One of these runoffs is not like the others. On paper, the Houston City Council incumbent most at risk heading into Saturday’s runoff elections is first-termer Andrew Burks, in At-Large Position 2. Challenger David Robinson had spent more than $201,000 as of last week, to Burks’ roughly $76,000. Robinson, who also earned more votes than […]
Posts Tagged ‘fundraising’
More on LVdP for Lite Guv
Mostly from Monday’s Lone Star Project news roundup email. AP: Texas Democrats offering stark contrast. Texas voters won’t have a hard time telling the difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates next year. With the addition of San Antonio Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, attorney Sam Houston and party activist Steve Brown last week, the […]
Tactics are nice, but turnout is key
The main thing I learned in this story about Wendy Davis’ national connections is that at least one person in the state gets what she will really need to win. “I’m going back home to Texas and walking door to door,” said Brian Stansbury, a lawyer from Texas who has lived in Washington for more […]
Today is a great day to give some money to Wendy Davis’ campaign
If your daily reading habits include progressive blogs, especially Texas progressive blogs, then you’ve probably noticed some of my blog colleagues making a plea today for contributions to Wendy Davis’ gubernatorial campaign. Why would you want to do that? Lots of people have given their reasons – BOR has a list of many of them […]
Here comes the Dome renovation committee
I was wondering when we’d see this. Reliant Park and Harris County officials on Thursday announced the launch of a campaign to garner voter support for a plan to redevelop the Astrodome, with Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Precinct 1 Commissioner El Franco Lee each pledging $5,000 to the effort. A referendum to fund […]
On the matter of money
This story is about the strong desire among Dems for Sen. Wendy Davis to run for Governor, but it touches on a subject that inevitably comes up whenever the subject is running statewide in Texas. A campaign for governor would cost $30 million to $40 million, said [Matt] Angle. Davis raised $4 million for her […]
Once again with Wendy and the odds
Ross Ramsey in The Trib has his turn with the “what office should Sen. Wendy Davis run for?” question. Abbott, the Republican attorney general, is his party’s favored candidate at the moment, in spite of the presence of Tom Pauken, a former state party chairman, in the race. Abbott has scads of money in his […]
Davis raises $1 million, BGTX raises $1.1 million
Considering she had only two weeks to do it, that’s not too shabby. State Sen. Wendy Davis, the new star of the Texas Democratic Party, raised nearly $1 million in the final two weeks of June, much of it from small donors who sent her money after she launched her famous filibuster of a restrictive […]
Mayoral finance reports for July
Let’s go to the press releases for the initial hype. Here’s Mayor Parker’s announcement of her fundraising haul for the July report. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has raised more than $2.2 million for her re-election campaign since February, with the support of nearly 2,000 individual donors and organizations and without loaning her campaign any personal […]
Dark money
It’s a small step, if it’s allowed to be taken, but the bill to require donor disclosure on so-called “dark money” is a step in the right direction. Senate Bill 346 takes direct aim at the cloak of anonymity that currently shields so-called “dark money” groups – those tax-exempt organizations whose donors drop big bucks […]
Reed for AG?
This is one of the stranger “draft somebody” movements I’ve seen. A movement has been building among local Republicans over the past few months to encourage Susan Reed to run for state attorney general in 2014. Reed, the hard-nosed, four-term Bexar County district attorney, would be the first female AG in the state’s history, a […]
Another Battleground Texas story
There are three points of interest in this Statesman story about Battleground Texas. Point One: They’ve convinced the people who most needed convincing, the money people and the dedicated volunteers. Battleground Texas quickly won the allegiance of Steve Mostyn and Mary Patrick. Mostyn is a Houston trial lawyer who, with his wife, Amber, is the […]
A Q&A about the TCDCC
Last week, I introduced you to the Texas County Democratic Campaign Committee (TCDCC), which is focused on recruiting and supporting county-level Democratic candidates outside of our current urban strongholds. It’s an idea and an organization that is long overdue. I wanted to know more about it, so I sent some questions to TCDCC founder Robert […]
Is this the end for the Railroad Commission?
For the name, I mean, not the Commission itself. After 40 minutes of discussion about a bill that would rename the Railroad Commission of Texas and make other significant changes to the agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, the Senate passed the measure Thursday with a 21-0 vote. Senate Bill 212, carried by […]
It’s good to be a payday lender
Bleah. Earlier this legislative session, a chief of staff for a senator noted that the $4 billion Texas payday and auto-title loan industry would soon grow powerful and lucrative enough that the Texas Legislature would be unable to take it on. That time may have already come. At a legislative hearing this morning, state Sen. […]
Gubernatorial speculation: Mike Villarreal and Bill White
A few days back, BOR had a post about who was on deck for 2014, and the first two candidates they speculated about for Governor were two I had not talked about here before, State Rep. Mike Villarreal and 2010 candidate and former Houston Mayor Bill White. (They also listed State Sen. Kirk Watson, but […]
How about Ellis 2014?
