it. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions when the procedure would conflict with the state’s strict abortion … Continue reading →

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One out of three will have to do for now

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses two Supreme Court incumbents and one Democratic challenger. I’m going to focus on that one. Campaign donations came in from all over the country, and at first Christine Vinh Weems didn’t know why. The Democrat running for … Continue reading →

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Interview with Katherine Culbert

Posted on October 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Every two years we have an election for Railroad Commissioner, which means that every two years we get a batch of articles explaining how the Railroad Commission has nothing to do with railroads or trains. It’s about energy and regulating … Continue reading →

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The cost of the HISD bond

Posted on October 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like this would be getting less attention if it weren’t for Mike Miles. Houston ISD’s $4.4 billion school bond would add an estimated $8.9 billion in debt for the district over more than 30 years if approved by … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024, School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Maybe those Appraisal District elections weren’t such a hot idea

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks to Tarrant County for setting the bad example. The Tarrant Appraisal District’s recent changes to local tax policy might violate Texas law, according to a state lawmaker. “I don’t believe the actions they’ve taken are legal,” Sen. Paul Bettencourt, … Continue reading →

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The Ted Cruz Curse continues

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Astros fans. Guess who was at the Astros game today? #Cruzcurse 😡 — Barbi (@Barbi__7) 10:00 PM – 02 October 2024 The Ted Cruz curse strikes (no pun intended) again. Allegedly. The Texas senator’s attendance at sporting events across … Continue reading →

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Eighteen million registered voters

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Number go up. Texas has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing states since the 1970s, but its voter rolls have at times been stagnant. From 2000 to 2012, the number of registered voters grew by 1.2 million. In only the … Continue reading →

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Republicans for Allred

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Since moving to The Woodlands about two years ago, former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger — one of the most vocal GOP critics of Donald Trump — says he’s met several Texas Republicans … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Once again for Teare

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

For the second time this year, the Chron endorses Sean Teare for District Attorney. What impressed us most about Teare is his ability to see the bigger picture of the justice system and how all the pieces fit together. His … Continue reading →

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Two bits of polling

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Newsweek has a somewhat misleading poll-related story. Ted Cruz’s lead over his Democratic challenger Colin Allred in the Texas Senate race has narrowed, one recent poll shows, as voters appear to view the senator less favorably. A Public Policy Polling/Clean … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Interview with Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Last year at this time, I interviewed Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, whose office was then newly back in the business of running elections. They’ve had quite a few more opportunities to do that since then, from the city runoffs … Continue reading →

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Amarillo’s Mayor and the abortion travel ban

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A really interesting profile of Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley, with a closer look at how he has handled the abortion travel ban issue that is now a referendum on their fall ballot. In his brief tenure as mayor of the … Continue reading →

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