Tag Archives: TDP

What is the sound of one politician switching?

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It depends. When Lawrence Meyers won a seat on the statewide Court of Criminal Appeals in 1992, he was the first Republican elected to the state’s highest criminal court. This month he made history again. After switching parties, Meyers, who … Continue reading →

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The people want Wendy to run for Governor

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Democratic people certainly do. Though speculation is still rampant on state Sen. Wendy Davis’ possible run for governor, some Democratic groups aren’t waiting for her call before pledging their support. Annie’s List, a political group that supports Democratic female … Continue reading →

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Messing with the primaries

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like deja vu all over again. State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, has filed a bill to move up the primary one month in even-numbered years, to the first Tuesday in February. Patrick said people in both parties should support … Continue reading →

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Runoff turnout

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Who knows what to expect? Texans are voting in July for the first time in decades, the result of a lengthy federal court battle over new political districts that delayed the primary from March 6 to May 29. The unusual … Continue reading →

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Steve Brown: The Grown-Up’s Platform

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Texas Democrats recently adopted a very progressive platform that addresses critical areas of need in our state. It also gives reasonable, … Continue reading →

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Things to do this weekend

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Democratic Party State Convention is in town starting tomorrow. Here are some of the things I plan to do: Thursday The HDCC was instrumental in getting the House Democratic caucus to 74 members after the 2008 election. It … Continue reading →

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Harris County rejecting fewer voter registrations

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In other lawsuit-related news: Harris County officials have rejected far fewer would-be voters since 2008, but Democrats are demanding more proof that voter rolls are not being illegally suppressed – particularly among Hispanics – as another U.S. presidential election approaches. … Continue reading →

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If it walks like a PAC and talks like a PAC…

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

…the odds are pretty good that it’s a PAC. A Travis County district court judge ruled this week that a Houston-based tea party group is not a nonprofit corporation as it claims, but an unregistered political action committee that illegally … Continue reading →

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Trying to save the April 3 primary date

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The race is on to get new maps in hand in time to keep the April 3 primary date, since all the options for after that date are distinctly unpalatable in one way or another. On Friday, the State of … Continue reading →

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Redistricting litigation threatens party conventions

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

With the April 3 primary date now almost certainly no longer in play, the two parties’ biennial conventions are also at risk as the redistricting litigation drags on. The state’s Democratic and Republican parties made substantial down payments months ago … Continue reading →

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We have a deal on a unified primary date

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Joint Statement from TDP and RPT on Agreement Regarding 2012 General Primary Election Parties have submitted a joint agreed proposal to the San Antonio federal panel. Today, the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) and the Republican Party of Texas … Continue reading →

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DC court sets date for preclearance trial, primary dates still up in the air

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Via email from the Lone Star Project: [Monday], a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Federal District Court set January 17, 2012 through January 26, 2012 as the trial dates to formally review the Congressional, State House and State … Continue reading →

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DOJ pushes back on State House and Congressional maps

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Justice Department said Monday that Texas’ state House and congressional redistricting plans didn’t comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting … Continue reading →

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The districts in dispute

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The redistricting lawsuit in San Antonio wrapped up on Friday, so at this point all we can do is wait for the three-judge panel to issue its opinion, and for the DC Circuit Court to have it say on preclearance. … Continue reading →

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How long will we talk about Latino turnout before someone does something about it?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before. On Saturday, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project announced its 2012 goal of raising Latino voting in Texas to 2 million from the 1.7 million who voted in the last presidential … Continue reading →

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More redistricting plaintiffs

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update to the scorecard, for those of you hoping to keep track of the players. The Texas Democratic Party officially entered the court fight over Republican-dominated redistricting maps Wednesday. The new claims by the state Democratic Party came … Continue reading →

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Richie will not run for another term as TDP Chair

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Over the weekend, Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie announced that he would not seek another term when his current one expires next year. I’ve put his press release beneath the fold. I think Richie did some good work as … Continue reading →

