Monthly Archives: October 2018

Early voting, Day 9: Who are these people?

The question keeps getting asked, who is it that has been voting so far? An unprecedented number of Texans cast their ballots during the first week of early voting, but it is impossible to predict whether that surge will benefit … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Zerwas out, Bonnen in for Speaker

A harbinger of intrigue. State Rep. John Zerwas, a Richmond Republican, has withdrawn from the race for speaker of the Texas House, he confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Sunday evening. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have had … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“The least-discussed vulnerable Republican on the ballot”

From Grits: Grits does not expect Beto O’Rourke to win. But if he were to pull off the upset, many other dominos could fall in succession as a result, with at least three Republican senators, Texas’ Attorney General, and potentially … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Translators

I wish there were a better way to handle this. The Harris County Clerk’s office on Monday defended a decision by election workers to bar translators offering assistance to Korean-American voters from a Spring Branch polling site the day before. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Early voting, Day 8: On to Week 2

Here are the totals for Monday, and here are the daily totals from 2010, from 2014, and from 2016, as well as a spreadsheet with totals from 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. The running tallies: Year Mail Early Total ============================== … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Quinnipiac: Cruz 51, O’Rourke 46

One last poll for the road. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, leads El Paso Democrat Beto O’Rourke by 5 percentage points, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University. The poll, released Monday with just a over a week left … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Quinnipiac: Cruz 51, O’Rourke 46

More campus voting issues

Hello, Texas State. The long early voting line that wrapped around the LBJ Student Center earlier this week was a welcome sign to those at Texas State University who were hoping for strong enthusiasm among young voters on campus. But … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More campus voting issues

Schwertner claims sexually suggestive text did not come from his phone

His lawyers say that, anyway. Lawyers for state Sen. Charles Schwertner said Monday that the Georgetown Republican, under fire for allegedly sending lewd messages to a University of Texas at Austin student, submitted his phone to a forensic examiner who … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Schwertner claims sexually suggestive text did not come from his phone

Day 7 early voting: Let the hot takes begin

I’m just going to quote this bit from this story about how the Senate campaigns are interpreting the early vote turnout so far. Derek Ryan, a GOP data consultant who previously worked for the state party, said there are a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Will teachers turn out for Mike Collier?

He sure hopes so. On his long-shot campaign to unseat incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Collier is hoping he’s popular in a lot of rooms that look like this one — where after hearing from him, education-focused voters in a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Will teachers turn out for Mike Collier?

We have an Ike Dike plan

Now we need a plan to pay for it. A decade after Hurricane Ike devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that a more ambitious version of the proposed “Ike Dike” — a 70-mile-long … Continue reading

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We have an Ike Dike plan

Weekend link dump for October 28

“One of the central contradictions of capitalism is that what makes it work — competition — is also what capitalists want to get rid of the most.” “Thing is, Trump may indeed be nuts; but his constant lying is perhaps … Continue reading

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

Day 6 early voting: A very early stab at projecting turnout

This is the point in the early voting process where early voting hours expand, and as a result daily EV reports come in later. That may affect my ability to present the latest data each day, so I’m going to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The eSlate issue

Everyone please take a deep breath. Some straight-ticket voters have reported that voting machines recorded them selecting the candidate of another party for U.S. Senate, exposing a potential problem with the integrity of the state’s high-profile contest between U.S. Sen. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Harris County makes its robot brothel ban official

We can all sleep more soundly now. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously adopted new rules to prevent so-called “robot brothels” from opening and more strictly regulate sexually oriented businesses in unincorporated areas. The county already had been revising … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Endorsement watch: Fort Bend DA

One last recommendation. The race for Fort Bend District Attorney presents voters with a choice that’s starting to feel familiar in Texas politics: An experienced Republican who represents the past and an upstart Democrat who wants to welcome the future. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Fort Bend DA

Early voting Day 5: It’s been a long week (in a good way)

