Tag Archives: Ken Paxton

Fifth Circuit allows Ten Commandments law to be enforced

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They do what they always do. Texas can enforce a state law requiring public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A 9-8 majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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A brief look at the runoffs

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Lite Guv runoff is the highest profile statewide race on the ballot in May for Democrats. After busting through turnout expectations for the party primaries, can Texas Democrats keep up that momentum for May’s runoff elections? Beyond that, will voters turn … Continue reading →

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Who wants to listen to the lawyers about the HPD/ICE ordinance?

Posted on April 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not Mayor Whitmire, who already has the surrender documents drawn up. Mayor John Whitmire says the city must walk back its new policy limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $114 million in grants … Continue reading →

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Talarico reports $27 million raised in Q1

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. State Rep. James Talarico raised $27 million in the first three months of 2026 in his bid to flip Texas, according to his campaign. The Austin Democrat’s haul is the largest-ever sum for a Senate candidate — in any … Continue reading →

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Possible reconsideration of HPD/ICE ordinance pushed to next week

Posted on April 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. Mayor John Whitmire has delayed Houston City Council’s vote on whether to revoke its new policy limiting the police department’s interactions with immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott’s office extended the city’s deadline to make a decision as he threatens to pull $114 million in … Continue reading →

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Whitmire waffles on ICE ordinance

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Pathetic. And predictable. Mayor John Whitmire last week joined his City Council colleagues in voting to limit Houston police officers’ interactions with federal immigration agents, but now says the city must “correct” its policy after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to … Continue reading →

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Sorry, but data centers don’t need those tax breaks

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Let them pay their taxes. Texas will lose out on at least $3.1 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry, according to the comptroller’s office. That … Continue reading →

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Feds aim to screw Colony Ridge residents in their settlement

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Totally on brand. In December 2023, the U.S. Justice Department sued a Texas land developer it accused of duping tens of thousands of Hispanic residents into predatory mortgages, a landmark case for the Biden administration. Colony Ridge, which sold plots … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick has the blues

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not the sort of thing our boy Danno usually says. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday said Texas Republicans are “going to have a tough time” holding onto their majority in the state House this fall, the latest and perhaps … Continue reading →

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The Loving County takeover saga gets more ridiculous

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I am begging for there to be a multi-part prestige podcast about this when it is all over. A legal cat-and-mouse contest is playing out in far West Texas, where local and state authorities are attempting to stymie a charismatic … Continue reading →

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Paxton-Hancock slap fight

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Oh yeah. Bring it on. Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock to be removed from office, in a fiery social media tirade responding to a letter Hancock sent accusing Paxton of falling short in his efforts to … Continue reading →

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Second post-primary poll shows Talarico up

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the basic info, the poll was conducted by Impact Research between March 12-17, which makes it fully after the first poll we saw, both of which have Rep. James Talarico narrowly up on both Sen. John Cornyn and AG … Continue reading →

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Voucher deadline extended after hearing in Islamic schools’ lawsuit

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise, at least to me. Texas families now have two more weeks to apply to the state’s new voucher program after a federal judge the deadline extended to March 31, citing concerns that no Islamic schools have been … Continue reading →

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SCOTx allows intrusive data requests against PFLAG

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Texas Attorney General’s Office can require LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG to turn over documents related to an investigation into medical care for transgender minors. The court overturned a previous … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed over Muslim schools’ exclusion from voucher program

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. A group of Islamic schools and Muslim parents sued the Texas Comptroller’s office Wednesday, accusing state leaders of religious discrimination for blocking Islamic schools from Texas’ $1 billion private school voucher program. The case marks the second lawsuit this … Continue reading →

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Ivermectin 4Ever

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I got nothing. MaryJo Perry raises animals on her property outside of Jackson, Miss., and uses ivermectin to treat her cattle. To her, the drug is as familiar, safe, cheap and effective as vitamins: “We’ve been using it on the … Continue reading →

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First post-primary poll

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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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A followup on turnout and early voting preference

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of followup items for things we discussed during early voting, now that we have more complete data. The first was about how much of the vote would be cast early, and whether Republicans were waiting until Election … Continue reading →

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The Trump-Cornyn-Paxton endorsement psychodrama

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court reaffirmed in a new ruling on Wednesday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on … Continue reading →

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A few followup items from Tuesday

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is officially my favorite story from the primaries. Texas congressional candidate Vince Shlomi, known as the “ShamWow guy,” is suing the Republican Party of Texas, accusing it of “rigging” the primary after he says the party removed his nickname from the … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Muslim schools’ exclusion from voucher program

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another seemingly clear-cut First Amendment violation. It’s like it’s a habit around here. A Houston-area parent is suing state officials, accusing them of religious discrimination for barring Islamic schools from participating in Texas’ private school voucher program. The plaintiff, Mehdi Cherkaoui, … Continue reading →

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2026 primary results: Statewide

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We have to start with this: The Texas Supreme Court suspended a district court’s decision Tuesday to extend voting by two hours in Dallas County and ordered that any votes cast by people who got in line after 7 p.m. … Continue reading →

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On Republican meddling in the Democratic Senate primary

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is closing with a fierce debate that has animated it from the start: Who would Republicans rather face in November? The leading candidates, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett … Continue reading →

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A statewide comparison

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this yesterday, so here it is. I decided to look at the most recent early voting turnout numbers I could find for the counties, and then compare them to the final turnout numbers from the 2022 election. I’ll … Continue reading →

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A history of early voting turnout in the primaries

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Final 2026 early voting report: That was something

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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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Appeals court denies Paxton’s attempt to block Harris County Immigrant Legal Services Fund

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Another L for our boy Kenny. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals on Tuesday struck down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to halt Harris County’s legal fund to defend undocumented immigrants in court. While the letter appears to be a legal win for … Continue reading →

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Two polls favorable to Talarico

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

After I published Thursday’s post about the February UT/Texas Politics Project poll that showed Rep. Jasmine Crockett leading Rep. James Talarico by a 56-44 margin in the Democratic primary for US Senate, I got a comment on Facebook saying a … Continue reading →

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2026 primary early voting Day Ten: One more day to go

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

One more time from Derek Ryan. Turnout Comparison Based on the data I have, here is where things stand through Wednesday: -856,191 people have voted in the Republican Primary (4.6% of all registered voters). The Secretary of State is reporting … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project: Crockett 56, Talarico 44

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Adding it to the poll pile. Dallas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has a double-digit lead over Austin state Rep. James Talarico in the final days of Texas’ Senate Democratic primary, according to a new poll released Wednesday. In the survey, … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Lousiana’s Ten Commandments law to go into effect

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not great, but not the end of the line. A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a Louisiana law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to take effect. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s attempt to block Bexar County Immigrant Legal Services Fund denied

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Different county, same result. A Bexar County district judge on Friday ruled that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton does not have the legal authority to sue Bexar County over its immigration legal services fund, blocking the state’s attempt to halt … Continue reading →

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Hearing held on Maria Rojas’ injunction appeal

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping a close eye on this. Attorneys for Maria Rojas, the Texas midwife accused of providing illegal abortions, asked an appeals court to reverse a temporary injunction that prevents her from practicing medicine while her landmark case moves through the … Continue reading →

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