Category Archives: Election 2014

Supreme Court denies Burnam mandamus request

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Late Friday I got an email from the Ramon Romero campaign touting the news that the State Supreme Court had denied a write of mandamus to Rep. Lon Burnam in his electoral challenge lawsuit. You can see the Supreme Court’s … Continue reading →

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Where are all the ladies?

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Christy Hoppe of the DMN notices something missing on the Republican side of the 2014 ballot. The Texas Republican Party has a girl problem. A glance down the list of GOP nominees set after Tuesday’s runoffs makes it look as … Continue reading →

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Some postmortem thoughts

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib leads with the obvious. As the results of Republican primary runoffs began to roll in Tuesday evening, Texas Democrats realized they were getting exactly what they wanted — and exactly what they feared. The victories of Dan Patrick … Continue reading →

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Primary runoff results

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So long, Dave. Riding a wave of conservative sentiment that Texas Republicans were not being led with a hard enough edge, state Sen. Dan Patrick crushed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff election for lieutenant governor, ending … Continue reading →

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Pratt campaign sign mystery apparently solved

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Nice detective work. Last week, when campaign signs for disgraced former family court judge Denise Pratt popped up at some early voting locations in Houston, several sources said they had seen local Republican political consultant Burt Levine putting them up. … Continue reading →

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Runoff Day is finally here

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the day on which the toxic idiocy of the GOP runoffs for Lt. Governor and Attorney General finally come to an end and we get a brief respite before the general election gets into full swing. But first, you … Continue reading →

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Early runoff turnout higher than expected

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not high, you understand, but higher than expected. More than 73,000 Harris County residents cast ballots in person or by mail in the five days of early voting before next week’s primary runoffs. While the total of 73,259 was low … Continue reading →

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What campaign signs?

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Denise Pratt says she knows nothing about all those campaign signs advocating her re-election that she says she isn’t running for. Campaign signs urging voters to “Re-elect Denise Pratt” have popped up outside at least three early voting locations this … Continue reading →

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Time for the debate about debates to begin

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting to be debating season. Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis on Tuesday proposed a series of six debates with Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott in their race for governor. Her proposal came after Abbott earlier said he had accepted two … Continue reading →

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Dewhurst admits he has no control over his campaign

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t think of any other way to characterize this. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Monday he was “appalled” by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson’s decision to publicize court filings detailing Dan Patrick’s past mental health issues and that he tried … Continue reading →

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The Senate is likely to get stupider again

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The cause. The Texas Tech University System Board of Regents officially named state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, the sole finalist to be the system’s next chancellor in a press release issued Monday afternoon. Duncan is expected to start in his … Continue reading →

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Early voting begins today for primary runoffs

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County voters can prepare to vote in the May 27 Democratic and Republican Primary Runoff Elections by visiting www.HarrisVotes.com to view the contests which will appear on their ballot. Early Voting for the Primary Runoff Elections … Continue reading →

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Steve Stockman’s ongoing FEC issues

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

“Steve Stockman” and “ethical issues” go together like peanut butter and jelly. For a congressman who has overseen four campaign committees in two decades, Rep. Steve Stockman is having a hard time dissolving his troubled congressional campaign. Now a lame … Continue reading →

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One thing I won’t criticize Dan Patrick for

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is just wrong. Sen. Dan Patrick issued a terse statement late Thursday about a period in his life 30 years ago during which he sought medical attention to cope with “mild depression and exhaustion.” Patrick, who is in a … Continue reading →

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Burnam loses appeal in election contest

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another setback. A local appeals court will not require Tarrant County election officials to release all applications for mail-in ballots received for this year’s race for House District 90. State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who has represented House District … Continue reading →

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SEC complaint filed against Paxton

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if anything comes of this. Days after Texas regulators fined Sen. Ken Paxton $1,000 for working for a financial firm without registering with the state, a plaintiff’s lawyer filed a similar complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange … Continue reading →

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Interview with David Alameel

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As you may recall, I tried to interview Democratic Senate candidate David Alameel prior to the March primary. For one reason or another, the two of us were never quite able to connect up and make it happen. Well, he … Continue reading →