Did I mention it’s been busy? Voters across the state have come out in massive numbers during the first five days of early voting, and soon, more Texans will have voted early in 2018 than in all of 2014’s early … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Omnibus polling update

One last Trib poll: Republican Ted Cruz leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke 51 percent to 45 percent in the Texas race for the U.S. Senate, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Libertarian Neal Dikeman was the choice of … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

When Ken Paxton attacks

He’s gotta be a little scared. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has started airing a statewide TV ad against his Democratic challenger, Justin Nelson, as Nelson presses to close the race with an emphasis on the indictment that has dogged … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on When Ken Paxton attacks

Endorsement watch: City propositions

The Chron says Yes on Prop A: Here’s the blunt truth: Voting “against” on Proposition A won’t cut your taxes. It will, however, open the door to more municipal debt. That is why Houstonians should vote “for” Proposition A, which … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Day 4 early voting: A brief look around the state

The Trib has it all organized for you. As of day three of early voting, 1,344,741 Texans have cast in-person ballots and 240,601 cast mail-in ballots in the 30 counties where most registered voters in the state — 78 percent … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Eventually we’ll settle the debate about straight ticket voting and judicial races

But for now we have one last chance to provide a baseline for comparison. As Harris County goes, so go its judicial races. In three of the last five elections, a single party has swept every Harris judicial contest, with … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eventually we’ll settle the debate about straight ticket voting and judicial races

A step forward in Waller County

Some progress. Two days after students at Prairie View A&M University sued Waller County over allegations that the county is suppressing the voting rights of black residents, the rural county said it is expanding early voting opportunities for students at … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A step forward in Waller County

The Fort Bend DA race

There’s been a lot of focus on how Harris County will vote this year after Hillary Clinton’s wide margin of victory in 2016 – I’ve certainly contributed to that – but it’s important to remember that Clinton carried Fort Bend … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Day 3 early voting: In shorter hours

I’ve heard a few people complain about the shorter early voting hours in the first week. For the first five days for early voting, Harris County’s 46 polling locations open at 8 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m., the earliest … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

The Beto-Abbott voters

I have three things to say about this. Barring divine intervention, Greg Abbott will handily beat Lupe Valdez — the only real question is by how much. The floor, if there is one, is Wendy Davis’ crushing loss to Greg … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Prairie View students sue over lack of on campus EV site

The fight continues. Five students at Prairie View A&M University are suing Waller County, which is home to the historically black university, over allegations that the county is suppressing the voting rights of its black residents. In a lawsuit filed … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of October 22

The Texas Progressive Alliance urges everyone to get out and vote as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of October 22

Endorsement watch: County time

The Chron circles back to the county races they didn’t get to the first time around, and for reasons I cannot fathom, they still love them some Orlando Sanchez. The race for Harris County treasurer always seems to raise the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: County time

Day 2 early voting: Reporting from elsewhere

It was busy everywhere. Tens of thousands of Texas voters turned out across the state to cast their ballots on Monday, the first day of early voting for the 2018 midterm elections. The state’s largest counties all saw much larger … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | 2 Comments

City seeks more Harvey recovery funds

Good. Seek all you can. The City of Houston is preparing to ask Congress for $2 billion more to help residents whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Harvey — a request likely to coincide with lawmakers’ consideration of aid to … Continue reading

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Don’t forget the judges

The Chron got some national buzz for their blanket non-endorsement of judges who support the current bail structure, but overall they’re supported a large number of Republican incumbents on the bench. Not all by any means, but well more than … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

October 2018 campaign finance reports: Congress

Wow. It’s not just Beto. Newly filed campaign finance reports show that money flooded into Democratic congressional campaigns all across the state over the last three months. Along with Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s blockbuster $38 million haul in his bid against … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on October 2018 campaign finance reports: Congress

Day 1 early voting totals: Like three days in one

Monday was busy. Harris County residents on Monday set a new record for the first day of early voting in a midterm election, as 63,188 went to the polls to cast ballots. The turnout smashed the previous mark, set in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments