Tag Archives: endorsements

Council passes ordinance to limit HPD’s interactions with ICE

Good. Houston City Council approved a proposal from three city council members limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Wednesday, with Mayor John Whitmire in support. The proposal by Council Members Alejandra Salinas, Edward … Continue reading

Posted in La Migra, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Chron picks Panzarella

They had a lot of viable choices in District C. Watching Houston activists deal with the Texas Department of Transportation can feel like the story of King Canute trying to turn back the tides. No amount of community organizing can … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

First post-primary poll

A good start. A PPP poll commissioned by Senate Majority PAC found “no meaningful difference in electability” between Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a general election matchup against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. It’s notable to us that Senate Democrats are pushing … Continue reading

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The Trump-Cornyn-Paxton endorsement psychodrama

First, there was this. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will soon make an endorsement in the heated Texas Senate Republican primary, as Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton head toward a runoff election in May. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A history of early voting turnout in the primaries

Early voting is over. We’ve already discussed the final EV totals, but there was something of note that I didn’t mention yesterday that I want to comment on today: Year Mail Early Total ===================================== 2018 Dem 22,695 70,152 92,847 2018 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Final 2026 early voting report: That was something

Yesterday, the last day for early voting, was huge: Over 77K votes cast, with 51K of them being on the Democratic side. I didn’t get the report until almost midnight last night, and so didn’t finish this post until this … Continue reading

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A few primary resources for you

Early voting is underway, and there are a lot of races to think about. If you’re still pondering some of them, here are a few guides to help you along the way. You can find all of the Houston Chronicle’s … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Menefee and more

Here’s another batch of Chron endorsements to run down. Don’t just vote for him because he’s young. Christian Menefee wins more fights than Al Green. Normally, newly elected members of Congress get sworn in as part of a cohort, a … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: A whole lot of judicial races

The Chron has been busy with endorsements in contested Democratic judicial primaries. (The Republicans have basically none of these in Harris County; maybe in the statewide races, I haven’t checked. But the action for March is almost entirely on the … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Chron goes full stathead for Talarico

Someone on the Chron editorial board is a big baseball fan, because they go right to stats analogies to endorse James Talarico in the Democratic primary for US Senate. If you want to understand why we recommend state Rep. James … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Endorsement watch: Chron picks Kamin for County Attorney nomination

Their second endorsement for primary season. Now Democratic primary voters must decide who can best build on Menefee’s legacy. Luckily, they have two formidable candidates to choose from: Audrie Lawton-Evans, a civil litigation attorney and civil court at law judge, … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Parker gets the ball rolling

The Chron kicks off its endorsement season with a strong recommendation for Annise Parker in the Democratic primary for Harris County Judge. If you want to understand the real differences between former mayor Annise Parker and former Council Member Letitia Plummer … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Endorsement watch: Jones for Edwards

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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Whitmire resolution passes

In the end, it wasn’t close. Mayor John Whitmire will no longer be able to get endorsements from the Harris County Democratic Party following an overwhelming vote Sunday by the party’s precinct chairs, issuing what could pose as a debilitating blow to his … Continue reading

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On not endorsing Whitmire

This is going to make for a fun debate. And by “fun”, I mean the sort of thing that will make me want to gouge out an eyeball or two. The Harris County Democratic Party will vote on a resolution … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Salinas for the runoff

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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Early voting Day One: Looking back at 2017 and 2021

One day of early voting is in the books. I’m not going to follow the EV reports every day, as this is as off a year as we get in our election cycle, but I will check in a couple … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Early voting Day One: Looking back at 2017 and 2021

Endorsement watch: Cy-Fair ISD and the constitutional amendments

The Chron calls for sanity in Cy-Fair where its wingnut board members have been running wild. MAGA-on-MAGA mudslinging. Secret recordings. Anti-woke purges. We wish we were talking about the latest White House sideshow. Unfortunately, we’re talking about the board of trustees overseeing the … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Steady on at HCC

The Chron supports the incumbents for re-election to the HCC Board of Trustees. Fortunately, HCC’s fundamentals appear to be on the mend. Enrollment has nearly bounced back to pre-Covid levels thanks to booming suburban campuses. The board of trustees still has … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: For some change in HISD

The Chron makes their endorsements in the three contested HISD trustee races. It’s an odd election. It could even seem pointless. Right now, elected HISD trustees have little power, no vote and just a few minutes prioritized at the start … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Chron for Menefee in CD18

Special election endorsement #2 is in the books. Let’s get this out of the way: the 18th Congressional district is a storied district with a rich legacy of trailblazing Black Houston leaders from Barbara Jordan to Mickey Leland and Sheila … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Chron goes with Jordan Thomas

The Chron makes their recommendation for the City Council At Large #4 special election. Voters should try to find someone among the current crop of candidates who has the vision and knowledge to actually make something productive out of a … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Don’t Paxton the CCA

A good message. Before this year, even reasonably well-informed Texans didn’t know much about the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals. Then Attorney General Ken Paxton took a keen interest in ousting several of the court’s justices. Suddenly, many voters knew … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: The Chron gets on the “no trust, no bond” train

Wow. The students of HISD shouldn’t have to worry if traces of lead are seeping into the water, past the district’s jerry-rigged mitigation efforts. Or whether a troubled individual with a semi-automatic can slip past a lack of fencing and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: The obvious choice in the special election

The Chron endorses Erica Lee Carter in the special election for CD18. Erica Lee Carter isn’t her mother. “I can never be that iconic,” she told the editorial board. When her mother, the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee passed … Continue reading

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One out of three will have to do for now

The Chron endorses two Supreme Court incumbents and one Democratic challenger. I’m going to focus on that one. Campaign donations came in from all over the country, and at first Christine Vinh Weems didn’t know why. The Democrat running for … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Once again for Teare

For the second time this year, the Chron endorses Sean Teare for District Attorney. What impressed us most about Teare is his ability to see the bigger picture of the justice system and how all the pieces fit together. His … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Two good ones

The Chron gives an enthusiastic endorsement for a full term for the newest State Senator, Molly Cook. Maybe only an emergency room nurse could think that a 14-hour day working at the Capitol is easy. That seems to be the … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Still catching up

A couple of endorsements of interest for you. First, the Chron stuck with incumbent Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. A routine inspection of the state’s largest jail really shouldn’t garner headlines. Meeting “minimum safety standards” should never be cause for celebration for … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Catching up

The Chron has been doing endorsements a few days a week, one at a time, in no particular order. Here are three recent ones, to catch up a bit. CD22: Marquette Green-Scott Marquette Greene-Scott says she never got to know … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: “The sexiest race on the ballot”

Good call. Probably none of us is as excited about the race for Harris County tax assessor-collector as Annette Ramirez is. And that includes her Republican opponent. “I always call it the sexiest race on the ballot,” says Ramirez, 52, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Mayor Turner for CD18

The Chron is getting an early start on endorsements this year. Dabbing at his eyes, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner recalled the final conversation he had with the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in an interview with KHOU11’s Len Cannon. … Continue reading

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Anti-endorsement watch: Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus, LULAC Council to oppose HISD bond

It’s officially campaign season here now. The Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus and the League of United Latin American Citizens Council 60 are both urging voters to reject Houston ISD’s $4.4 billion school bond proposal in November. In separate, recent statements, … Continue reading

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