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SD04 special election results

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Creighton versus Toth in the runoff, as expected. Preliminary voting results show that Montgomery County state representatives Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, and Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, will face off in a June runoff for the District 4 seat. … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Dem Ag Commissioner runoff

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the same story we’ve known all along. Texas Democrats’ dreams of taking over statewide offices surely never envisioned the kind of race they have in the primary runoff for agriculture commissioner where musician and writer Kinky Friedman faces off … Continue reading →

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Davis steps up attacks on Abbott over CPRIT

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Progress Texas gets the ball rolling. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) was supposed to provide funding for cancer research. But soon after its implementation, the multi-billion dollar entity was awarding grants to donors of Rick Perry … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Senate primary runoff

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve heard this story before. Texas Democrats trying to gain traction in statewide elections face an awkward predicament in the May 27 primary runoff election for the U.S. Senate. If the winner is Kesha Rogers, a follower of Lyndon LaRouche, … Continue reading →

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The small number of competitive legislative races in November

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib discusses the lack of legislative action in November. In the House, nine Republican and two Democratic races are still undecided. An early list of competitive November races — this is in a House with 150 seats — comes … Continue reading →

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Why isn’t Ken Paxton releasing his tax returns?

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This DMN story is actually about how Sen. Ken Paxton, currently in a runoff for the GOP nomination for Attorney General after leading the field in March, has done pretty well for himself as a lawyer since his initial election … Continue reading →

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Paxton gets a slap on the wrist

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s it??? State Sen. Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general, violated the Texas Securities Act by soliciting investment clients without being registered as required by law, according to a disciplinary order made public Friday. Under the order … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: All for Alameel

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In the March primary, most of the newspaper endorsements for the Democratic Senate race went to David Alameel. The one exception among major papers was the San Antonio Express-News, which went for Maxey Scherr. As Scherr did not make it … Continue reading →

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Davis vs the DGA

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Show some respect, y’all. The chairman of the Democratic Governors Association gave a less-than-rosy assessment of Sen. Wendy Davis’ chances Tuesday and got a slam in return from her campaign. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, association chairman, failed to cite the … Continue reading →

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Early voting for SD04 special election begins today

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Go make the best of the bad choices being offered. Early voting begins Monday in a special election to fill the seat vacated last year by former state Sen. Tommy Williams. The Woodlands Republican left the upper chamber last October … Continue reading →

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Falkenberg on Abbott’s education plan

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg has a balanced take on Greg Abbott’s education plan. Progress has been tragically slow for the students of North Forest. And their saga makes great fodder for those beating the drum to create something called an “achievement school … Continue reading →

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DMN overview of Senate primary runoff

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Let me sum it up in four words: Don’t vote for Kesha. Any questions? Some primary candidates struggle to differentiate themselves from the pack. Kesha Rogers does not have that problem. The Democratic Senate hopeful’s platform calls for the impeachment … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s education plan

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some actual policy from Greg Abbott. In the 27-page, footnoted report that accompanied the press conference, he proposed to “create a swift, automatic process under which the very worst schools would be removed from the control of their local school … Continue reading →

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Friedman for feral hogs

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As the man once said, Why the hell not? As meat prices rise, a candidate for agriculture commissioner is proposing beefing up the state’s program to harvest and market wild hog meat in a way he says will create jobs … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s disclosure issues

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Oopsie. State Sen. Ken Paxton, the leading Republican candidate for attorney general, has launched an internal review of his disclosures to state regulatory authorities and the Texas Ethics Commission to determine whether he violated any laws by failing to report … Continue reading →

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Burnam challenge awaiting appeal

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another update on the ongoing legal challenge by State Rep. Lon Burnam, who wants his loss in the primary to Ramon Romero thrown out on the grounds that some applications for absentee ballots by Romero voters involved the use of … Continue reading →

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The equal pay issue in SD10

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Just as the issue of equal pay has become a big deal in the Governor’s race, so is it an issue in the race to succeed Sen. Wendy Davis in SD10. In the battle for Senate District 10, [Konni] Burton … Continue reading →

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