Tag Archives: Joe Biden

Is this the year Tarrant County finally goes blue?

Maybe. “Tarrant County is the 15th-largest county in the country, so it should get a lot of attention. And it’s the third-largest county in Texas, so it makes sense that there would be a lot of focus there,” said Mark … Continue reading

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UTSA poll for October: A little weird

Not really sure how to explain this other than to say polls be weird sometimes. A new survey from UTSA’s Center for Public Opinion Research indicated that in bright blue San Antonio, support has been growing for Democrat Colin Allred in his uphill … Continue reading

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November 2024 early voting Day Three: Let’s not overanalyze this

Lone Star Left caught my eye on Wednesday as they looked at the statewide early voting data so far. All day, I waited for a full update from the Secretary of State (SoS) regarding the Day 1 early voter turnout. … Continue reading

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UH-Hobby Center polls Harris County

Pretty good. Could be better, but more or less in line with 2020 and current expectations. With the start of early voting just days away, a new poll shows Harris County Democrats leading their Republican opponents in countywide races. In … Continue reading

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The South Texas Congressional races

Feels like I’ve heard less about them this year than in 2022, but as the story notes, the Dems are on offense this time. It’s déjà vu in South Texas. Texas’ two most competitive congressional races will feature rematches from … Continue reading

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UH-Hobby Center: Cruz 50, Allred 46

Just checking in. The Texas Senate race remains close just a week out from early voting, with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz up 4 percentage points over U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, according to a new statewide poll. The Hobby School of … Continue reading

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DACA at the Fifth Circuit

A big week for that terrible court. On Thursday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case to determine the future of “Dreamers” who came to the country as children, including an estimated 27,000 Houstonians. The hearing is the latest … Continue reading

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Some finance and fundraising bits

Colin Allred keeps raking it in. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised $30.3 million for his Senate campaign in the third quarter of the year, outpacing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s haul over the same three-month period, according to figures announced by … Continue reading

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The “Can Allred win?” question

At least we’re asking the question. Usually, we don’t even get that. Democrats are closing the gap in their uphill campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, with polls showing improvement for Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and national Democrats’ … Continue reading

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SCOTUS leaves Texas anti-EMTALA ruling in place

Another reminder of what the stakes are this election, in case you needed it. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions when the procedure would conflict with the state’s strict abortion … Continue reading

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Eighteen million registered voters

Number go up. Texas has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing states since the 1970s, but its voter rolls have at times been stagnant. From 2000 to 2012, the number of registered voters grew by 1.2 million. In only the … Continue reading

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ERCOT will connect to the US grid

How about that? The power grid better known as the Texas Interconnection, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), is famous for being isolated from the other major U.S. grids. But that may soon finally change. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced … Continue reading

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Another immigration nonprofit sues Paxton

He just can’t quit harassing them. An El Paso nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants and migrants has filed a lawsuit that attempts to block an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has increasingly targeted groups on … Continue reading

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Some Bexar County polling

New pollster alert, checking in on Bexar County. A survey conducted by the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research suggests San Antonio residents are tepid about plans for a new sports complex for the San Antonio Spurs — a project … Continue reading

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One “Trump Train” defendant found liable

The rest were cleared. An Austin jury cleared all but one of six Donald Trump supporters who were accused of breaking federal law when they surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus driving down a Texas highway days before the 2020 … Continue reading

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A curious thing about the polls of Texas

You’ve probably seen this headline by now. For the first time in their hotly contested campaign, a poll shows U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, trailing challenger U.S. Rep. Colin Allred. The Morning Consult poll, conducted between Sept. 9 and 18, places … Continue reading

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Jury deliberations begin in “Trump Train” lawsuit

Axiously awaiting a verdict. A jury in Texas began to deliberate Friday whether the so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 election in a heated highway encounter amounted to political intimidation. “This case is … Continue reading

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UnidosUS 2024 Pre-Election Poll of Hispanic Electorate

From the inbox: UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, today released findings from its 2024 Pre-Election Poll of Texas’s Hispanic Electorate. The data shows that the top five priorities for Texas Latino voters, two months out … Continue reading

