The plot thickens. The campaign manager for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, already facing a state investigation over allegations of theft from Dewhurst’s political account, has been accused of also taking at least $1 million from the Republican’s U.S. Senate campaign last year. Federal officials have opened an investigation of their own. Kenneth “Buddy” Barfield, a [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Lite Gov’
Baby Bush ready to claim his birthright
Perhaps we should just skip straight to the coronation once George P. Bush figures out what office he wants. George Prescott Bush is gearing up to run for a little-known but powerful office in a state where his family already is a political dynasty and where his Hispanic roots could help extend a stranglehold on [...]
Yes, Dewhurst is running for re-election
I know you were dying to know. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who has signaled before that he plans to run for re-election, punctuated his plans with some extreme math in a Friday interview. “I am 101 percent firm on running for re-election. You will see a number of things that I will be doing over [...]
It’s all about 2014
This is very easy to understand. Signaling austerity despite improving state revenues and a push by some to undo cuts to key programs, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and leading GOP senators said they plan to write a budget for the next two years that is smaller than allowed under a spending cap adopted Thursday. The [...]
Dewhurst prepares to ditch public education
This tells you all you need to know about his priorities. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is poised to announce Senate leadership changes today that could have a profound effect on Texas education policy — including giving fuel to a push for school choice. Dewhurst plans to name Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, as chairman of the [...]
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 [...]
You weren’t supposed to be mad at me!
Oh, the humanity! Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Friday continued to fight a battle that he had lost three days before when Ted Cruz defeated him for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. Cruz and his allies had effectively cast Dewhurst as a tax-and-spend moderate, a criticism that Dewhurst was still eager to rebut during a [...]
What will The Dew do next?
So Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst isn’t going anywhere next January. I’m going to put aside the questions of what happened for now and ask instead what happens in 2014? As we know, there are three people running for what they originally thought would be an open seat race for Lite Guv in 2014. What happens [...]
Waiting for Rick (and Greg, and David)
Ross Ramsey breaks out his crystal ball and looks ahead to the 2014 election. Remember this: In his long history in state politics — closing in on three decades — [Rick] Perry has run for everything he said he was going to run for. Given his history, the safest assumption is that Perry will be [...]
Senate slap fight
Hilarious. The quiet race to be the next lieutenant governor of Texas spilled into a nasty email exchange between two senators with aspirations for that post. In an email apparently sent to all of his Senate colleagues — and obtained and published by a political news website, the Quorum Report — Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, [...]
Comptroller Combs’ slush fund
It took me longer than usual to read this story because I kept having to stop to say “Seriously? Seriously?” When lawmakers gave Comptroller Susan Combs more power to spend tax money to attract sporting events and conventions to the state, the idea was to generate economic development in Texas that might go somewhere else. [...]
What if they all lose?
Now that Rick Perry and David Dewhurst have decided they really want to be in that place they profess to hate so much, Washington, DC, there are a bunch of politicians behind them hoping to move up. Ross Ramsey wonders, what happens if Perry and Dewhurst lose? What if Perry loses the Republican primary for [...]
Patterson to run for Lite Guv
With Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst running for the Senate, everyone else in state government that’s been waiting for a chance to move up is undoubtedly making plans to do so. At the front of the line is Lanc Commissioner Jerry Patterson. Jerry Patterson confirmed Tuesday night that he will run for lieutenant governor in 2014, [...]
Interview with Linda Chavez-Thompson
Next up is Linda Chavez-Thompson, the dynamic Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Let me quote from her official bio, for those of you who have not heard her story: Linda Chavez-Thompson knows the meaning of sacrifice and the importance of family. Born in Lorenzo, Texas, the third of eight children in a migrant family, Linda [...]
LCT profile
With the passing of Labor Day comes the traditional Media Profiles Of Candidates You May Not Be Familiar With Yet period. The Express-News kicks theirs off with this story about Linda Chavez-Thompson, who is the Democratic candidate for Lite Guv. She’s a fascinating lady with a great personal story, and if she had anywhere near [...]
New PPP poll: Perry 48, White 42
A bigger spread than last time, but still another example of a poll showing a close race. [Rick] Perry holds a 48-42 lead over [Bill] White with 8 weeks left to go until election day. The race is confounding the major trends we’re seeing in most contests across the country. White is winning independents 53-34. [...]
Richie re-elected as TDP Chair, Two-Step survives
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 pushing for change lost a preliminary fight in a rules committee meeting earlier today. But [...]
Some cows are more sacred than others
To quote Mel Brooks, it’s good to be the king. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst will not be denied his steroid testing money. The Texas Education Agency had included the $1 million cost of the steroid program among its $135.5 million in proposed cuts. But state leaders left in $750,000 for that program as they cut [...]
Interview with Linda Chavez-Thompson
No, I haven’t started my slate of 2010 candidate interviews yet. It’s too early for that. But I did have the opportunity to ask Linda Chavez-Thompson, the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, a few questions about immigration reform and the odious Arizona law that has us all talking about it. Here’s what she had to [...]
The Lite Guv race by the counties
The Lite Guv primary was an interesting race. One candidate, Ronnie Earle, had a decent amount of name recognition, a base of support in a vote-rich area, with likely secondary support in other populous counties, and electoral experience. He didn’t have a lot of money or establishment backing, however. Another candidate, Linda Chavez-Thompson, was able [...]
Election results: Other statewides
The big story in the other statewide primaries is the loss of Railroad Commission Chair Victor Carillo to a first-time candidate. David Porter, who moved to Giddings after building a business in Midland, ousted Victor Carrillo, the highest-ranking nonjudge Latino in Texas government, in an election some said was determined by ethnicity. Carrillo, who was [...]
Eight days out reports
The 8 days out reports aren’t available on the TEC website yet for the Governor’s races, so I can’t show you the details. The Trib did it the old-fashioned way, by viewing the actual paper forms, so go look at their numbers. Bill White raised another ton of money, and we can see that Rick [...]
Chavez-Thompson on the air
Nice to see someone who isn’t a candidate for Governor on the air: That’s a bit on the dry side for someone as fiery as Linda Chavez-Thompson, but it is her introduction to a lot of voters, so that’s not surprising. According to the Trib, the ad will be appearing in “selected Texas TV markets”, [...]
Endorsement watch: Statesman for LCT
The Statesman endorses Linda Chavez-Thompson for Lite Gov. We believe longtime labor leader Linda Chavez-Thompson can do the most for the Democratic ticket, perhaps especially for Bill White, the party’s probable gubernatorial nominee. Through her inspiring life story — as well as her potential to draw women, Hispanics and labor voters crucial to any Democratic [...]
Endorsement watch: Another split for the Lite Guvs
In the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor, the Chron goes with Ronnie Earle. As lieutenant governor, Earle says, he would be able to work across party lines to reach consensus and avoid paralyzing the legislative process. “I have a long history of working with anybody who is willing to sit down at the table and [...]
Endorsement watch: Where I stand
Early voting begins in the primaries today. With that in mind, the following are Democratic candidates I will be voting for, or would be voting for if I lived in their district. I am only addressing contested races – you may safely assume that I will vote for the uncontested candidates on my ballot. Governor: [...]
Endorsement watch: A split for the Lite Guvs
The two major Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor split a pair of endorsements yesterday. The Dallas Morning News went with Ronnie Earle. Given the choice facing Democrats in the March 2 primary, the better candidate is Earle, who served 31 years as Travis County district attorney before retiring in 2008. He also draws on two [...]
Two more polls
We are suddenly awash in hot polling goodness. First up, a new result from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll: Gov. Rick Perry is well ahead of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County GOP chair Debra Medina, who are locked in a statistical tie for second place in a GOP gubernatorial primary [...]
Still more polling
Via the Trib, there’s another gubernatorial primary poll out there. The Texas Credit Union League Poll of Texas Primary Voters, released today, shows incumbent Rick Perry close to a majority, holding a 22 point lead over Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primary race for Governor. According to the poll of likely primary voters, Rick [...]
The Lite Guv primary
We’re two weeks out from the start of early voting, and I don’t feel like I know any more about the prospective candidates for Lieutenant Governor than I did when they first announced their candidacies. [T]he odds remain long that a Democrat will knock off [Lt. Gov. David] Dewhurst in the fall, said Cal Jillson, [...]
January finance reports for statewide candidates
It almost seems a bit silly to look at the January campaign finance reports, since the 30 days out report is due in two weeks, but I’ve created a Google spreadsheet with summaries for the statewide candidates. A couple of observations: – We know Bill White did a fine job in the brief time he [...]