Michael Hurta makes an observation. The only Democratic legislator in Texas who is not up for reelection in 2014 yet also has seven figures in his campaign bank account is Rodney Ellis. Will we hear any Ellis for Governor rumors before session is done? You can see a copy of Sen. Ellis’ January report here. […]
Abbott’s millions
If there’s one thing Attorney General Greg Abbott is good at, it’s accumulating money. Fueling growing speculation of a bid for the Texas Governor’s Mansion, Attorney General Greg Abbott reported Tuesday he has amassed a campaign war chest of $18 million, three times the amount claimed by incumbent Gov. Rick Perry. While both men publicly […]
The payday lenders won’t go without a fight
Where there’s a fight, there’s sure to be lots of money. Payday lenders were big spenders in the most recent Texas political campaigns – contributing more than $1.6 million to state races in the 2012 election cycle and giving most generously to Republican committee members who soon will be reviewing proposed reforms for their industry. […]
Strip club cash in the Sheriff’s race
The waning days of a campaign always have the greatest potential for hijinx. A $25,000 political contribution from the owner of a strip club being sued by Harris County lawyers found its way, via the Harris County Deputies Organization, into the campaign coffers of the man challenging Sheriff Adrian Garcia in November, according to campaign […]
Lampson-mentum
I always thought that with Nick Lampson in the race, CD14 would be competitive. Looks like national perception is catching up to that belief. Texas Republicans are ringing the alarm over a House race that had seemed a safe bet to remain Republican. The reason for worry is the third-quarter fundraising and spending totals that […]
30 Day campaign finance reports, selected legislative races
Here’s a sampling of 30 day finance reports from state legislative campaigns. I used the Back to Blue list as a starting point and added a few races of interest to me from there. Dist Candidate Raised Spent Loan Cash ========================================================== SD10 Davis 843,878 346,466 0 1,537,783 SD10 Shelton 606,586 153,204 0 566,825 SD25 Courage […]
Judicial Q&A: Michele Petty
Note: As I have done in years past, I am conducting written Q&As with judicial candidates. This one is a little different in that the questions were originally asked by someone else, but the idea is the same. Further explanation after the post. 1. Please explain why voters should elect you over your opponent. Justice […]
Waiting for an investment
Some day, the national Democratic Party will make an investment in Texas rather than just use us as a glorified ATM. Just don’t ask me when that day will be. Texans have become accustomed to occupying the nosebleed seats at the Democratic National Convention, extras in a production that favors states that are solidly blue […]
Dewhurst says he’s running for re-election in 2014
Peggy Fikac was first to report that David Dewhurst is not planning to fade away just yet. The last time we asked Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst what he plans to do in 2014, it was soon after he lost the U.S. Senate nomination to Ted Cruz. He asked if reporters minded giving him a couple […]
Rick Perry is running for Governor again in 2014
He is until he specifically says he isn’t, anyway. I don’t see any reason to call what we’re seeing otherwise. Gov. Rick Perry has quietly replenished his depleted campaign war chest since he abandoned his presidential bid in January, fueling speculation that the longest-serving governor in Texas history will seek yet another term in 2014. […]
Gearing up in District A
And they’re off. It appears unlikely that former District A Councilwoman Brenda Stardig will get a one-on-one shot at a comeback from her 2011 loss to current Councilwoman Helena Brown. “It is my plan to run for District A,” Amy Peck, district director for state Sen. Dan Patrick, told me Monday. Stardig has said it […]
Back to Blue
The Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee has announced its list of targeted districts for 2012. From their press release: The list of nine includes five former House members — Abel Herrero (HD 34), Yvonne Gonzales Toureilles (HD 43), Carol Kent (HD 114), Robert Miklos (HD 107), and Joe Moody (HD 78); and four new candidates […]
One Texas PAC
Catching up on something from before last week’s runoffs, there’s a new PAC in town with some big ideas for the future. State Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer and Ana Hernandez Luna unveiled the One Texas PAC, with Martinez Fisher pledging to match the first $50,000 in donations. The PAC will concentrate on supporting Hispanic candidates […]