Tag Archives: Beto O’Rourke

Opening look at the re-redistricting effort

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’re coming for our districts. More than one million Houstonians could have new congressional representation as early as next year under Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to redraw the state’s political maps. Abbott has ordered the Texas Legislature into a special … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A sudden surge in potential candidates

Posted on July 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg may be running for Governor. Sources say former Mayor Ron Nirenberg has been telling fellow Democrats he’s considering a run for governor in 2026 — a potentially grueling race against the formidable Republican Gov. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A sudden surge in potential candidates

Allred 2.0 launches

Posted on July 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He’s back. Democrat Colin Allred launched his campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, making a second run at the upper chamber after failing to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last year. “Texans are working harder than ever, not getting as … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Virts becomes first official Dem Senate candidate

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Surely not the last. Terry Virts, a former astronaut and International Space Station commander, announced Monday he is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas as a Democrat. With his campaign launch, Virts became the first Democrat to join what … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Virts becomes first official Dem Senate candidate

The Paxton opportunity

Posted on June 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Axios: A new private GOP poll is showing Republicans facing a growing problem in the Texas Senate race, the third such survey in just a month. Why it matters: Republicans haven’t lost a statewide race in Texas in more than three decades, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Paxton opportunity

A few 2026 statewide candidate tidbits

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This Politico story is mostly a lot of chatter from Texas Dems who have many different opinions about what kind of candidates ought to be running statewide next year. I’m not interested in that, but there were some newsy bits … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A few 2026 statewide candidate tidbits

Add Rep. Talarico to the “thinking about running for Senate” list

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Join the party, there’s plenty of room. State Rep. James Talarico, a former schoolteacher who often goes viral on social media for his feisty exchanges with Republicans, told Hearst Newspapers he is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Add Rep. Talarico to the “thinking about running for Senate” list

Tarrant county does mid-decade redistricting and gets sued over it

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court could get a bigger conservative majority next year under a new map passed Tuesday. Republican Commissioners Manny Ramirez, Matt Krause and County Judge Tim O’Hare voted to adopt the map. Democratic … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There’s a lot of Dems looking at the Senate race

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, from Thursday’s “Texas take with Jeremy Wallace” newsletter. The more endangered U.S. Sen. John Cornyn looks in early polling against Ken Paxton in the GOP primary, the more Democrats are buzzing. While a Democrat has not won … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on There’s a lot of Dems looking at the Senate race

Beto 3.0?

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Beto O’Rourke, a one-time Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Texas Governor, is holding town halls across the state. It’s the kind of thing someone running for office would do. O’Rourke is not currently a candidate, but on Saturday … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Walz and Beto host Fort Bend town hall

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

In case you’re looking for something to do. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke are coming to Fort Bend County for a Congressional town hall event Thursday. The town hall will take place from 6 to 7:30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is this the year Tarrant County finally goes blue?

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. “Tarrant County is the 15th-largest county in the country, so it should get a lot of attention. And it’s the third-largest county in Texas, so it makes sense that there would be a lot of focus there,” said Mark … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

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 →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

National attention on the Allred-Cruz race

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Things are a little different now than they were in 2018. Also, Dems have very few even remotely realistic pickup opportunities this cycle, so. With more than four months left before Election Day 2018, Democrat Beto O’Rourke had campaigned in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on National attention on the Allred-Cruz race

Allred maintains his fundraising pace

Posted on April 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna need to keep that going. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised over $9.5 million for his U.S. Senate campaign in this year’s first quarter, surpassing the campaign of his rival Sen. Ted Cruz. Notably, Allred has also raised more money … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Allred maintains his fundraising pace

Does Ted Cruz think he might lose?

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Who knows what he thinks? U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign is warning donors this week that he’s already tied with Colin Allred and bracing for a tougher 2024 reelection campaign than GOP voters might expect. The push comes less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

January 2024 campaign finance reports – Senate

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Harris County offices The field is set, with one more person than we had in October. Again, until we’ve narrowed this down to at most two, I’ll do this separately from the Congressional candidates. Here are the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCOTx declines to revive oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Supreme Court said Friday it would not consider Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke after a state appeals court dismissed it earlier this year. The all-GOP court denied Warren’s petition … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTx declines to revive oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto

Time for another chat about voter registration and turnout

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s do it. Texas Democrats came away from Beto O’Rourke’s surprisingly narrow 2018 defeat to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz with a simple plan: register to vote the millions of nonvoting Texans that demographics suggest lean Democrat and electoral victories will … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

July 2023 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What a difference three months has made. Back in April you could have counted the races and candidates of interest on your fingers. Now with the larger Senate race, the openings in CDs 18 and 32, and a few other … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Allred begins campaigning

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Go get started early. Democrats were ecstatic when U.S. Rep. Colin Allred announced his bid against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican they have come closest to beating in more than two decades of GOP dominance in statewide elections. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Allred begins campaigning

Oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto finally tossed

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sure took long enough. A state appeals court dismissed Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke, ruling Friday that statements by the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor were protected by the First Amendment. The Austin-based 3rd Court of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sen. Gutierrez talks about 2024

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s officially still thinking about it and will announce after the session. I’d say it’s a strong bet he’s already decided to run. State Senator Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday he’s going to wait before deciding on running for U.S. Senate. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On the (likely) future Biden/Trump matchup

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s way too early to pay any attention to state polling, but there are a few general principles to discuss here. President Joe Biden announced his reelection bid on Tuesday, setting up a potential rematch with former President Donald Trump … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sen. Gutierrez appears to be getting set to challenge Ted Cruz

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has become a fierce champion of the families impacted by the Uvalde school shooting, is likely to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, The Texas Tribune … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Precinct analysis: State House 2022

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have data. Texas Democrats and Republicans are beginning to gear up for a presidential election cycle in which opportunities to flip seats for Congress and the Legislature appear limited. It’s a natural outcome after Republicans redrew legislative and congressional … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What will it take to keep those ten appellate court benches we won in 2018?

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As you may recall, Democrats won a ton of Appellate Court races in 2018. Ten of them, in fact, five each on the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals, the first such victories since winning a lone bench in 2008. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What I want from the next HCDP Chair

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Harris County Democratic Party will soon have a new Chair. And as you know, I am a Democratic precinct chair, which means I’m one of the several hundred people that will vote on who that is. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Is it finally the time for Julian Castro?

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story is mostly about Ted Cruz and whether he might run for President again in 2024; the tone of the story is that he probably won’t. No one cares about that, but because it is a story about 2024 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: Inside and out of the city

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Most years we don’t get the data to differentiate between votes cast by residents of Houston and votes cast by Harris County non-Houston residents. There needs to be a citywide referendum of the ballot in order to get at this … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Uvalde parents will take their fight to the Lege

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not going to get what they want and they know it, but they’re still going to fight. I have so much respect for them. More than seven months after a teenage gunman killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: The not-as-good statewide races

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread Hidalgo versus Mealer Better statewide races The difference between these statewide races and the ones we have already looked at, including the Governor’s race, is very simple: These Republican candidates did better … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: The better statewide races

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread Hidalgo versus Mealer As noted before, Greg Abbott got 490K votes in Harris County, far less than the 559K he received in 2018 running against Lupe Valdez. Of the other six races … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments