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Posts Tagged ‘Ted Cruz’

PAC Plus polls Latinos in Texas

BOR reported last week on a poll of Texas Latinos conducted by PAC Plus. They zeroed in on the questions that had to do with Latinos’ impressions of Republicans and Democrats. For the survey PAC+ interviewed 2,685 randomly selected registered Hispanic voters in Texas counties with the highest number of Latino eligible voters: Bexar, Dallas, [...]

From the “Simple Answers To Simple Questions” department

Is Rick Perry the next Comeback Kid? Americans love a comeback story. Tiger Woods has clawed himself back on top of the pro golf tour after a nasty scandal involving nightclub waitresses, lingerie models and his wife swinging a 9-iron near his head. But the whole golf world is watching to see if he can [...]

News flash: Ted Cruz is not KBH

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. For nearly two decades, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison delivered thousands of federal projects to Texas that added billions of dollars to the state’s economy. The leader of a bipartisan approach known as “Team Texas,” Hutchison worked with Democrats and Republicans to send federal dollars to Texas, even [...]

Fort Bend County Commissioners Court supports Medicaid expansion

Fort Bend County, y’all. RESOLUTION OF THE FORT BEND COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT IN SUPPORT OF EXPANSION OF MEDICAIL) COVERAGE WHEREAS, Texas has the highest rate of uninsured [24%) and underinsured in the United States and 23% of the residents of Fort Bend County are uninsured, and WHEREAS, Expanding Medicaid would ensure 1.5 million more Texans [...]

From the “Turning out more Democratic voters will mean more Democratic votes” department

I think that’s a fair way of characterizing this Texas on the Potomac post. Last November, the Houston Chronicle completed a database analysis of the changing population patterns of the state and the changing voting proclivities of key demographic blocs. Our conclusion: Texas would become competitive by 2020 and a true toss-up state by 2024 [...]

Yes, Rick Perry still hates Medicaid

We’re not surprised by this, right? The Texas rhetoric around a key facet of federal health reform — whether the state will expand subsidized insurance to its poorest adults — reached the high water mark on Monday, with back-to-back press conferences at the Capitol featuring political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Republicans including [...]

The mouth that roared

I have two things to say about Ted Cruz. Cruz’s fans, and there are many, compare him to Ronald Reagan, who happens to be the 42-year-old senator’s boyhood hero. Cruz’s detractors, and there are many, compare him to Joe McCarthy, the controversial Wisconsin senator known for smearing his foes by innuendo and questioning their patriotism. [...]

Sidelining themselves on immigration reform

I don’t know what’s going to happen with the comprehensive immigration reform proposals that are out there now. It’s long overdue, and the political stars all seem to be aligned for it, but we said the same things about health care reform back in 2009, and look how close that came to be scuppered. In [...]

PPP polls Texas

I have three things to say about this. Texas voters- even Republicans- have had enough of Rick Perry. PPP’s newest poll finds that only 31% of voters think Perry should seek reelection next year, compared to 62% who think it’s time for him to step aside. He’s among the most unpopular Governors in the country, [...]

Is immigration reform likely to happen now?

With President Obama’s victory powered in part by overwhelming support from Latino voters, and a dawning if grudging recognition from the GOP that they can’t continue to alienate this growing segment of the electorate, some kind of deal on immigration reform seems increasingly likely. I still have my doubts, however. Prominent voices in both parties [...]

Precinct analysis: Sadler v Noriega and Sadler v Obama

Day Two of precinct analysis, in which we take a look at the Senate results. As I did with the Presidential results, I’m going to compare the candidates from this year to the candidates from 2008. Dist Cruz Sadler Cornyn Noriega ======================================== HD126 63.86% 36.14% 62.26% 37.74% HD127 70.57% 29.43% 67.93% 32.07% HD128 72.95% 27.05% [...]

Did Ted Cruz do better in Latino areas than other Republicans?

Lisa Falkenberg drops the following tidbit in her post-election column on why the GOP in general and in Texas needs to figure out how to appeal to Latino voters. In Texas, the best data so far show a 70-30 split for Obama among Hispanic voters, according to Rice University political science chairman Mark Jones. Romney [...]

On bringing home the “bacon”

Ted Cruz doesn’t do bacon. Texas’ new U.S. senator-elect, Ted Cruz, has repeatedly taken a cautious approach when asked about how he’ll fill Kay Bailey Hutchison’s shoes when it comes to Texas’ share of federal funding. Cruz said while campaigning that he’ll work to see Texas gets a fair portion of “legitimate and important” federal [...]

Obama leads in poll of Harris County

More polling goodness for you. The poll conducted for KHOU 11 News and KUHF Houston Public Radio indicates Obama leads Romney in Harris County, but not by much. That gives some indication how election night might go for politicians running for offices that are down the ballot. The poll shows the president leading in Harris [...]

Endorsement watch: The scoreboard for Sadler

More endorsements for Paul Sadler from the past week. Here’s the El Paso Times: We need a U.S. senator who will work on border issues with our members of Congress in Dists. 16 and 23. We are endorsing Democrats Beto O’Rourke and Pete Gallego in those districts, respectively. We like that Sadler, since leaving the [...]

Endorsement watch: Three out of four ain’t bad

The Star-Telegram becomes the third of the four major papers to endorse Paul Sadler for Senate. Sadler can be aggressive, even abrasive, as he demonstrated in an early-October debate with Cruz. But Sadler has specific, practical notions about improving how the federal government functions for Texans. He also understands how policies translate into reality. For [...]

Endorsement watch: DMN for Sadler

It’s a strange endorsement, at least from my perspective, but it’ll do. Texans face a decision in this election that has come before them only twice over the last four decades: How to fill a Senate seat that has carried with it a proud lineage of service to the state and nation. Republican Sen. Kay [...]

Endorsement watch: E-N for Sadler, Parent PAC for Ann Johnson

Having made a good choice for the State Senate, the Express News follows it up with a good choice for US Senate. Former state Rep. Paul Sadler is unequivocally the right choice on the Nov. 6 ballot to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. Sadler has a strong record as an effective legislator who understands [...]

How about those judicial races?

The Chron takes a look downballot. Democratic judges who surprised Harris County in a 2008 rout because of strong turnout for Barack Obama are bracing for a tough fight in November after seeing the GOP, which had a clean sweep in 2010, continue to bolster its position statewide. In the county’s 23 contested state district [...]

YouGov: Romney 52, Obama 41

Another new poll of Texas, from YouGov: Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney holds a solid, eleven-point lead over Democratic President Barack Obama in Texas, 52% Romney to 41% Obama, in a poll of 1,254 registered voters statewide, conducted by YouGov. In the race for Senate, Republican Ted Cruz holds a 50%-31% over Democratic candidate Paul [...]

If you knew Paul Sadler

If you knew Paul Sadler, you’d probably think he was an experienced, well-qualified candidate for the US Senate. And you’d be right. Unfortunately, not enough people know Paul Sadler well enough to know this. In 2002, state Rep. Paul Sadler of Henderson, was one of the most powerful Democrats in the Texas Legislature when he [...]

New pollster says Romney leads 55-40 in Texas

It would figure that the day after I complain about a lack of polling data in Texas we get a fresh poll result for the state. Thanks to a lopsided lead among white voters, Romney is leading President Barack Obama 55-40, according to a poll from Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, which carries out surveys [...]

Sadler’s challenge

Democratic Senate hopeful Paul Sadler is a strong candidate with limited resources. Where have I heard that before? In Victoria on a recent Saturday afternoon, the candidate for the U.S. Senate had the crowd on its feet, the shouts and applause washing over the meeting room like waves on the nearby Gulf. As he wrapped [...]

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. [...]

Fifth Circuit strikes again

Dammit. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Texas did not act unconstitutionally when it moved to expel Planned Parenthood from a health and contraceptive care program for low-income women. The ruling overturned a preliminary injunction, issued in April by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin, that banned Texas from enforcing rules designed to [...]

Some coverage for Sadler

It’s a start. The Tea Party has toppled another mainstream Republican, this time in Texas. Lost in much of the coverage of the primary contest between Houston attorney Ted Cruz and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst was the November general election, which will feature a real, live Democrat. The assumption behind the media oversight, of course, [...]

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 [...]

2012 Republican primary runoffs

All the results are here. In the end, Ted Cruz won a pretty solid victory. I’ll note that in the last two publicly released polls, PPP had Cruz up by 10, whereas Baselice & Associates claimed Dewhurst was up by 5. Oops. The latter poll sampled people who hadn’t actually voted in the May primary, [...]

Election night returns

For your convenience: Statewide Democratic results Looks good for Paul Sadler. Going to be a long night in CDs 23 and 33. Statewide Republican results Ted Cruz has a modest early lead. Wackjob John Devine is leading Supreme Court Justice David Medina. Steve Stockman is leading in CD36, and Donna Campbell is crushing Jeff Wentworth. [...]

Runoff Day

At long last, the 2012 primary season is about to be over in Texas, other than perhaps the HCDE race. To say the least, it’s been a long, strange trip, one that I hope goes down in the books as a bizarre aberration, never to be repeated or approximated. If you have not voted yet [...]

Runoff turnout

Who knows what to expect? Texans are voting in July for the first time in decades, the result of a lengthy federal court battle over new political districts that delayed the primary from March 6 to May 29. The unusual timing of the runoff in the middle of the summer — when many people are [...]

Your vote is worth 30 times what it usually is

A little runoff math from the Trib. It is easy to lament low voter turnout. Only 11 percent of the state’s voting age adults showed up for the May primaries. But look at their clout: Every actual voter was making a decision on behalf of nine people. In the runoff voting that starts next week [...]

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 [...]