Tag Archives: Barry Smitherman

Guzman to run for AG

Certainly makes that primary more interesting. Eva Guzman, the former justice on the Texas Supreme Court, has filed paperwork to run for state attorney general. On Friday, Guzman, a Republican, filed what is known as a campaign treasurer appointment form … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

On succeeding, and defending, Ken Paxton

Ross Ramsay: While Ken Paxton fights to avoid convictions and jail time on indictments alleging securities violations — and to keep his job as Texas attorney general — a muted and unofficial conversation about who will succeed him is already … Continue reading

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fracking ban on the ballot in Denton

This has the potential to be even bigger than the HERO repeal referendum. Voters will decide whether this North Texas college town will become the state’s first city to ban hydraulic fracturing. After a public hearing Tuesday night that stretched … Continue reading

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The UT/TT primary polls were completely useless

I expressed my contempt with the UT/Texas Trib’s Democratic primary poll result for the US Senate race last night, which they richly deserved. Sure, pollster Jim Henson admitted that “the first person to raise some money and run some ads … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On succeeding Abbott as AG

The next Attorney General will inherit a lot of Greg Abbott’s unfinished fights, some of which he instigated and some of which were thrust upon him by the Lege. Defending the constitutionality of the state’s controversial public school finance system … Continue reading

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We’ll always have Kinky

Like cicadas on a four-year cycle, he keeps coming back. Kinky Friedman doesn’t know if he’s ready to jump back into Texas politics. But the cigar-chewing humorist and musician — known for the black attire and cowboy hats he normally … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Patrick and Williams keep squabbling

Just as a reminder that Senate Republicans don’t need Democrats to stir up trouble, here’s a flare-up of an earlier kerfuffle. Fire one. In a recent interview with The Texas Tribune, my colleague, state Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Smitherman says he’s in for Attorney General

Whatever. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman is running for the 2014 Republican nomination for Attorney General, he confirmed to the Tribune. Public announcements via social media are planned for Monday. Smitherman told the Tribune he hopes to continue the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry goes on a veto spree

Here’s the full list. Among the victims are the omnibus ethics bill HB217, thus giving Allen Blakemore his fondest wish; two bills aimed at reducing the number of standardized tests some students must take, one of which will make William … Continue reading

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Why stop at one veto of an ethics bill?

Why not veto them all? Allen Blakemore has launched an effort to recruit about 30 fellow Republican political consultants and their clients to push the governor to veto the omnibus ethics bill. Blakemore, who lobbies for the Conservative Republicans of … Continue reading

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Legislative quick hits

This is the time of the session where there’s lots happening, and there isn’t always the time or space to stay on top of it all. So here are a few quick updates on things that are happening in an … Continue reading

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Did Ted Cruz do better in Latino areas than other Republicans?

Lisa Falkenberg drops the following tidbit in her post-election column on why the GOP in general and in Texas needs to figure out how to appeal to Latino voters. In Texas, the best data so far show a 70-30 split … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2012 Republican primary runoffs

All the results are here. In the end, Ted Cruz won a pretty solid victory. I’ll note that in the last two publicly released polls, PPP had Cruz up by 10, whereas Baselice & Associates claimed Dewhurst was up by … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

In case you were wondering why we have bad air quality in Texas

Ever wonder why we have such lax enforcement of environmental regulations here in Texas? One reason is because the people who head up the agencies that have the power to enforce those regulations are mostly charlatans and industry apologists. Go … Continue reading

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