Category Archives: Election 2014

Endorsement watch: Stay the course

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Democrats have one incumbent up for re-election: County Attorney Vince Ryan. The Chron gives their approval for another term. [Ryan] said that he actively pursues pollution enforcement lawsuits against big companies – such as Volkswagen after it lied … Continue reading →

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Voter ID may have had broader effects than we thought

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Texas’ strict voter identification requirements kept many would-be voters in a Hispanic-majority congressional district from going to the polls last November — including many who had proper IDs — a new survey shows. And the state’s voter ID law … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Abbott versus Perry in Latino districts

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

District level election data for 2014 has been available for a few weeks now. Seems like as good a time as any to return to a favorite topic, namely how Greg Abbott did in heavily Latino areas. An exit poll … Continue reading →

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BGTX’s self-assessment

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly has a good overview of where Battleground Texas stands – and where the people inside it think they stand – two years and one electoral beatdown into their existence. Still, it’s the winners who write the history books. … Continue reading →

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Gilbert Pena

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Let the man have his victory lap, but let’s not read more into his victory than there is. By the time Harris County’s conservative leaders fished for their car keys at their Election Night watch party, there were few candidates … Continue reading →

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We need to understand why our voters didn’t vote

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So now we know that Battleground Texas wasn’t pursuing a base turnout-increase model for the 2014 election, for reasons that have not yet been adequately explored. I’m mad about that, but I don’t want to get bogged down in that. … Continue reading →

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On BGTX, Wendy Davis, and the future

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a pretty busy Christmas break, as far as blog-worthy news has gone, so in order to preserve the small illusion that I’m taking a breather and recharging my batteries, I’m just going to give three quick thoughts … Continue reading →

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A Denton fracking overview

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a long piece on the Denton fracking fight, also published in Politico to help non-Texans understand what this was about. It’s a good read that goes over all the main points if you need a refresher on … Continue reading →

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Abbott and the Latino vote

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib drops a number on us. Along with his 20-point margin of victory, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott accomplished something on Election Day that many naysayers doubted the Republican could: He took 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. For Texas conservatives, … Continue reading →

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Kolkhorst wins SD18

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One special election begets another. State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst won a promotion to the Texas Senate on Saturday, leveraging her 14-year incumbency and high-profile endorsements to fend off a fellow Republican opponent who spent nearly $2 million of his own … Continue reading →

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Whining about the fracking ban

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

These guys just can’t believe they lost. Did college students tilt the outcome of Denton’s vote to ban hydraulic fracturing? That question has stirred debate since the city – home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University … Continue reading →

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A look at how Democratic legislative challengers did against the spread

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been long enough since the election that I feel like I can go back and look at some numbers. Not a whole lot of good out there, but we’ll try to learn what we can. To start off, here … Continue reading →

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Kris Banks: Comparing turnout, or where the vote was lost

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: This is the first of two guest posts submitted by Kris Banks, past President of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.) Democrats lost big last month. We lost at every level, from statewide all the way down to the countywide … Continue reading →

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Early voting begins today for SD18

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The early voting period for the December 6, 2014 Special Election to Fill a Vacancy for State Senate District 18 will take place Wednesday, November 26 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday, December … Continue reading →

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The privilege of voting

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not a right if you aren’t allowed to do it. A day before Texans go to the polls, an unusual group gathered for lunch at a Mexican restaurant not far from downtown: an unemployed African-American grandmother; a University of … Continue reading →

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Hegar officially resigns his Senate seat

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. State Sen. Glenn Hegar, the Katy Republican who will become state comptroller in January, notified Gov. Rick Perry on Friday that he will resign his Senate Seat as of Dec. 5, paving the way for the governor to … Continue reading →

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Art Murillo

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to Art Murillo, the first person of color elected to the Lone Star College Board of Trustees. Need I mention that it took a lawsuit for this to happen? Murillo, who is Latino, at one time might have seemed … Continue reading →

