Tag Archives: Election 2026

Republicans not saying anything about the re-redistricting proposal

Posted on June 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

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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Annise Parker will run for Harris County Judge

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A long-expected announcement. A familiar face is planning a comeback to Houston’s political scene. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Wednesday that she will run for Harris County judge in 2026. Parker, who led Houston from 2010 to 2016 and … Continue reading →

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More on the re-redistricting proposal

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

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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Some people are big mad at Dan Patrick

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s fun to watch. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was clear from the start. Weeks before this year’s legislative session began, and before he announced any other priorities, the Republican Senate leader said he wanted lawmakers to ban, at any cost, … Continue reading →

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Texas Congressional Republicans considering a new map for 2026

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

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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The THC ban and the Houston retail market

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The bright lights of Bahama Mama’s flagship store along Lower Westheimer turned on a year ago, welcoming passersby into a hemp shop unlike anything else in Houston. A red carpet rolled into a mirrored showroom stocked with nearly every … Continue reading →

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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 →

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A change in when we vote early

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Texas will no longer have a three-day gap between the end of early voting and Election Day under a bill passed by the Texas Legislature that is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott. Currently, Texas ends in-person early voting … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Abbott will be appointing a new Comptroller soon

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder. And that person will have a lot more influence than usual coming out of the gate. Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to choose a new state comptroller in the next few weeks, who will have an outsized … Continue reading →

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Time to bury the 2025 Legislature

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance. Texas lawmakers gaveled out of their 140-day legislative session on Monday after passing a raft of conservative policies, from private school vouchers to tighter bail laws, that furthered the state’s march to the right. The Legislature wrapped up … Continue reading →

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Still on the “what will Greg Abbott do with the THC ban” question

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He’s going to take his sweet time, that much is for sure. Gov. Greg Abbott is facing intense political pressure over a bill that would ban products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, as hemp industry leaders mount a full-court press urging … Continue reading →

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The THC ban and hemp farmers

Posted on June 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Obviously bad for them. Six years ago, Texas lawmakers opened a door to a new lifeline for farmers: growing hemp. Farmers invested time, money and land into growing the drought-resistant crop and developing the state’s budding hemp industry. The same … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s decision and Patrick’s tantrum

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A brief roundup of some THC stories… What will Greg Abbott do? Gov. Greg Abbott has been tight-lipped about whether he’ll sign the bill on his desk that would ban THC in Texas. I don’t envy him. There’s really no … Continue reading →

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THC retailers upset by THC ban

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What are y’all going to do about it? Sydney Torabi, co-founder of Austin-based Restart CBD, could only watch in disbelief late Wednesday night as the Texas House delivered a key vote to push through a ban on all products containing … Continue reading →

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Lege goes for full THC ban

Posted on May 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Texas House late Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that would ban all products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, likely spelling the end for the state’s short-lived hemp industry. Under the legislation, which is nearing the governor’s desk … Continue reading →

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Long-awaited Texas redistricting trial begins

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Been waiting a long time for this one. Questions over whether Latinos had their voting power diminished in the Dallas area will be a focus of a federal trial in El Paso that begins Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, … Continue reading →

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Rep. Vikki Goodwin to run for Lite Guv

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Dems have their first official statewide candidate. State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, has filed paperwork to run for lieutenant governor in next year’s midterm election, giving up a safe seat in the Texas House to seek one of the state’s … Continue reading →

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The South Texas situation

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The new TDP Chair would like to improve the party’s performance in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Democrats are ready to fight for South Texas. That is the message Kendall Scudder, the new chair of the Texas Democratic … Continue reading →

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One more poll item

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of points to note here. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) trails Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by 16 points in a new poll commissioned by the Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP-leadership backed super PAC. SLF is supporting Cornyn. Their … Continue reading →

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Once more with Trump’s approval ratings in Texas

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. President Donald Trump is viewed favorably by 47% of Texas voters and unfavorably by 50%, putting his net favorability at -3. This is a significant decline since November, when Trump’s net favorability was +12 (55% favorable, 43% unfavorable). … Continue reading →

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Did vouchers play a role in the May school board elections?

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting hypothesis from the Chron. Several conservative candidates with right-wing support lost their bids for Houston-area school boards Saturday night, a change that some experts said could reflect dissatisfaction with the current state of national politics. Even though school boards … Continue reading →

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Tanking the economy has its costs

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Donald. For the first time, President Donald Trump has a negative approval rating in Texas over his handling of the economy, according to a new poll. The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Politics Project survey, released Wednesday, found … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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Terry Virts

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We may have an astronaut candidate for Senate. In the latest sign that Democrats are turning a new leaf after their dismal 2024 defeat, astronaut and political neophyte Terry Virts is planning to launch a run for the US Senate … Continue reading →

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April 2025 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Well, just CD18, really. I said when I posted the January 2025 reports that I was going to wait on the Congressional reports until July because there wasn’t going to be anything of interest to report on. And then Rep. … Continue reading →

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House passes Abbott’s voucher bill

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Texas House gave initial approval early Thursday to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, crossing a historic milestone and bringing Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority closer than ever to reaching his … Continue reading →

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Taral Patel takes a plea

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Taral Patel, a former Fort Bend County staffer and commissioner candidate, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two misdemeanor charges after he was accused of creating fake social media profiles to post racist messages about himself, according to the Fort Bend … Continue reading →

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Paxton officially running against Cornyn

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The campaign no one asked for. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s midterm elections, setting up a barnburner clash of two Republican titans that is poised to reverberate across … Continue reading →

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KP George charged with money laundering

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Fort Bend County Judge KP George, already facing legal troubles, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of money laundering, according to county jail records and the district attorney’s office. George, a Democrat first elected in 2018 and … Continue reading →

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Paxton whistleblowers get what they asked for

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them, and good in general. A Travis County district court judge on Friday awarded $6.6 million to four former senior aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton who said they were improperly fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI. … Continue reading →

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It looks like there’s no DaSean Jones do-over election on the May ballot

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the May 3, 2025 Joint Election Fact Sheet that I got on Monday. You will notice that on page 2, where the participating entities are listed, that Harris County is not among them. There are MUDs and services districts, … Continue reading →

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Allred considering 2026 Senate run

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. On a night when he urged a group of erstwhile Republicans to stay in the fight, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said he’s “seriously considering” a 2026 Senate campaign against incumbent John Cornyn, or the winner of … Continue reading →

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