Monthly Archives: February 2020

CNN/SSRS: The first big Bernie lead

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We come full circle. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders holds substantial leads in the two largest states to vote in next week’s Super Tuesday lineup of primaries, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS in California and Texas. In Texas, … Continue reading →

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A look at the CD25 primary

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

CD25 in Central Texas is a lower-tier race but after a much closer result in 2018 than before it’s on the radar this year and there’s an interesting primary to see who gets to take the shot at it. When … Continue reading →

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Medicaid and hospitals

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A proposed change in Medicaid rules could cost Texas hospitals billions of dollars, forcing many to cut services and some rural hospitals to close their doors, health care industry officials said. The … Continue reading →

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FBI raids HISD official’s home and office

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is never good. Agents with the FBI and IRS spent hours Thursday searching the administrative offices of the Houston Independent School District and the Cypress-area house of its chief operating officer, but they remained tight-lipped about what they … Continue reading →

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Can someone beat Lucio?

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe this is the year. A lot of Democrats running for the Texas Legislature this cycle are hoping that the opportunity to influence the next redistricting process helps propel them to office. One Democrat, meanwhile, is hoping it keeps him … Continue reading →

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City responds to busking lawsuit

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And I’m not thrilled with it. Lawyers argued in a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit Friday that the city is beholden to keeping its streets and sidewalks safe, and that striking down the decades-old ordinance limiting where buskers — … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Ten: Come hell or high water

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was quite the day, wasn’t it? People did still vote, which is nice. Here’s the Day Ten report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Ten: Year Mail Early Total … Continue reading →

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Progress Texas/PPP poll: The Bloomberg effect

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More primary polling data for you. Super Tuesday marks the first time that Michael Bloomberg will appear on the Democratic Primary ballot. To measure his impact on the race, we polled likely Texas Democratic Primary voters to see preferences with … Continue reading →

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ACLU sues the “abortion sanctuary cities”

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against seven Texas cities on Tuesday for passing ordinances that aim to ban abortion by outlawing providers and advocates from doing business in their towns. The suit, brought by the ACLU of … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Nine

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Getting close to the finish line here. Two more days of early voting to go. Here’s the Day Nine report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Four: Year Mail Early … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 24

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has no non-disclosure agreements to disclose, but it will disclose this week’s roundup.

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UH Senate poll: Hegar leads, the rest scramble

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Day Two of the UH Hobby School of Public Affairs poll, and a second result showing that MJ Hegar is in a strong position to make the primary runoff for Senate. Hegar, a Round Rock Democrat who narrowly lost a … Continue reading →

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What is “safe”?

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Saw this on Twitter, and it got me thinking: For those upset about critique of establishment politics: There are D reps in SAFE blue seats who side w/ the NRA, are anti-LGBT+, and yet are protected because they advance the … Continue reading →

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MLB, Astros, Red Sox respond to DraftKings lawsuit over sign stealing

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s motion to dismiss time. As baseball’s electronic sign-stealing case joins the long list of sports-related court cases, attorneys for the the Astros, Red Sox and Major League Baseball all say that while fantasy sports bettors may be angered by … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Eight: It starts to turn upward

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Day Eight report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Four: Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 5,695 16,671 22,366 2016 10,970 34,419 45,389 2018 12,914 36,185 49,099 2020 … Continue reading →

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UH poll: Biden, Bernie tied

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One more primary poll. Texans are split between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders as their choice in the Democratic presidential primary, according to a University of Houston poll released Monday. The poll, from the university’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, … Continue reading →

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Who will carry the flag in CD31?

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This primary interests me mostly to see if we can get a truly viable challenger in this district or not. No one person has emerged yet, that’s for sure. Democrats who want to be Republican U.S. Rep. John Carter’s challenger … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Seven

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re back at it. Here’s the Day Seven report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Four: Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 5,609 14,063 19,672 2016 10,180 28,367 38,547 … Continue reading →

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Republican former Senators defend anti-majoritarian practices

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the spirit in which this was offered, but it’s completely out of touch with reality. The purpose of the 31-member Texas Senate is similar to that of the U.S. Senate: to cool down some of the fevered legislation … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Six: On to Week Two

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re back from the weekend, where the only votes tallied are in-person. We have five more days of early voting to go. Here’s the Day Six report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The rest of Congress

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I think we are finally getting to the end of the Chron’s primary endorsements. We had the Senate and Tax Assessor, there are these four Congressional endorsements, all of which ran on Saturday, and I think the only races left … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 23

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“On Feb. 14, 1990, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft captured one of the most iconic photographs of the space age; to commemorate the moment’s 30th anniversary, NASA has digitally dusted off the image.” “High Fidelity, which was released in 2000, doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 6 Comments

Trib overview of the CD10 primary

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. When Mike Siegel made a long-shot bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, two years ago, few were watching — until he surprised political observers and came within 5 points of … Continue reading →

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District B ruling appealed

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The date of Houston’s stalled city council District B runoff is again in question after the third-place finisher in the race moved forward with an appeal of a court order earlier this month that the runoff go on without … Continue reading →

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Please don’t freak out about coronavirus

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If you are freaking out or think you may be on the verge of freaking out, or you know someone who is, Harris County is here to help. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday announced the creation of a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Senate and Tax Assessor

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been very interested to see what the Chron would make of the Senate primary. Now we know: Royce West is their choice. We believe that candidate is state Sen. Royce West of Dallas, an African-American trailblazer whose record over … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Veronica Rivas-Molloy

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Cable franchise fees lawsuit heard

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Rooting for the cities, because this is a mess. Lawyers representing 59 cities, including Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, on Wednesday asked an Austin district court judge to temporarily block a Texas law passed last year that cuts government … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Four: First Friday

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We are at the end of the first business week, shortened by the holiday on Monday. It’s been a brisk week, especially compared to other years, but there should be a lot more to come. Here’s the Day Four report … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Not Borris

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes its second major endorsement against an incumbent. Texas Senate District 13 stretches through Harris County into the northeastern corner of Fort Bend County. It winds through struggling neighborhoods such as Sunnyside and the world-renowned Texas Medical Center … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Tax Assessor race

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I wasn’t expecting an interesting race here, at least not going into the filing season, but we have one. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett is familiar with elections, appearing on the ballot five times in the last six … Continue reading →

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More Astros lawsuits

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This one was filed by a dissatisfied customer. An Astros season ticket holder has filed suit in Harris County District Court against the ballclub, accusing the team of negligence, breach of contract and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Four more

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Rodney Ellis for County Commissioner, Precinct 1, and then proceeds to spend the endorsement mostly talking about his opponent. Count us among those who were a little surprised when felony court Judge Maria T. Jackson resigned her … Continue reading →

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Three: Midweek meandering

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have any clever openings today, so once again let’s just jump right in. Here’s the Day Three report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Three: Year Mail Early … Continue reading →

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