Tag Archives: Senate

Interview with Nasir Malik

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

My next two interviews, the last two that I have completed for this cycle, were not ones that I had originally planned on doing but were inspired in part by the Chronicle endorsements of the candidates involved. Because of my … Continue reading →

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The Trib covers SD15

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There should be more of this. The last time Senate District 15 was an open seat was 1982 — before some of the candidates currently running for it were born. But after four decades, John Whitmire, the former Senate dean … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Allred and more

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Colin Allred in the Democratic primary for US Senate. Texas voters eager to see U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz retire to Cancun permanently, not just on a quick trip during a devastating winter storm, have a choice between … Continue reading →

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Senate

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Harris County offices The field is set, with one more person than we had in October. Again, until we’ve narrowed this down to at most two, I’ll do this separately from the Congressional candidates. Here are the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Two uphill battles

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Two new endorsements from the Chron, in races that aren’t likely to be competitive but whose primaries feature a candidate who’s going to give their best shot and a candidate who’s literally nothing but a name on the ballot. First … Continue reading →

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – State offices

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The start of the new year means campaign finance reports are due for everyone. I’ll work my way through them as I can, in between the interviews and Q&As. At this point in January, the only state race to watch … Continue reading →

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Can we have a do-over on that impeachment thing?

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

What an interesting question. Republican state Sen. Drew Springer called for Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate to consider reopening impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton. In a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the state … Continue reading →

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“Living at the office” residency lawsuit update

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. A judge has allowed a Texas Senate candidate backed by state GOP leaders to keep campaigning amid questions about his eligibility. But she has also declined to dismiss the case, letting it move forward ahead of … Continue reading →

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Paxton ordered to sit for deposition anyway

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Bwa ha ha! A Travis County judge issued an order Friday for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sit for a deposition on Feb. 1 in the lawsuit brought by four of his former employees. However, some of those plaintiffs … Continue reading →

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Paxton will no longer fight the whistleblower lawsuit

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Kind of stunning, definitely a stunt, and also his latest and most desperate ploy to avoid being deposed. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his agency will stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit by four former top executives who … Continue reading →

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It’s official, Paxton will get deposed

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. Attorney General Ken Paxton and his top aides will be forced to testify in a lawsuit accusing Paxton of violating the state’s whistleblower protection law after the Texas Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency motion to block the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Beto Cardenas

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Now we come to the end of our SD15 interview odyssey, stretching to its sixth day to accommodate this sizeable field. Beto Cardenas, who just put up a campaign launch video that features an endorsement from Rep. Sylvia Garcia that … Continue reading →

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We’re going to be electing what now?

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea about this. It sure wasn’t covered in the runup to this past election. In a state known for too many elections, there’s another one coming to Texas’ 50 largest counties. This May, voters in those most … Continue reading →

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Interview with Todd Litton

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Normally this is where I’d say we’re wrapping up the week, but there are six candidates in the Democratic primary for SD15, so there will be another interview tomorrow. For today, we have another familiar name, Todd Litton, who made … Continue reading →

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Paxton tries his whistleblower deposition luck with SCOTx

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This should be the end of the line, one way or another. Embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to shield him from being deposed in an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former agency employees. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rep. Jarvis Johnson

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, who has served in HD139 since winning a special election to succeed the newly elected Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was on the Appropriations Committee this past session and was the Vice Chair of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Molly Cook

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Our next candidate for SD15 is a name that should be familiar to you, Molly Cook. Cook ran in the primary for SD15 against then-Sen. Whitmire and collected 42% of the vote, a strong showing for a first-timer against a … Continue reading →

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A tale of living at the office

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I am oddly fascinated by this. A Republican candidate for Texas Senate who is backed by top state leaders is fighting a multifront legal battle against primary opponents who want to remove him from the ballot over residency questions. The … Continue reading →

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Interview with Michelle Bonton