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Trump Train trial gets underway

Let’s have a Day One check in. A federal trial began Monday over claims that supporters of former President Donald Trump threatened and harassed a Biden-Harris bus in Texas four years ago, disrupting the campaign on the last day of … Continue reading

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Paxton sues to block rule protecting abortion information

I feel like this should be bigger news. Texas sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a new rule that seeks to protect the privacy of women living in states that ban abortion who travel out of state … Continue reading

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UT/Texas Policy Project: Trump 49, Harris 44

I have three things to say about this. A new, statewide poll of registered voters in Texas shows a slight uptick in support for Democrats following last month’s Democratic National Convention. The poll by the Texas Politics Project at the … Continue reading

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“Trump Train” lawsuit goes to trial

Very big deal. It’s been four years since a campaign bus carrying Wendy Davis and others was nearly run off the road by a so-called “Trump Train” — a caravan of Republican activists waving giant flags showing support for Donald … Continue reading

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Amtrak gets federal grant for more high speed rail planning

Good. Amtrak has received a nearly $64 million grant to continue planning the Texas High-Speed Rail project after several years of stagnation due to the COVID pandemic. The project — which proposes a less than 90-minute high-speed rail route between … Continue reading

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Water, water, everywhere

All due to leaks. Texas’ most populous cities lost roughly 88 billion gallons of water last year because of aging water infrastructure and extreme heat, costing them millions of dollars and straining the state’s water supply, according to self-reported water … Continue reading

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The first Harris/Trump poll of Texas

Let’s talk about this for a minute. Vice President Kamala Harris trails former President Donald Trump by 5 percentage points in Texas, shaving off nearly half the Republican nominee’s one-time advantage over President Joe Biden from earlier this year, according … Continue reading

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RFK Jr qualifies for the ballot

Whoopie. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, will be on the Texas general election ballot this November. The Texas Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday afternoon that it had accepted Kennedy’s petition to appear on the state ballot … Continue reading

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A high level overview of passenger rail in Texas

There’s stuff happening, mostly talk for now but maybe there will be more. A robust passenger rail system has long been seen as a pipe dream in car-dependent Texas. But a glut of federal dollars for rail projects and a … Continue reading

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President Biden drops out of 2024 race

I think we all were expecting this to happen at some point. It was still quite the jolt to see the first breaking news alert on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of people had their weekends cut short. One of my … Continue reading

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Behold the US High Speed Rail map

May I live long enough to see this happen. The U.S. High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) published a map outlining its proposal for a new 17,000-mile national high-speed rail network across the United States, which it claims will “cut our … Continue reading

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Other Beryl stuff

A mini-roundup, with mostly non-CenterPoint things. How’s your Internet service? An Xfinity spokesperson said Wednesday that service was restored to approximately 355,000 customers — or about 36% of those experiencing service outages — in the 36 hours after Hurricane Beryl … Continue reading

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The leaked EMTALA draft is not a victory

This hit the internet like a thunderstorm yesterday. The US Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of an opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website. The decision would … Continue reading

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Once more with Amtrak and Texas Central

Bloomberg examines the recent history and possible future of the Texas high speed rail line. The US is “on the cusp of a high-speed rail revolution,” says Andy Byford, Amtrak’s Senior Vice President for High-Speed Rail Development Programs. “Suddenly, people … Continue reading

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The DFW high speed rail line hits a bump

Whoops. Dallas City Council members hit the brakes on a proposed elevated high-speed passenger rail line that would connect with Arlington and Fort Worth. The council, including Mayor Eric Johnson, approved a resolution 14-0, with council member Jaime Resendez absent. … Continue reading

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Federal judge strikes down Florida laws against gender-affirming care for minors and adults

Of interest, for obvious reasons. Florida can no longer enforce its ban against transgender youth receiving gender-affirming care, or its restrictions against adults accessing gender-affirming care, after a federal district court ruling on Tuesday found those rules to be unconstitutional … Continue reading

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