Tag Archives: CD23

Republican panic update

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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Some poll news and other tidbits

From Somos Votantes: Today, Somos Votantes released new polling data showing Latino voters in key states and districts are rejecting President Trump and Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms, driven by mounting economic pain, widespread disapproval of Republican’s tariff and healthcare policies, and … Continue reading

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Everyone’s talking about the CD23 special election

Except for Greg Abbott, of course. It’s been about a week since now-former Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned from Congress after the Texas Republican admitted to having an unethical sexual relationship with at least one former aide, who later died by suicide. Yet … Continue reading

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April 2026 campaign finance reports: Senate and Congress

We are now past the primary, so we have whittled down the field a bit and gotten a better idea about how some of the candidates that we hope will be strong challengers are doing with fundraising. The January 2026 … Continue reading

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So when would a CD23 election be?

Your move, Greg. The sprawling 23rd Congressional District of Texas is now without a voting representative in Washington D.C. after U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned Tuesday. The resignation ends a sex scandal that had put the San Antonio Republican on … Continue reading

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Reps. Gonzales and Swalwell to resign from Congress

That escalated quickly. U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales announced on Monday he would resign from Congress, avoiding an expected vote on his expulsion after he admitted to having an affair with a staffer. Gonzales, a Republican from San Antonio, has faced intensifying scrutiny … Continue reading

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Tony Gonzales really is a creep

Ewwww. Late on a June night in 2020, amid a nail-biter of a GOP primary runoff, then-congressional candidate Tony Gonzales quickly turned a conversation with his campaign’s political director from casual to intimate. Gonzales texted that she was a “smart … Continue reading

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Maureen Galindo

She’s an interesting candidate. I’m not sure I want her to be the nominee, but I’m also not sure about the other guy, so. When a new owner started making improvements to Maureen Galindo‘s downtown apartment complex in 2017, she saw an … Continue reading

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More on CD23 and Katy Padilla Stout

This time with polling data. When Katy Padilla Stout first announced a bid for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, neither the former teacher — nor the Republican-held seat — were on many Democrats’ radar. But now that the Republican incumbent has … Continue reading

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Katy Padilla Stout

The Democratic candidate for CD23 is Katy Padilla Stout, who is now running against an unhinged gun-humping wacko and not the scandal-plagued moderate-ish incumbent. The massive 23rd Congressional District hasn’t been competitive for Democrats since it was redrawn after the … Continue reading

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The “number of primary votes by Congressional district” metric

Noting this for the record. With the possible exception of U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico, the most relieved Democrats after Tuesday’s primary might be U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of South Texas. Their relief has less to do … Continue reading

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A followup on turnout and early voting preference

Just a couple of followup items for things we discussed during early voting, now that we have more complete data. The first was about how much of the vote would be cast early, and whether Republicans were waiting until Election … Continue reading

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House ethics panel investigating Rep. Gonzales (who ended up dropping his re-election bid)

Yes, they waited till after the primary. The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales to investigate affair allegations with his former aide. The committee announced a panel Wednesday, a day after Gonzales advanced to a … Continue reading

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Initial thoughts on the 2026 primaries

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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A few followup items from Tuesday

This is officially my favorite story from the primaries. Texas congressional candidate Vince Shlomi, known as the “ShamWow guy,” is suing the Republican Party of Texas, accusing it of “rigging” the primary after he says the party removed his nickname from the … Continue reading

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2026 primary results: Statewide

We have to start with this: The Texas Supreme Court suspended a district court’s decision Tuesday to extend voting by two hours in Dallas County and ordered that any votes cast by people who got in line after 7 p.m. … Continue reading

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More on the Tony Gonzales scandal

Good Lord, this is ugly. Just after midnight on May 9, 2024, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales begged an employee, Regina Santos-Aviles, to send him a “sexy pic.” When she pushed back, saying the conversation had gone too far, the married … Continue reading

