Tag Archives: Congress

SB4 remains on hold

Fine by me. No rush. The Supreme Court on Tuesday further delayed a new Texas law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants that would transform immigration enforcement long left to the federal government. Justice Samuel Alito extended an … Continue reading

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Evaluating the polls

This year we got a set of polls for various Democratic primary races from the UH Hobby Center. Because of the nature of some of the races and the fact that we don’t usually get this kind of polling data, … Continue reading

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Initial thoughts on the 2024 primary

Some opening considerations as we peruse the final unofficial voting data. Before you read my words, go check out Stace, Campos, Reform Austin, and the Texas Signal. Here we go: – Final turnout in Harris County was 176,396 for Dems … Continue reading

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Primary 2024 results: Republican headlines

It’s going to be a late night and I have a couple of long days ahead of me, so I’m going to do some quick summaries based on what I now know, and will come back later to fill the … Continue reading

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The Fifth Circuit remains extremely on brand

Of all the Fifth Circuits in the world, they’re the Fifth Circuitest. A new law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants seeking asylum in the United States may soon take effect after an appeals court stepped in to … Continue reading

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Abortion and IVF roundup

Texas IVF patients are dealing with a lot of uncertainty right now. Heather Burzlaff has four embryos in a freezer in Dallas and she doesn’t know what to do with them. After seven years of medications, egg retrievals and waiting, … Continue reading

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SB4 blocked by federal court

Good. A federal judge in Austin on Thursday halted a new state law that would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. The law, Senate Bill 4, was scheduled to take effect Tuesday. U.S. … Continue reading

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You’re not going to fall for Greg Abbott’s BS about IVF, are you?

Let’s count the ways in which he dodged and weaved. Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that he supports Texas families having access to in vitro fertilization treatments and has “no doubt” the state will address issues raised by a recent … Continue reading

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That other guy in CD18 drops out and endorses SJL

Obviously earth-shaking news. Robert Slater, the longshot candidate challenging U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the upcoming March primary, said he will suspend his campaign Sunday and endorse the incumbent congresswoman. Slater, a Houston chef and businessman, faced long odds … Continue reading

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More Dem primary polls from UH/Hobby Center

I asked, and I received. Just months after a bruising campaign for mayor of Houston, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is leading her top challenger in the 18th Congressional District by five points, suggesting the closest race for the position … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Sticking with SJL

The Chron, in what I believe is its final endorsement of interest for this cycle, stays with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in CD18. Jackson Lee, Espinosa told us, “has a track record of really stepping in for families.” That record … Continue reading

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SB4 lawsuit has its day in court

We’ll see what happens. Lawyers for the Biden administration and Texas faced off in a federal court in Austin on Thursday to argue whether a new state law that would allow police to arrest people suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Three big ones

The Chron races to finish up their primary endorsements before the start of Early Voting. Three more for your consideration: They endorse Rep. Lizzie Fletcher in CD07. Ever since Democratic voters picked her to take on and eventually defeat a … Continue reading

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Interview with Marquette Greene-Scott

And here we are at the final interview of the cycle (no, I was never able to get something scheduled with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee), though I may find more to do for the runoffs and the May HCAD election. … Continue reading

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Two Congressional race updates

This story uses the throughline of John Whitmire’s election as Mayor to discuss the SD15 and CD18 primaries, but I’m just going to focus on the latter. After losing the mayoral election by nearly 30 percentage points, [Rep. Sheila] Jackson … Continue reading

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Congress

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Harris County offices Senate As noted, we’re still doing the Congressional reports separately until we winnow down the fields. The October 2023 reports are here, the July reports for both Congress and Senate are here, and the … Continue reading

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Interview with Gion Thomas

We wrap up Legislative And Congressional Week #1 with our next contender in CD38, Gion Thomas, who moved to Katy as a 12-year-old in 2005 after being forced out of his home by Hurricane Katrina. A graduate of Katy High … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Two at a time

The Chron is meandering along through their primary endorsements. I can’t complain too much, they’re making progress and we’re still more than a week away from the start of early voting, it’s just that there’s no pattern to it. Whatever. … Continue reading

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Interview with Melissa McDonough

We’re going to finish up the week with two interviews from CD38, the still-new drawn-to-be-red district on the west side of the county. We have two candidates vying for the nomination, and today we will hear from Melissa McDonough, who … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Two uphill battles

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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Interview with Rep. Lizzie Fletcher

We’ve made it to the end of this weird week, which includes running this interview on Friday instead of Wednesday as I had originally planned. These things happen, and so we adjust. I still do have two days of interviews … Continue reading

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Interview with Pervez Agwan

I said on Monday that this was going to be a slightly weird week schedule-wise, and so it remains. My intent was to follow with my interview with Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, but the schedule gods had other ideas. That is … Continue reading

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Interview with Amanda Edwards

This is going to be a slightly weird week, as I have had some recent scheduling challenges. Happens every cycle, not a big deal, but in the short term it can scramble things a bit for me. My original plan … Continue reading

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Lawsuit seeking January 6 emails from Abbott and Paxton can proceed

There’s a lot of lawsuits out there against the state and/or the likes of Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton. I do my best to be aware of them and keep track of them, but inevitably some things get lost in … Continue reading

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The problem of inadequate police responses to mass shootings is national

More great reporting from ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, and FRONTLINE on how police departments across the country have no idea how to react to mass shootings. During an October conference to prepare law enforcement for dealing with an active shooter, … Continue reading

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More filing deadline news and notes

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

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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So now what for SJL?

At least one big question about what comes next for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee after losing the Mayoral runoff should be settled today. Following her decisive defeat in Saturday’s mayoral runoff, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee now has less than … Continue reading

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Rhonda Hart for CD14

I wish her very well. Rhonda Hart, who lost her daughter in the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, is launching a bid for Congress. Hart, a Democrat, plans to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, a … Continue reading

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Candidate filing update

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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We could get an Amtrak connection from Atlanta to Fort Worth

Or it could all be killed by the Freedom Caucus nihilists. That’s just how these things go these days. A passenger rail line project touted as a major connectivity and economic boost to the Fort Worth region and beyond could … Continue reading

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Rep. Pat Fallon has a whirlwind 48 hours

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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Rep. Michael Burgess not running for re-election

No great loss. U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Dallas-area Republican who has held his post for two decades, will not seek re-election next year, he announced Monday. “It has been the honor of my life to have gone from a … Continue reading

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Filing season for 2024 begins today

Happy First Day of Candidate Filing to all who celebrate. The Democratic and Republican slates will begin to take shape this weekend once candidates start filing their paperwork to run. Several Harris County officials plan to file for re-election, such … Continue reading

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