Category Archives: The making of the President

Endorsement watch: Optimism for the future

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

WIRED does what it has never done before. For nearly a quarter of a century, this organization has championed a specific way of thinking about tomorrow. If it’s true, as the writer William Gibson once had it, that the future … Continue reading →

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Evan McMullin to sue for ballot access in Texas

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know, that guy who recently turned up as the latest NeverTrump dreamboat? He wants on the ballot in Texas. Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, an ex-CIA officer and congressional policy wonk who launched his campaign last week to offer … Continue reading →

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PPP: Trump 44, Clinton 38

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We knew this poll was coming, and it confirms what we have been seeing elsewhere. PPP’s new Texas poll finds a relatively tight race, at least on the curve of recent Presidential election results in the state. Donald Trump leads … Continue reading →

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Still considering the possibility that Hillary could win Texas

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Josh Barro looks at recent national poll numbers and contemplates the possibilities. If things get just a little bit worse for Trump nationally, he could start losing a lot of states we normally think of as very safe for Republicans … Continue reading →

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KTVT/Dixie Strategies poll: Trump 46, Clinton 35

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s poll #3 for Texas. Most national presidential polls have put Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in front of GOP nominee Donald Trump by as much as 15 percentage points. But the latest KTVT-CBS 11/Dixie Strategies Poll shows that the Lone … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: P for Trump

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Better to be P’ed off than P’ed on, as they say. Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who has not endorsed Donald Trump, is now asking Texas Republicans to support the party’s presidential nominee. Addressing state GOP activists Saturday, Bush said … Continue reading →

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Sid Miller joins Team Trump

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said Friday he is working with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign to help lead an agriculture team. In an interview with KFYO’s Chad Hasty, Miller described the effort, likely to be announced next … Continue reading →

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Will Texas Republicans dislike Clinton as much as they dislike Obama?

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course they will. I mean, come on. Texas Democrats will miss Obama. But so too will Texas Republicans. Those three syllables — O-Bah-Mah — were all it took for Republicans to signal what they stood against. “There was an … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Not wasting any time

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle has seen enough. On Nov. 8, 2016, the American people will decide between two presidential contenders who represent the starkest political choice in living memory. They will choose between one candidate with vast experience and a lifelong dedication … Continue reading →

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Castro ruled to have violated the Hatch Act

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Julián Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development and rumored Democratic vice presidential prospect, violated a law prohibiting federal employees from politicking on the job when he commented on the presidential election in an April interview with Katie … Continue reading →

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Trump’s white voter problems

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Add another group to the long list of those who can’t stand Donald Trump. Wanda Melton has voted for every Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1980, but now the Georgia grandmother plans to cross over to support Democrat … Continue reading →

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Three polling-related observations

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the tough spot that Donald Trump is putting professional Latino Republicans in. I have no sympathy for any of them, of course, but what caught my eye in this article was this little nugget: “I’m not … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Politics Project poll: Trump 41, Clinton 33

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poll #2 is in the books. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump leads Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 8 percentage points in Texas, according to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll released Monday. Trump is ahead of Clinton 41 … Continue reading →

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Castro back on as VP possibility

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro is on the shortlist of potential running mates for Hillary Clinton, and has been asked by her campaign to provide personal information, San Antonio Express-News … Continue reading →

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Our first general election poll of Texas

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In a poll released today and conducted June 13-14, 2016, Texas voters are specifically rejecting Donald Trump’s lies and the corruption of State GOP elected officials. While Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 7 points (36.8 % – … Continue reading →

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You support Trump, you own Trump

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is what I’m talking about. A group of Democratic state lawmakers from along the Texas-Mexico border is applying pressure to a bank whose CEO is helping raise money for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. In a letter … Continue reading →

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The Trump University origin story

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Ars Technica a few weeks ago, before the whole Trump University thing really blew up: In 2005, both of us became fixated on a late-night infomercial that promised access to “hundreds of billions of dollars” in “free government money.” … Continue reading →