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The Tony Gonzales scandal

Here’s a headline I did not expect to see: “Rep. Tony Gonzales accuses dead staffer’s husband of trying to blackmail him amid affair scandal”. Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio on Thursday claimed he was being blackmailed by … Continue reading

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2026 primary early voting Day Three: With additional miscellany

We’ll start with the numbers and then go on to the items of interest. Here are the final daily EV reports for the 2022 and 2018 primaries. Here’s the Day Three EV report, and here are the numbers: Year Mail … Continue reading

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January 2026 campaign finance reports: Senate and Congress

PREVIOUSLY: Harris County Houston We’re heading into the primary with some wind at our backs. We’ve still got a large field of candidates to follow, but that will get whittled down for April and again for July. The October 2025 … Continue reading

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October 2025 campaign finance reports – Senate and Congress (Not CD18)

I’m doing this one a little differently, for two reasons. One is that I want to include non-Democratic candidates in the CD18 special election, just so we’re all on the same page. And two, as of this past weekend when … Continue reading

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And they’re back

Quorum time again. Texas House Democrats announced they would return to Austin Monday, ending a two-week walkout over a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan and paving the way for the map’s passage. “We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance … Continue reading

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Comparing the districts

As I write this on Sunday, there’s a lot we don’t know about how this saga ends. I feel confident saying that at some point there will be a quorum and a new map will be passed. Beyond that is … Continue reading

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The last redistricting hearing

We’re just going through the motions at this point. The Texas redistricting map unveiled this week was drawn for the express purpose of boosting Republican strength in Congress, the House sponsor of the measure said Friday during the first, and … Continue reading

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Friday redistricting roundup

Let’s take a moment and pour one out for the real victims of the proposed Congressional redistricting, Texas’ Republican Congressional incumbents. Democrats aren’t the only ones who won’t be happy with the way Texas Republicans on Wednesday proposed redrawing the … Continue reading

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And just like that we have a map

That sure was fast. Good thing all those hearings are over. Texas GOP lawmakers released their first draft of the state’s new congressional map Wednesday, proposing revamped district lines that attempt to flip five Democratic seats in next year’s midterm … Continue reading

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Redistricting roundup

While we wait for maps, we can ponder whether or not there will be a quorum break. As Republicans in Texas move full steam ahead with a plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts, Democrats are privately mulling their options, … Continue reading

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July 2025 campaign finance reports – Senate and Congress

PREVOIUSLY: Harris County Back in April I just took a look at who had already started raising money for CD18. There wasn’t much else to report so I thought I’d wait till the July report to see what was going … Continue reading

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There’s a map

The special session gavels in tomorrow and there’s a new proposed Congressional map, but before we get to that let’s look at the lay of the land going into the session. On Monday, state lawmakers held a call with U.S. … Continue reading

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Re-redistricting watch: El Paso in focus

Not a big surprise. President Donald Trump’s request that Texas Republicans seek to create five new congressional seats for the GOP in an upcoming special legislation could involve redrawing boundaries in El Paso, a website focused on Congress says. Diluting … Continue reading

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California threatens retaliatory re-redistricting

It’s a thing they could do. House Democratic leadership, rank-and-file members and aides to at least one blue state governor have been meeting to decide how to retaliate if Texas Republicans follow through on the White House’s push to reshape … Continue reading

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Republicans not saying anything about the re-redistricting proposal

A mostly no news update. Texas Republicans were evasive Thursday about a request from the White House to redistrict the state ahead of the 2026 midterm elections after exiting a meeting in Washington to discuss the proposal. President Donald Trump’s … Continue reading

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More on the re-redistricting proposal

Votebeat addresses a few questions. How do Texans in Congress feel about the proposal? On Capitol Hill, members of the Texas GOP delegation huddled Monday night to discuss the prospect of reshaping their districts. Most of the 25-member group expressed … Continue reading

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Texas Congressional Republicans considering a new map for 2026

WTF? President Trump’s political team is encouraging Republican leaders in Texas to examine how House district lines in the state could be redrawn ahead of next year’s midterm elections to try to save the party’s endangered majority, according to people … Continue reading

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