Tag Archives: Election 2004

Going for the stay

Late Wednesday, AG Greg Abbott requested that the San Antonio court stay its order implementing new maps for Congress, the State House, and the State Senate, exhibiting his usual grace and class in doing so. Not unexpectedly, the San Antonio … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can you feel the McCaul-mentum?

You know what the race for the Republican nomination for Senate is missing? Another rich old white right-winger. Four-term U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. House, is burnishing his conservative credentials and taking stock … Continue reading

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PPP: Perry takes lead on Obama in Texas

Not by that much, however. Rick Perry has an under water approval rating in Texas and he’s leading Barack Obama by a smaller margin than John McCain won the state by in 2008…but at least he is leading Obama, which … Continue reading

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Same old story: City wins, Hotze loses

Yes, they’re still litigating 2004 ballot propositions around here. The Texas Supreme Court has dismissed a six-year-old case against the City of Houston seeking to limit the city government’s annual income. Carroll Robinson, Bruce Hotze and Jeffrey Daily sought to … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Same old story: City wins, Hotze loses

On challenging Ron Paul in CD14

Jason Stanford has a question. So why aren’t we targeting Ron Paul again? The Texas legislature drew him the reapportionment equivalent of a target on his back. They took away some of his red meat territory and gave him Galveston … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

WaPo on Texas redistricting

The Fix makes a few curious statements about the proposed Congressional redistricting map for Texas. Despite the Lonestar State voting 55 percent for Republicans in the 2008 presidential race, the GOP-controlled legislature’s proposed map features 26 districts that went for … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Maybe Perry for President would be good for us

When George W. Bush began being talked about as a Presidential candidate, the story line on him was that he was a well-liked, popular Governor who had bipartisan appeal and support in the state. Outgoing Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock … Continue reading

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Senate map is out, controversy precedes it

Before we had a State Senate map, we had a brawl brewing over one proposed district on it. Accusing the state Senate’s Republican leaders of a “shameful partisan attack,” Sen. Wendy Davis said Tuesday that a new redistricting map for … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

New map, new opportunities: Harris County

For our last stop on this tour we look at Harris County, which provided several pickup opportunities for Democrats last decade. How will they fare this time around? Republicans started the last decade with a 14-11 advantage – they intended … Continue reading

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

New map, new opportunities: The Metroplex

Dallas and Tarrant Counties will each have eight districts drawn to elect Republicans in them. For this entry, I’m going to look at each of these districts. First up is Tarrant County, which gains a district (HD101) for a total … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Three things about Sanchez

If you judge the announcement of a possible candidacy by the amount of attention it receives, then the story of the recruitment of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez has been a smash success. Here are a few things being written that … Continue reading

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

Messing with Doggett

I’m sure the Republicans would love to draw Lloyd Doggett out of existence if they can. The question is whether they can do it without causing other problems elsewhere. Republicans have tried to oust Doggett before by drawing a district … Continue reading

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Howard declared the winner in HD48

At long last. Rep. Donna Howard won the House District 48 seat by four votes over Republican Dan Neil, according to state Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas. Hartnett was appointed to investigate their election after Neil challenged the results. […] Hartnett’s … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Yeah, it is too early to be polling for 2012

But that won’t stop anyone from doing them. 2012 could be the year Democrats are finally competitive for President in Texas…but only if the Republicans nominate Sarah Palin. There are vast differences in how the various different potential GOP contenders … Continue reading

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

Senate stands down again

No vote on the rules till next week, so the 2/3 rule lives for a few more days. In an hour-long caucus behind closed doors, Texas senators decided today to put off for a week a potentially acrimonious public debate … Continue reading

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Neil files for election contest in HD48

I suppose this was inevitable. Republican Dan Neil is continuing his challenge of state Rep. Donna Howard’s razor-thin election night victory with an appeal to the Texas House of Representatives. Neil, who trailed Howard by 12 votes after a recount … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Howard still wins after recount in HD48

Her margin is margin is a bit smaller, but still greater than zero, and that’s what counts. With the votes counted again, the Austin Democrat beat Republican challenger Dan Neil by just 12 votes, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Howard still wins after recount in HD48

How many votes did we think we’d need?