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Petition for new HCDP Chair

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how I feel about this, but it’s out there so I feel I should say something. The time has come for new leadership in the Harris County Democratic Party. After November’s defeat, we should look to new … Continue reading →

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TDP to get KSP’s financial records

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston tea party spinoff King Street Patriots will grant the Texas Democratic Party access to its financial records, forestalling an injunction hearing that had been set for Monday afternoon in Austin, according to TDP. According to a TDP news … Continue reading →

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Hey, big secret spender

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I know you’re as shocked as I am to learn that there are unknown entities spending large quantities of money in this election. Campaign finance watchdogs say the tactic conceals important information about who is backing a political cause, but … Continue reading →

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TPJ files complaint against King Street Patriots

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: TPJ today filed a formal complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission alleging that the King Street Patriots and KSP/True the Vote have violated the state’s prohibition on corporate contributions to political parties and candidates. The complaint says … Continue reading →

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TDP sues Tax Assessor again over voter registrations

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This happened late last week while I was still affected by my site outage. For the second time in as many years, the Texas Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County tax assessor-collector, accusing the Republican-led voter … Continue reading →

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Birdwell will be on the ballot

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So says the Fifth Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel from that court ruled against the Democrats and said it won’t consider rehearing the case because of pending election deadlines: We conclude relators have not shown they are entitled to … Continue reading →

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Is that really the argument you want to make?

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

SD22 special election winner and GOP nominee for November Bill Birdwell filed his response to the lawsuit that challenged his residency on Friday, and, well, color me puzzled. “It has been Texas law for over 40 years that a person’s … Continue reading →

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Birdwell ballot challenge timeline

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Texas Democratic Party and its candidate for SD22, John Cullar, have filed a lawsuit challenging the residency of Republican candidate Bill Birdwell. Here’s the latest news regarding that: The Dallas Court of Appeals has asked Sen. … Continue reading →

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There goes the bag drag

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you heard was many thousands of dollars being taken in by the President and the DNC. For the past 22 years, some state Democrats complain, the national party has used Texas like an ATM. The national party’s constant … Continue reading →

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Dems drop effort to remove Greens from the ballot

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After the initial Supreme Court ruling, it was probably a long shot. The Texas Democratic Party today cleared the way for Green Party candidates to remain on the ballot this year by dropping its state Supreme Court challenge to the … Continue reading →

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Supremes give Greens a reprieve

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the ballot for now. The Texas Supreme Court today stayed a district judge’s order blocking the Green Party of Texas from certifying its candidates for the general election ballot. The order allows the Green Party to legally establish … Continue reading →

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Green Party appeals to Supreme Court

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Even if allegations about an illegal petition drive are true, knocking Green Party candidates off the November general election ballot before they can be proven imposes “a death penalty,” lawyers for the party argued Monday in a written … Continue reading →

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Richie re-elected as TDP Chair, Two-Step survives

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The first, Boyd Ritchie’s re-election as TDP Chair, was expected. The second was more unexpected. Texas Democrats this afternoon overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to scrap the Texas Two-Step system of awarding presidential delegates through both a primary and caucuses. Those … Continue reading →

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Corpus coverage

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Due to unavoidable schedule conflicts, I’m not down in Corpus Christi this weekend for the TDP convention. Here are some of the places where I’ll be following what’s going on: The Trib’s liveblog Abby Rapoport Bob Moser John Coby David … Continue reading →

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Greens booted from the ballot

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A judge in Austin has ruled in favor of the Texas Democratic Party in a motion to bar the Green Party from the ballot this fall on the grounds that the funds used to collect their signatures were illegal corporate … Continue reading →

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Greens temporarily make the ballot

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Secretary of State has certified the petition signatures to allow the Green Party on the ballot this fall. On Wednesday, the secretary of state’s office announced that the party had presented sufficient signatures to field candidates in the … Continue reading →

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Meet The Statewides and The Other 49%

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The TDP is running a ten-week campaign between now and June 14 to promote the statewide slate. It includes a bio with 60-second video for each candidate, a discussion of the candidate’s race and the issues in it, and an … Continue reading →

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