Category Archives: Election 2008

You can always count on a member of the Hotze family to make an election more special. Alan Bernstein has an example, in this case an email by Austen Furse supporter Steven Hotze slagging SD17 candidate Joan Huffman, and a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

…Kathy Stone. I know because I was there at the County Executive Committee meeting, as the newly-sworn-in chair of Precinct 003. I’m not going to say how I voted, just that between Patrice Barron, Martha Failing, and Stone, we had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Many things to say about this UT-Austin Government Department and the Texas Politics Project poll of the Presidential and Senate races in Texas. Where to begin… – Let’s start with a nitpick: Ralph Nader is not and will not be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I said yesterday that if Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill wanted to go there on “tainted” campaign contributions that I’d be more than happy to engage in the discussion. There’s certainly no lack of material for that conversation. I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So to follow up on the whole Libertarian/Speaker thing from last week, I listened to the brief interview RG Ratcliffe did with Texas LP Chair Wes Benedict, who among other things spoke about the LP’s growing influence on Legislative races … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas Observer has a useful piece on our junior Senator, John Cornyn. There’s a lot of detail, but I think they captured his essence pretty thoroughly in these three sentences: No one has done more to propel Cornyn’s career … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There are a lot of local candidates this year, so I’m getting an early start on doing candidate interviews, to make sure that I’ll have the time to do them all. My goal is to talk to all the candidates … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the recurring themes of this election is the enthusiasm Democrats feel, locally and nationally, about their candidates and chances of winning this fall, and how that is translating into tangible effects. I got a pretty good taste of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So with the recent effort by a couple of Republican judicial candidates to garner the endorsement of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, some folks like me had speculated about the possibility of a backlash by Republican conservatives against them for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Joe Jaworski goes on the air. Nice, positive, get-to-know-you first spot. At some point you’ve got to throw some punches at Toxic Mike Jackson, but there will be time for that later; if you’re really lucky, third parties will do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Alan Bernstein reports from last night’s meeting of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, where the process to endorse candidates for the November election was spiced by the presence and participation of a couple of Republican judicial candidates, which is something … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I give to you Rick Noriega’s comprehensive immigration plan (PDF). It has a lot to recommend it, not the least of which in my mind is this: Increase the Number of Annual Visas. To force immigration through legal channels, the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Dr. Richard Murray has two posts on Chris Bell‘s decision to run for the open SD17 seat and his chances of winning. The main bit of interest for me is in the second post: Money. Bell got in the race … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yesterday I blogged at Kuff’s World about a story in the Statesman in which retiring State Rep. Suzanna Hupp placed calls to a couple of Libertarian Party candidates in State House races urging them to drop out rather than risk … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Poblano, I see that Rasmussen has a new Presidential poll for Texas. John McCain continues to lead Barack Obama by nine points in Texas. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds the Republican ahead 50% to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I mentioned before that John Culberson has been whining about Michael Skelly trying to “buy” the election against him. That’s a pretty silly claim, given that Skelly has attracted far more donors than Culberson has, but it is the silly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Previously, I had noted that Houtopia had reported that a couple of sitting Republican judges were seeking the endorsement of the Houston Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Political Caucus, which would be an unusual turn of events. Now Alan Bernstein … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The DCCC has some fun with Pete Sessions’ strip club fundraiser. A March 2007 evening at a Las Vegas strip club is creating a great deal of controversy throughout the country, including in Minnesota. The event raised money for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s stuff like this that reminds me why I love the campaign season. We had never heard of a member of Congress holding a fundraiser at a Las Vegas burlesque nightclub… until now. And the culprit is card-carrying conservative Rep. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the things I had intended to do while at Netroots Nation this year was interviews with candidates and other folks. Unfortunately, in the rush to pack and leave, I managed to leave my digital voice recorder at home. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Houtopia has an interesting report about a local campaign development. We have been particularly interested to learn in recent days that at least a few Harris County incumbent Republican judges have been actively seeking the endorsement of the Houston Gay, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Harold Cook gets into an argument with one of Rep. Mike McCaul’s flacks over McCaul’s phony madrassa story, in the enviable position of having the facts on his side. Mean Rachel joins in. Michael Skelly has a second ad out, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Chris Bell, noting that there’s now 99 days left till Election Day, has sent out a fundraising email hoping to raise $10K in 10 days on ActBlue. The link is here if you want to pitch in. I’ve been harping … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The title to this post makes me think I should start out singing – “You better watch out, you better not cry”…you get the idea. In any event, Vince reports that Karl Rove is coming to Houston for a big-dollar … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So there’s an interesting feature of Pat Lykos’ campaign finance report (PDF), which the HCDP has pointed out in a press release. She has just under $32,000 on hand, after raising $114,000, but a total of $50,000 of the cames … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good. Harris County’s sheriff’s deputy unions are expected today to endorse a challenger in the sheriff’s race — an unprecedented move that union leaders say reflects a long-standing dissatisfaction with incumbent Tommy Thomas. The three unions, which together represent the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I guess State Sen. Kim Brimer hasn’t lost in court often enough yet, because he wants to try again with the appeals court. “We are in the process of both: campaigning for the fall election and appealing the district court’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve referred to the 2008 elections here as being very different from what we’re used to seeing. One simple reason for that is that there will be ample funding available for local Democratic campaign efforts. Disclosures on a complicated web … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Due to the untimely death of Harris County Probate Judge Russell Austin last month, there will be one more race on the ballot this fall. As of yesterday, the Harris County GOP has chosen its nominee for that bench. About … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good. Democrat Wendy Davis is eligible to run against state Sen. KimBrimer, R-Fort Worth, in November, according to a civil court ruling. When asked if Brimer planned to appeal the ruling, his lawyer, Nick Acuff, said “I think so.” Outside … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s a Texas Monthly article by Paul Burka that takes a look at how the Presidential race might affect various key downballot races in Texas. It’s pretty comprehensive, and very Burka-esque, with all the good and bang-your-head-against-a-wall-ness that implies. One … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And it’s official: Chris Bell has his formal campaign kickoff yesterday. In a rally held in a sweltering tent outside his new campaign headquarters just blocks from his southwest Houston home, Bell said he sees the seat as “a golden … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The official campaign kickoff for Chris Bell is tomorrow at his new campaign headquarters. The details: WHO: Chris Bell and friends open Texas Senate campaign HQ WHEN: Sunday, July 20th, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: 4019 S. Braeswood Blvd … Continue reading → Continue reading →