Tag Archives: Briscoe Cain

Primary runoff results: Congress

Posted on May 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Christian Menefee won big. U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green in Houston’s closely watched Democratic runoff for Texas’ newly redrawn Congressional District 18, positioning Menefee to hold the heavily Democratic seat in November. The race capped … Continue reading →

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Two Congressional runoff polls

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Make of them what you will. Rep. Christian Menefee leads Rep. Al Green by 7 percentage points heading into the final days of the runoff, according to a new poll of the closely watched race between two Houston Democratic members … Continue reading →

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Republican panic update

Posted on May 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. Texas Republicans are once again sounding alarm bells about the state’s U.S. Senate seat, saying that if Republicans nominate state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the May 26 primary runoff, it will create a drag on the entire Texas GOP ticket. … Continue reading →

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Thankfully, a lot of those recent forced birth lawsuits are crappy

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They have a key thing in common, beyond the misogynist zealot lawyer who runs them. Jerry Rodriguez appeared to be a deeply aggrieved man—the victim of a scheme orchestrated by his girlfriend’s domineering ex-partner to “murder” not one, but two, of … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts on the 2026 primaries

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have full turnout numbers yet, but as of Wednesday some 363,826 votes were cast in the Democratic primary for Senate in Harris County, while there were 197,389 votes cast on the Republican side. About 140K votes were cast … Continue reading →

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So who might be running for what now?

Posted on November 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a scramble going on, that’s for sure. In August, when the Texas Legislature passed a new congressional map intended to yield five additional seats for the GOP, a mass of Republicans stepped forward to run in the newly gerrymandered … Continue reading →

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Terry Virts to run in CD09

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All right. Terry Virts, the former Air Force pilot and retired astronaut, ended his bid Thursday for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and announced that he would enter the race for a newly drawn congressional district in the Houston … Continue reading →

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“Wrongful death” anti-abortion lawsuit dropped

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Texas man who sued three women for allegedly helping his ex-wife obtain a medication abortion, one of the first and most explosive lawsuits after Texas began banning the procedure, has dropped his claims, according to defendants. The wrongful … Continue reading →

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The facts about Colony Ridge (that Greg Abbott and the other Republicans will ignore)

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What the Liberty County Sheriff says: On a Sunday evening before Labor Day, Liberty County Sheriff’s Cpl. Robert Whitesel maneuvered his patrol car through the sprawling development known as Colony Ridge, humming along to a Guns N’ Roses power ballad. … Continue reading →

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Meet your Paxton prosecutors

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s officially handed over to the Senate now. The Texas House on Monday named 12 of its members to prosecute its case against impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state Senate. The House announced a Republican-majority board of managers … Continue reading →

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Countersuit in the “wrongful death” abortion saga

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wild. A man who is suing his ex-wife’s friends for allegedly helping her get an abortion may have known about her plans and done nothing to stop her, according to a new legal filing. Marcus Silva brought a wrongful-death lawsuit … Continue reading →

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This is definitely a “root for the meteor” situation

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Also a “pop some corn” situation. Two state lawmakers have called for the resignation of Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, after The Texas Tribune reported that he is being investigated after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a Capitol intern. … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds go back to work

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it, but I’m waiting for another shoe to drop. Some abortion advocacy nonprofit groups have resumed paying for Texans to get abortions out of state after a court ruling last month. These groups, called abortion funds, stopped … Continue reading →

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The next frontier in forced birth litigation

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is truly wild, and potentially very scary. A Texas man is suing three women under the wrongful death statute, alleging that they assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy, the first such case brought since the state’s near-total ban … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit again takes Paxton off the hook for testifying in abortion funds’ lawsuit

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like deja vu all over again. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not have to testify in court as part of a lawsuit over whether abortion funds can help people access the procedure in states where it’s still legal. … Continue reading →

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Wendy Davis’ lawsuit against SB8 dismissed

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. A federal judge has dismissed a narrow challenge to Texas’ ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The lawsuit was brought by former State Sen. Wendy Davis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion … Continue reading →

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Paxton taken off the hook for testifying in abortion funds’ lawsuit