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We continue in SD15 with Michelle Bonton, who describes herself as an educator, social entrepreneur, speaker, writer, and advocate. She was the founder and executive director of the Rhodes School for the Performing Arts, executive director at the non-profit Harris … Continue reading →

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Paxton again ordered to sit for whistleblower deposition

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Keep on losing, Kenny. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could have to answer questions under oath in a lawsuit that prompted his impeachment last year. In a one-sentence order issued Friday evening, Texas’s Third Court of Appeals denied Paxton’s challenge … Continue reading →

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Interview with Karthik Soora

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

All right, it’s January 2024 and that means it’s primary season. Which in turn means it’s interview season, and I’ve got a lot of those to bring you. You may be aware that my Senate district SD15 is now vacant … Continue reading →

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Justice Department sues over SB4

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As they had threatened to do. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas on Wednesday over a new state law that allows Texas police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. “Texas cannot disregard the United States … Continue reading →

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Paxton still desperately trying to avoid being deposed

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

And still failing. The Texas Third Court of Appeals denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for an emergency stay of impending depositions in the whistleblower lawsuit that sparked his impeachment this year, according to a Wednesday court filing. The whistleblower … Continue reading →

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Whitmire officially resigns from the Senate

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let the election-palooza to replace him begin! Mayor-elect John Whitmire has submitted his resignation from the Texas Senate days before he will take over the state’s largest city. Whitmire, the Senate’s longest tenured member, served for 50 years under seven … Continue reading →

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A brief update on the Democratic Senate primary

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of thoughts. If money is any indication, the crowded contest to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz next year is Democrat Colin Allred’s to lose. The congressman from Dallas has set campaign fundraising records and outpaced his closest … Continue reading →

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Paxton and aides ordered to sit for depositions on whistleblower trial

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Travis County district judge has ordered Attorney General Ken Paxton and three top aides to sit for depositions in the 3-year-old whistleblower lawsuit against him. At a hearing Wednesday in Austin, Judge Jan Soifer granted the whistleblowers’ motion … Continue reading →

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ACLU and immigrants rights groups sue over our latest legislative atrocity

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Immigrant rights organizations have sued Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott approved one of the strictest state immigration enforcement laws, which authorizes police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. In their lawsuit, the American Civil … Continue reading →

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More filing deadline news and notes

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to use the Erik Manning Spreadsheet, the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, and the Secretary of State webpage to put together some notes and observations about the 2024 filing deadline and primary lineups. Note that some of this may still … Continue reading →

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SJL files for re-election

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have our answer. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee will run for reelection in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, shaking up a Democratic primary that’s been in limbo since her resounding defeat in the race for Houston mayor on Saturday. Harris … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the SD15 special election

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s closer than you think. The candidates looking to replace Mayor-elect John Whitmire in the Texas Senate may have to win as many as five elections next year before they ever get to vote on a piece of legislation. Whitmire, … Continue reading →

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Apparently there’s a lawsuit challenging the 2023 constitutional amendment elections

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’m running out of synonyms for “deranged” and “absurd”. Lawsuits based on false claims about voting equipment could delay millions of dollars in cost of living increases for retired teachers expected to arrive in January. The lawsuits … Continue reading →

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Candidate filing update

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still more than two weeks to go until the filing deadline for the 2024 primaries, so there are still a lot of people who haven’t filed or haven’t made their surprise announcement that they’re not filing yet. So if … Continue reading →

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Paxton whistleblowers demand depositions

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As always, I am rooting for them. Lawyers for the Ken Paxton whistleblowers are moving forward with their lawsuit in Travis County after another judge cleared the way, asking the Austin-based court to force the attorney general and his top … Continue reading →

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Rep. Pat Fallon has a whirlwind 48 hours

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this on Monday, which was a little weird and meant at the time that three Republicans from Texas were leaving Congress after this term. U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, is quitting Congress and running for his old … Continue reading →

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