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Replacing Hegar

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Election season isn’t over yet. At least three Republican candidates – who hit the campaign trail for the then-hypothetical opening months ago – will duke it out to represent a rural 21-county Senate district that stretches from Fort Bend County … Continue reading →

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And the recriminations begin

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to do my best to stay out of this. Everyone quoted is someone I know and like, and if there’s one part of the political process I truly don’t care for, it’s the family fight. So I’m just … Continue reading →

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The Battleground effect in legislative races

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So here’s a crazy idea. Rather than judge Battleground Texas by our own beliefs about how things should have gone, what say we take a look at the actual numbers of a few races and see what they tell us? … Continue reading →

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First impressions of the 2014 results

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

My initial thoughts, for what they are worth. – Let me begin by saying that for all the criticism I had of the UT/Texas Trib’s polling and the skepticism of Internet-sample methodology, they were fairly accurate in the end. In … Continue reading →

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Denton fracking ban passes

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Let the freakout – or perhaps I should say “frack-out” – begin. Nearly 59 percent of voters in Denton, which sits on the edge of gas-rich Barnett Shale, approved a measure banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the method of … Continue reading →

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Results thread

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s where I’ll be tracking results as they come in, which should be soon now. I’m in the studio at KRTK, the livestream URL is http://abc13.co/abc13CK+, and we should be kicking off soon. Harris County results are

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Where I will be on Election Night

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you that may wonder what I look and sound like when I say all this stuff that I write about, tonight is your chance to find out. I will be in studio at KTRK, Channel 13 in … Continue reading →

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Denton fracking ban update

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One more look at what is surely the most contentious issue on the ballot anywhere in the state. With Denton preparing to vote Tuesday on banning hydraulic fracturing within city limits, tension has mounted as rival groups work to undermine … Continue reading →

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Two in Tarrant to watch

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Tarrant County isn’t often an electoral battleground, but this time it is, at least in two legislative races. [HD94 Republican nominee Tony] Tinderholt’s race is one of two legislative contests in Tarrant County where Democrats are pinning their hopes on … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect the Kathie Glass effect to be much

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like every four years we talk about the possible effect of third party candidates on various races. Usually, it’s in the context of legislative races, where some candidates have won with less than 50% in recent years and one … Continue reading →

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Final 2014 EV thoughts

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about how early voting went. “Each (side) is emphasizing areas of comparative advantage, but the overall pattern seems to be unimpressive in terms of overall turnout,” said Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project at … Continue reading →

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The two Dallas districts to watch

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s HD105: Hispanics make up 41 percent of Irving’s population — up from 31 percent in 2000 and 16 percent in 1990, when the white population topped 71 percent, according to figures from 2010, the latest available. White residents make … Continue reading →

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2014 final EV totals

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are, and here are the full 2010 EV totals. Yesterday was the busiest day, as is typical with early voting. I have some more general thoughts to express, but with the Halloween madness yesterday I never got to … Continue reading →

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2014 Day 11 Early Vote totals

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But first, a little Republican angst. The Republican Party of Bexar County has issued a series of desperate pleas to conservative voters, saying “the Democrats are beating us on base turnout,” but two of the Texas party’s biggest names converged … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Juvenile courts

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I had thought we were at the end of the line for endorsements, but not quite yet. 314th Juvenile District Court: Natalia Oakes Democratic candidate Natalia Oakes has dedicated her career to helping children, and voters should put that passion … Continue reading →

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2014 Day 10 Early Vote totals

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are, and here are the full 2010 EV totals. The debate about what the turnout numbers mean continues apace. You already know what I think about that, so let me introduce a different perspective. We’ve been talking about … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: County civil courts

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I believe we are finally at the end of the endorsements line. Last to the table are thecounty civil courts, where in a slight change of pace the Democratic challengers were recommended in two out of three contested races: Civil … Continue reading →

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