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

By the Fifth Circuit, of course. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not have to testify as nonprofits that help patients legally obtain abortions seek clarity on whether they can do their work in states like Texas where the procedure … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Yeah, I’m still mad

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that Chuck Crews endorsement I thought we were going to get on Wednesday instead of that giant turd the Chron gifted us with. State Rep. Briscoe Cain’s three terms in the Texas House could charitably be described as harmful … Continue reading →

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Evade this, Kenny

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Paxton gets ordered to testify, along with an old-fashioned bench slapping. A federal judge has ordered Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to testify in an abortion rights lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman had previously quashed the subpoena, which Paxton … Continue reading →

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The hearing that Paxton was trying to flee from

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about whether the First Amendment rights of abortion funds have been abridged by threats of prosecution from people like Ken Paxton. You know, no big deal. Leaders of Texas’ most prominent abortion funds on Tuesday implored a federal judge … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds file First Amendment lawsuit for their right to assist others access abortion

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what SCOTUS does with this one, because for sure that’s where this will end up. Reproductive rights groups on Tuesday filed a federal class-action lawsuit to head off possible prosecution from Texas officials for helping Texans gain access … Continue reading →

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The Republicans just want to punish everyone for every abortion ever

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They want to put you in jail. More than 70 Republican state lawmakers have signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief siding with Attorney General Ken Paxton in arguing that a nearly century-old law imposing criminal penalties against those who help a … Continue reading →

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How are Texas businesses going to react to the forthcoming criminalization of abortion?

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too soon to say. Certainly too soon for most of them to say. In overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court presented corporate America with a question that may prove uncomfortable for big companies headquartered in states such as … Continue reading →

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DAs are not going to be able to avoid enforcing anti-abortion laws

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not how it works. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, local prosecutors in several of the largest Texas counties vowed not to file criminal charges in abortion-related cases, seemingly offering hope … Continue reading →

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There’s only so much that Austin (or any other Texas city) can do to protect abortion rights

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate this, I really do, but it’s important to remember that it can only ever be a band-aid, and very likely a temporary one. The city of Austin is attempting to shield its residents from prosecution under a Texas … Continue reading →

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Republicans threaten businesses over abortion access

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

If you didn’t see stuff like this coming, you haven’t been paying attention. With Texas poised to automatically ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, some Republicans are already setting their sights on the next target … Continue reading →

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Primary checkup

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let me start this post off by once again noting that I cannot find any reporting, like at all, about how many mail ballots were rejected for the May elections. Just nothing. It’s as if interest in the subject by … Continue reading →

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That stupid social media censorship law has been unblocked

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Fifth Circuit continues to debase itself. A federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated a Republican-backed Texas law that prohibits large social media companies from banning users over their political viewpoints. The decision hands a win to Republicans who have … Continue reading →

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Republicans are not going to stop passing anti-abortion bills

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. There is no finish line for them. During their 20 years in control of the Texas Legislature, Republican lawmakers have steadfastly worked to chip away at abortion access. Bound by the limits of Roe v. Wade, … Continue reading →

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Wendy Davis sues over SB8

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Former Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Texas’ recent abortion law. The suit claims the law is “blatantly unconstitutional” and written to “make … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds accuse Briscoe Cain of defamation

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be fun. Earlier this month, Republican Texas House lawmaker Briscoe Cain sent Texas abortion funds cease-and-desist letters, threatening the funds, their donors and volunteers with criminal prosecution unless they stopped helping fund abortions in Texas. Now, the … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when disability rights advocates were worried about the voter suppression bill?

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They were right to be worried. Because of course they were. As polls opened up for early voting this week, disability advocates say they still do not have adequate guidance from the state about new voter assistance rules and worry … Continue reading →

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Crystal Mason using SB1 to try to overturn her illegal voting conviction

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. It would be one small good thing to come out of that otherwise harmful law. Crystal Mason, the Tarrant County woman whose illegal voting conviction has garnered national attention, is asking for a Texas appeals court to … Continue reading →

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Social media censorship law blocked

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. As long as the outlaw Fifth Circuit exists, we can’t say more than that. A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that seeks to restrict how social media companies moderate their content and was championed by … Continue reading →

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