We’ve already established that this election saw an historically high level of turnout in the county, and an historically high level of vote support for Republican candidates. It’s clear that Republican candidates rode a wave of voters who don’t normally … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“The cul-de-sac battleground”

The Observer has an interesting look at three State House races in suburban areas that were once Republican strongholds but have now become battlegrounds. Two of them are Democratic-held – HDs 52 and 133 – and one (HD105) is still … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “The cul-de-sac battleground”

Once again, I’ll take the under

There’s a bizarre new UT/Texas Trib poll that’s so odd I can’t even come up with a good introduction for it, so I’m just going to jump straight to the weirdness: Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Back to Basics jumps in to HD133

The Back to Basics folks, who must have the busiest website design shop in the Western hemisphere, have jumped into the HD133 race by going after Jim Murphy, the former Rep from HD133 running to win his seat back from … Continue reading

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And the bitching about the water rate hike begins

It took a little longer than I might have thought it would take, but as the sun rises in the east, the kind of person who gets outraged when the government does something other than lower taxes is outraged about … Continue reading

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

Council adopts higher water rate hike

City Council voted to adopt the higher water rate hike that was proposed this week. And apparently set the stage for a lawsuit. Council members Mike Sullivan, Oliver Pennington and C.O. Bradford voted against the plan. Pennington, Bradford and several … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Straight ticket voting trends

One last look at partisan voting trends this decade, with a peek at how straight ticket voting has changed over time. This one is a bit trickier to determine, since it’s not tracked by the Secretary of State. You have … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2006, Election 2008 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Population and voting trends: 2004 and 2008 judicial elections

So we’ve seen how county returns changed in the Presidential election between 2004 and 2008. Obviously, there are many factors that can affect a Presidential election, even when there’s not really an active campaign going on in the state. How … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2008 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Population and voting trends: 2004 and 2008 Presidential election

Taking a look at the voting trends in the fastest growing counties made me want to know more about this, so I broke out the spreadsheets and took a look. I’ll present the results in a three-part series, starting today … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2008 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Where the votes are going

Matt Stiles looks at Census data and notes a political point. Seven Texas counties — Rockwall, Williamson, Collin, Hays, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Denton — are listed among the nation’s 30 fastest-growing areas, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Recount coming in HD146?

It’s not official yet, but I can’t imagine there not being a recount in a race decided by 11 votes. [Borris] Miles, a former police officer who owns an insurance business, said he had not yet received a concession call … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Ron Kirk says

Ron Kirk, the former Mayor of Dallas who is now the US Trade Representative, was asked a joking question about Rick Perry and his earlier statements about secession after Perry’s win on Tuesday. His response is well worth reading. “I … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Carrillo’s message to supporters

Ousted Railroad Commission Chair Victor Carrillo sent a sharply-worded email to his supporters about how he lost his race on Tuesday. Early polling showed that the typical GOP primary voter has very little info about the position of Railroad Commissioner, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

How do incumbents do in runoffs?

So with all of the polls showing Rick Perry ahead in the GOP primary but below 50%, the odds appear good that he’s headed for a runoff. What are his odds of winning that runoff? The Come and Take It … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The top Texas races

Texas on the Potomac lists their Top Ten Texas Races For 2010. I have no quarrel with nine of their choices, but I think this one is wrong: Dallas County elections Democrats seized power in the Dallas courthouse four years … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Recount in HCC 3

No surprise at all. Mary Ann Perez appeared to pull off a tight victory in the Houston Community College’s District III trustee race Tuesday night. But her opponent was in no mood for a concession. “I’m requesting a recount,” said … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More thoughts about yesterday’s results

– I didn’t note it last night, but all 11 Constitutional amendments passed. No surprise there, they almost always do. – Looking back at my turnout projections, the right number to go with was the 30% scenario. As it happens, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments