Tag Archives: John Cornyn

Add Rep. Talarico to the “thinking about running for Senate” list

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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The DOGE effect on feral hogs

The hogs approve this message. Wild hogs are exceptionally hard to kill. They can leap over fences and run 30 miles per hour on open ground, making them difficult to shoot. And they’re smart, learning to avoid traps if other … Continue reading

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One more poll item

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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How can we stand all this winning?

Item 1: More than 1 million people count on Houston-area food pantries, which are staring down empty shelves after losing $11 million in federal funding. Until recently, 100 tractor-trailers full of federally-funded food pulled up each month to the Houston … Continue reading

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Once more with Trump’s approval ratings in Texas

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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There’s a lot of Dems looking at the Senate race

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?

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

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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Paxton officially running against Cornyn

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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Allred considering 2026 Senate run

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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Will Cornyn get MAGAed in the 2026 primary?

From The Downballot (scroll to the bottom of the “Senate” section). Republican Sen. John Cornyn has long been a loud and proud supporter of Donald Trump, but his occasional apostasies have drawn the ire of MAGA purists and could land … 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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Guest post: Cornyn Houston Office Protest Week 400

The following is a guest post from my friend and blogging colleague Neil Aquino, who has led and maintained a civil protest in front of the office of Sen. John Cornyn for nearly eight years. Today he celebrates a milestone … 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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All Texas Republicans vote against bill to protect contraception

The headline speaks for itself. The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would prevent states from banning birth control, though nearly the entire Republican delegation from Texas voted against it. The bill, which faces far more hurdles passing through … Continue reading

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Let them fight

Let them fight. A $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that passed the Senate overnight has sparked a battle between two of Texas’ most prominent Republicans, with Attorney General Ken Paxton calling U.S. Sen. John Cornyn an … Continue reading

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The Brandon Cammack files

The impeachment trial of Ken Paxton may help answer some questions about one of the more brazen (alleged) attempts by Paxton to help his buddy Nate Paul. More than a year before Ken Paxton would be impeached by the Texas … Continue reading

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Lots of broadband funding on the way

Nice. Texas will receive more than $3.3 billion in federal money — the most of any state — to help expand broadband availability statewide, the Biden administration announced Monday. The money will be distributed from the $42.45 billion in the Broadband Equity, … Continue reading

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An example of how a pro-abortion rights campaign could go

This was from last week, and I’ve been thinking about it since. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, one of the five women suing Texas for abortion access blamed the state’s Republican senators for her near-death experience … Continue reading

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Ike Dike authorization officially passed

Took a roundabout route to get there, but here we are. With the stroke of a pen, President Joe Biden authorized a $34 billion proposal to build a massive storm surge protection system on the Texas coast and around Galveston … Continue reading

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Abbott is now attacking immigration-focused non-profits

Always be finding a new enemy, that’s the motto. Gov. Greg Abbott called Wednesday for the state to investigate whether nonprofit organizations have helped people enter the country illegally, adding another talking point to his border hawk arsenal and another … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: How the 2022 Harris County State Rep candidates did versus the 2020 and 2018 results

I still don’t have a full canvass of Harris County, so I’m looking around to see what kind of analyses I can do in the meantime. For this post, I’m comparing how the candidates in the contested State Rep contests … Continue reading

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Senate passes Respect For Marriage Act

Nice. And remember who opposed it, kids. Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz tried to block a Senate vote to explicitly enshrine equal marriage rights for gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans into federal law Wednesday, after 12 GOP … Continue reading

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Vote No and take the credit anyway

It’s a tale as old as time. Republicans in Texas are proud to stand and announce local grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The problem is they all voted against it. All of them. For the second time in two … Continue reading

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Maybe don’t vote against a popular bill that you’d previously supported out of spite next time?

Sowing, meet reaping. Veterans groups are irate with Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn after they joined Senate Republicans in blocking a bill expanding health care to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits while they were deployed overseas. The … Continue reading

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Senate passes Ike Dike bill

This thing is actually gonna pass. The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would authorize federal agencies to plan for an estimated $31 billion project intended to protect the Texas coast from hurricanes. Hundreds of millions of dollars … Continue reading

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UT/Texas Politics Project poll: Abbott 45, Beto 39

One more pre-Dobbs result to consider. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s lead over Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke narrowed to 6 points last month, according to a poll conducted by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. That’s … Continue reading

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Biden signs modest gun control bill

It’s now the law. We’ll see for how long. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a bipartisan measure to address gun violence, less than 24 hours after the bill was approved by the U.S. House and a month … Continue reading

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A big part of the Cornyn gun bill will do nothing in Texas

Just a reminder. The bipartisan gun bill that is on a fast track through Congress and backed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn includes new state grants to incentivize red flag laws, which allow judges to temporarily seize firearms from people … Continue reading

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Cornyn-Murphy gun bill gets final passage

What great timing, huh? Exactly one month after a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers in a Uvalde elementary school, the most significant new gun laws in decades were headed to President Joe Biden’s desk on Friday … Continue reading

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Cornyn’s gun control bill passes the Senate

Happy to have had my cynicism proven wrong. Exactly four weeks after a teenage gunman armed with a semiautomatic rifle massacred 19 elementary schoolers and two teachers in Uvalde, the U.S. Senate voted 64-34 Tuesday night to advance a bipartisan … Continue reading

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Of course we don’t do nearly enough for mental health

Because Republicans rush to talk about “mental health” every time there’s another mass shooting, it’s important to remember that their response to meeting the demand for mental health, in schools and elsewhere, has been completely inadequate. Tucker’s was the kind … Continue reading

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So how’s that bipartisan agreement on a framework for a gun control deal going?

Let’s check in. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn arrived at the Texas GOP convention in Houston Friday to address his role as chief negotiator for a bipartisan gun package head on — and was promptly booed for it. “No gun control!” … Continue reading

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March For Our Lives

I sure would like to think that all this activist energy means that things are different this time. Hundreds of Houstonians gathered near City Hall in downtown Saturday for the student-led March for Our Lives, one of dozens of events … Continue reading

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