Category Archives: Election 2012

2012 Democratic primary overview – Harris County

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So with the start of the new year, we turn our attention to the primary elections, whenever they may turn out to be. I’ve added a new page to the site, for 2012 contested Democratic primaries in Harris County. It … Continue reading →

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Your voter registration card is not in the mail just yet

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another side effect of the Supreme Court stay. Even if you’ve registered to vote in Texas, you won’t be getting a new voter registration certificate until February. Although the latest blue cards expired at the end of the year, counties … Continue reading →

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Wait, you mean there’s a Democrat running for Senate?

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There’s actually seven of them, but the Chron writes about the one with actual legislative experience. Paul Sadler, a plaintiff’s lawyer who represented an East Texas district from 1991 to 2003 and who developed a reputation during his years in … Continue reading →

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Lykos v Anderson

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I obviously don’t have a dog in the Republican District Attorney primary fight, but I like a good high-profile political battle as much as the next junkie, so stories about it are interesting to me. [DA Pat] Lykos argues she … Continue reading →

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One can ban backer will face recall

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The can ban battle in New Braunfels is not over yet. New Braunfels city councilman Bryan Miranda, who supported a hotly debated container ban on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers, will face a recall election in May after voters signed … Continue reading →

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DOJ preclears Commissioners Court map

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This came in late Friday. The U.S. Department of Justice has approved Harris County’s redistricting map for commissioner precincts, which has been the subject of a lawsuit from Latino activists since August. The approval, known as “pre-clearance” under the Voting … Continue reading →

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Constable Abercia to step down

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I wish him well. Longtime Harris County Constable Jack Abercia, citing health concerns, said Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year. Abercia, 78, has served as Precinct 1 Constable since 1991, when he was appointed to fill the unexpired … Continue reading →

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DOJ files amicus brief in favor of interim maps

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Li: The Justice Department is not a party to the San Antonio case and, until now, it hasn’t been involved in the interim map appeal before the Supreme Court. However, given the possible impact that a Supreme Court ruling … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS redistricting briefs

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Opening briefs for the SCOTUS hearing on Texas redistricting were filed yesterday – you can see them here. The State of Texas is going long – Michael Li explains. The State of Texas asks the Supreme Court to let the … Continue reading →

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When is a filing deadline not a filing deadline?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Answer: When there will be another filing period after the filing deadline, as will be the case in Texas, according to the Secretary of State. “Based on the federal court’s order handed down December 16, candidates will be permitted to … Continue reading →

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Sanchez ends his Senate campaign

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This news broke late Friday. Leading Democratic U.S. senatorial candidate Ricardo Sanchez announced Friday that he’s ending his campaign to replace retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. In a statement issued by his campaign to supporters, Sanchez said anemic fundraising and … Continue reading →

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Austin rethinking its May election

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, maybe that wasn’t the best decision. Austin City Council members are again discussing whether to move the May council election back six months a politically fraught question that led city officials to trade thinly veiled insults earlier this year. … Continue reading →

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We have a deal on a unified primary date

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Joint Statement from TDP and RPT on Agreement Regarding 2012 General Primary Election Parties have submitted a joint agreed proposal to the San Antonio federal panel. Today, the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) and the Republican Party of Texas … Continue reading →

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The filings keep coming

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Prior to the SCOTUS stay, yesterday was the filing deadline for the 2012 primaries. That has now been pushed back to Monday, with the likelihood of another window after we get some kind of ruling about what the maps will … Continue reading →

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The split primary blues

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Republicans have them. Republican lawmakers turned up the heat on the Texas GOP leadership Wednesday, asking them to keep Texas’ primaries on a single election day while their own party continues to push for two primaries, one in March and … Continue reading →

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Craig James to file for Senate

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You know what we need? Another Republican candidate for Senate. Former SMU standout Craig James will file his candidacy for the U.S. Senate by Thursday’s deadline, according to sources close to his developing campaign. James, an ESPN college football analyst, … Continue reading →

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Can someone beat Sharon Keller this time?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Grits notes that CCA Presiding Judge Sharon Keller has opponents in March and in November – her colleague Larry Meyers for the former, and 2010 Dem CCA candidate Keith Hampton for the latter – and wonders if either of them … Continue reading →

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DC court sets date for preclearance trial, primary dates still up in the air

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Via email from the Lone Star Project: [Monday], a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Federal District Court set January 17, 2012 through January 26, 2012 as the trial dates to formally review the Congressional, State House and State … Continue reading →

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How do we know it was a challenge from the left?

