Tag Archives: Election 2025

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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Today is the last day of early voting for the District C runoff

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Runoff Day itself will be Saturday, May 16. Voting locations for both today’s early voting and Saturday’s Runoff Day voting can be found here. For what it’s worth, early voting turnout through the end of the day … Continue reading →

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Early voting for the May 16 District C runoff starts today

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s now time for Election #2 of 3 in the month of May. This one is the runoff for Houston City Council District C, between Joe Panzarella, who led with about 33% of the vote in April, and Nick Hellyar, … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s talking about the CD23 special election

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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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So when would a CD23 election be?

Posted on April 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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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A brief history of May regular elections in Harris County

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, there is a special election on May 2 in SD04, which happens to be the uniform election date in May for 2026. We are not accustomed to voting in May in Harris County, especially not in even-numbered … Continue reading →

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Was the District C special election an inflection point?

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting hypothesis from Chron editorial page honcho Evan Mintz. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the race is going to a runoff — Saturday’s special election for City Council District C was a blowout. Houston progressives were the … Continue reading →

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The best analysis of Taylor Rehmet’s runoff win I’ve seen

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Longtime UH poli sci professor Richard Murray is doing some new writing, and he did a deep dive last month on now-Sen. Taylor Rehmet’s runoff win in the SD09 special election that I wanted to share. Here’s the key bit: … Continue reading →

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What kind of turnout should we expect in District C?

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

You know there’s a special election going on for Houston City Council District C, right? It’s in the middle of our stretch of many months with voting of some kind going on. What is a reasonable expectation for how many … Continue reading →

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Early voting for the CD18 runoff starts today

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the County Clerk website, the first election of our busy 2026 calendar is now underway. January 31, 2026 – Special Runoff Election for Congressional District 18 Early Vote Centers will be open from Wednesday, January 21 to Tuesday, January … Continue reading →

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A Taylor Rehmet check-in

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still not sure what to expect in this runoff. Even some of his most passionate supporters were surprised by the number of votes Democrat Taylor Rehmet received in the November special election for Texas Senate District 9. His competitors, … Continue reading →

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Fombonne named County Attorney

Posted on January 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

White smoke emerges from the chamber of Commissioners Court. Jonathan Fombonne, first assistant county attorney to Christian Menefee, was named Harris County attorney Thursday. The appointment came more than nine months after Menefee technically resigned to run for Congressional District … Continue reading →

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An opening statement on the 2026 elections

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be a somewhat long post about the upcoming elections and my coverage of candidates in the primaries. I’ve got some ground to cover, so settle in. At this time, we have the following elections on the … Continue reading →

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CD18 runoff poll: Menefee 43, Edwards 30

Posted on December 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: With just over a month until early voting begins in the runoff election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, a new poll from nationally-respected Lake Research Partners shows Christian Menefee with a commanding lead in the runoff for … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Jones for Edwards

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. State Rep. Jolanda Jones has endorsed Amanda Edwards in the runoff election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District. Jones is backing the former Houston city council member as the race heads into its final weeks, urging her own supporters … Continue reading →

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Salinas, Jefferson Patterson headed to victory

Posted on December 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As of 10:26 last night, Alejandra Salinas was leading Dwight Boykins in Harris County by about 5,500 votes. You can see the current unofficial results from Harris County here and the final results from Fort Bend County here. Boykins dominated … Continue reading →

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Today is Runoff Day

Posted on December 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Harris County Clerk’s Office reminds registered voters that tomorrow is Election Day for the December 13, 2025, Joint Runoff Elections. This is your final opportunity to make your voice heard and help decide the outcomes in … Continue reading →

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Final December runoff early voting: Is anger the key?

Posted on December 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting take on the Houston City Council At Large #4 runoff, for which early voting ended yesterday. Salinas ran on a decidedly progressive platform for voters dissatisfied with status quo politics — advocating for legal action to fight against … Continue reading →

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Of course that DPRIT lawsuit filed by crackpots was done incorrectly

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s more fun this way. If an Austin court hearing this week is an early indication of how a lawsuit blocking Texas’ $3 billion dementia research fund will fare, state leaders who championed it and the voters who overwhelmingly approved it by more … Continue reading →

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Runoff early voting Day One: Getting started

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For a variety of reasons, I probably won’t follow the daily EV reports for the runoff closely, but I will at least keep an eye on them. First, though, this bit from the Chron story on the start of early … Continue reading →

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December runoff early voting begins today

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Time to vote again. Early Vote Centers will be open from Monday, December 1 – Tuesday, December 9 (Mon-Sat: 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Sun: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ) Vote Centers will accept voters from 7 a.m. to 7 … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Salinas for the runoff

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes the Chronicle makes an endorsement in a race where there may be a runoff and their preferred candidate doesn’t make the cut. They then get to have a do-over for the overtime period. That’s what happened in the Houston … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the Cy-Fair ISD elections

Posted on November 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. When Lesley Guilmart’s cellphone rang Wednesday afternoon, she almost didn’t answer the unknown number. “I’ve been getting interesting calls from folks since last week’s win,” said Guilmart, who on Nov. 4 was elected to the Cy-Fair ISD Board … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed against a constitutional amendment election

Posted on November 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Dan Patrick is mad about it. The state’s new $3 billion dementia research fund has been blocked temporarily by a trio of voters who claim voting machines used in this month’s election are faulty. The plaintiffs — Shannon Huggins, Lars … Continue reading →

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Still no replacement County Attorney

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not yet, but I expect it will happen soon. Commissioners failed to appoint someone to fill Christian Menefee’s seat Thursday, leaving the future of the county attorney’s office uncertain. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo scheduled a special session for Thursday … Continue reading →

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CD18 runoff set for January 31

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. Gov. Greg Abbott has set Jan. 31 as the date of the special election runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, meaning the Houston-based seat will remain vacant for over two more months. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee … Continue reading →

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The clown show that is the pro-casino interests in Texas

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just amazing stuff. After a string of legislative defeats in 2025, a test of the political power of those pushing to legalize gambling in Texas fell flat again in last week’s elections. Republican John Huffman, the former mayor of Southlake, … Continue reading →

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Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin?

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s pushing for it. Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin is garnering support to potentially be chosen by Harris County leadership as the new interim county attorney as they contend with a potential opening. Kamin has gathered a list of … Continue reading →

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Trump Justice Department joins lawsuit against California redistricting

Posted on November 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week, joining a court battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. The complaint … Continue reading →

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Recall effort officially falls short

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They were not close. A much-hyped effort to recall Houston Mayor John Whitmire from office — the subject of multiple news stories and social media posts over the past year — fell significantly short of its goal as the 30-day … Continue reading →

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The Loving County Election 2022 rerun

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Loving County wraps up one of its ongoing story lines. It might have been the longest election campaign for the shortest office term in recent Texas history. Loving County Justice of the Peace Angela Medlin, County/District Clerk Mozelle Carr and Commissioner … Continue reading →

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Another story about Taylor Rehmet

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This one has more numbers in it. Despite the district’s solid-red reputation, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won the most votes in a Tuesday special election for vacant Senate District 9. The district, represented by Kelly Hancock since 2013, encompasses northern Tarrant … Continue reading →

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A bit more election miscellany

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Pondering the County Attorney situation. Despite technically resigning, [Harris County Attorney Christian] Menefee has remained the acting county attorney throughout the campaign period. It’s not clear if he will remain in the position as he prepares to campaign for a … Continue reading →

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Tuesday was a good day for school boards

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I refer you once again to Franklin Strong and his much-valued Book-Loving Texans’ Guide to the school board elections. There weren’t that many school board races on the ballot in November – May is a more common month for these … Continue reading →

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