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Abbott, Patrick, and Trump

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

William Saletan: Republicans who have sworn allegiance to Donald Trump—the majority leaders of the United States House and Senate, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, and numerous governors and members of Congress—don’t think this country can return to the … Continue reading →

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Rep. Filemon Vela has a few words for Donald Trump

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Well, all righty then. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela took a poison pen to the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, in an open letter Monday morning. “Mr. Trump, you’re a racist and you can take your border wall and shove … Continue reading →

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Hillary Clinton on the Trump effect in Texas

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton posed a wild notion in a new interview: She could carry Texas in the fall. In a newly published New York magazine interview with reporter Rebecca Traister, … Continue reading →

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Still no indies

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that no matter who or what may be the flavor of the month, the deadline for filing as an independent candidate for President in Texas was last month. If an independent presidential candidate wanted to get on … Continue reading →

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The story of Trump University in Texas

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A fascinating read. Long before Trump University fell in the crosshairs of Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, one of Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans drew a bead on the now-defunct school: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott, then the state’s attorney general, … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS declines to hear Ted Cruz birther lawsuit

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not that it really matters at this point. The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a lawsuit arguing that Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is ineligible to be president because his Canadian birth means he is not a “natural born … Continue reading →

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No indies

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not in Texas and not for President, anyway. [Last] Monday was the deadline for independent candidates for president to get on the ballot in Texas. Nobody showed up. The Texas Secretary of State’s office, which administers elections, closed its doors … Continue reading →

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Castro says he’s not been vetted for VP

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that, it would seem. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro said Tuesday that, despite all the speculation that he’s being considered to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, he hasn’t been vetted by the Democratic front-runner’s … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry must really need a job

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the most charitable explanation I can think of for this. Former Gov. Rick Perry, who had called Donald Trump a “cancer on conservatism,” is now endorsing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Perry, a former candidate who had backed U.S. … Continue reading →

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Keep an eye on 2018, too

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Greg Abbott’s campaign Facebook page: And from the greasy lips of Dan Patrick: There are some who say that they could never vote for Donald Trump — in fact, I was one of those people early on in this … Continue reading →

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Whither Ted?

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

he has to go back to the Senate, where nearly everybody hates him. With his concession speech behind him and his multimillion-dollar presidential campaign already winding down, Ted Cruz will soon return to the U.S. Capitol and the job he … Continue reading →

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Another FEC complaint filed against Cruz

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’re up to two. The Texas Democrats have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz and his associates violated campaign finance laws. The complaint, dated April 22, asserts that Cruz national co-chair, J. … Continue reading →

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Still debating the Trump effect in Texas

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This time with input from trained professionals. Republicans say it’s just wishful thinking, but Democrats are hoping that Trump’s controversial comments will make some GOP voters stay home in protest and boost the number of Democrats going to the polls … Continue reading →

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Texas-filed birther lawsuit against Ted Cruz dismissed

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. A Houston federal judge tossed out a lawsuit Wednesday that challenged Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s eligibility to run for president. U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller dismissed the suit with prejudice, meaning that Houston lawyer Boris Schwartz cannot … Continue reading →

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More on the possible Trump effect in Texas

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. While one should hesitate to feed the megalomania, there is no point in denying that there is a meaningful distinction between pre-Trump and post-Trump politics in the United States. The mogul turned … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS asked to rule on Cruz birther lawsuit

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

What fun. A Utah man became the first to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a “birther” lawsuit against Ted Cruz which challenges the White House hopeful’s eligibility for office. The request by Utah attorney Walter Wagner, who … Continue reading →

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What are the chances that Hillary could carry Texas in November?

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

According to the bookies, not as bad as you might think. Speculating that Texas will go blue in the near future has a certain trollish quality. In fact, it’s also been a downright spectacular way to sound like you don’t … Continue reading →

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