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I find this story about the primary challenge that may or may not be between Rep. Lloyd Doggett and State Rep. Joaquin Castro to be frustrating because it makes a huge assumption that it never bothers to verify. Longtime Austin … Continue reading →

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That’s logistics

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Li, on why many an elections administrator likely spent the weekend pulling out their hair: The March 6 primary also remains in place for now, but adjustments are virtually certain- even if the Supreme Court rules quickly after the … Continue reading →

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Sullivan files against Sumners

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I was writing a long candidate update for the weekend on Friday that’s pretty much junk now, but not every election is affected by the SCOTUS stay ruling. One such election is for Harris County Tax Assessor, where on Friday … Continue reading →

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No recall for New Braunfels Mayor

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like the can ban battle is over for now. A petition for an election to recall New Braunfels Mayor Gale Pospisil failed when organizers submitted an insufficient number of valid signatures. City Secretary Patrick Aten said that of the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS issues a stay

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The Supreme Court, working late on a Friday, agreed to rule on the constitutionality of three redistricting plans for the two houses of the Texas legislature and its 36-member U.S. House of Representatives delegation, and put on hold temporarily … Continue reading →

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Allowing alcohol sales in Buda and Kyle

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More Texas towns seek to loosen restrictions on selling alcohol. A political action committee hoping to make Buda and Kyle wet said it has collected enough signatures to put language easing laws regulating alcohol sales on each city’s ballot. The … Continue reading →

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Three for HD144, Lee for HCDE

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Since Monday night, I have heard of three people who are interested in running for HD144, the State Rep district that was drawn to favor the election of a Democrat by the San Antonio court. For the record, the 2008 … Continue reading →

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African-American State Reps state their map objections

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Black-lawmakers-blast-revised-Texas-voting-maps-2346838.php Contending that African Americans have been an afterthought during the contentious yearlong redistricting process, four Houston lawmakers on Monday voiced their objections to the interim House map a three-judge panel drew recently. “A lot of emphasis over the past … Continue reading →

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Sizing up the opportunities

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story about the new Congressional map and who’s looking at what (which ran in the Express News last week) has a lot of things we’ve been discussing, and a couple of things to point out. First, a theme … Continue reading →

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Still waiting on SCOTUS

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Responses to the State of Texas’ stay request for State House and State Senate elections were due Thursday. Responses to the stay request for Congressional elections, which was filed Wednesday, are due this morning. It’s not clear when SCOTUS will … Continue reading →

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Filing report: Who is Ann Johnson?

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday afternoon, Annie’s List sent out an email to supporters naming some new candidates they’re supporting. One of the names given was Ann Johnson, who has filed to run in HD134, the first Democratic challenger to an incumbent Republican … Continue reading →

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Hochberg bows out, Gallego makes it official

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I am totally bummed out by this. The Legislature’s foremost expert on school finance and one of its top public education advocates, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, confirmed this afternoon that he won’t seek re-election next year. Hochberg, who took … Continue reading →

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CD35 will still have a contested primary

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It won’t be Doggett versus Castro but it still ought to be interesting. The battle for a newly drawn congressional district will pit two seasoned Democratic politicians against one another: Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Sylvia S. Romo and former U.S. … Continue reading →

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Two more points about redistricting

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

First, go read what Greg has to say about the San Antonio federal court’s logic in drawing the districts that it did. I tried to get at some of this in this post, but he digs in and says it … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS asks for briefs in stay request

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We still have a few more days at least before we get some kind of resolution over the maps we will be using for this election. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop … Continue reading →

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A look ahead to SBOE races

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Regardless of what happens with the other maps, the one map that was precleared and is set for the next decade is the SBOE. With all 15 members up for re-election (like the Senate, everyone has to run in the … Continue reading →

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