Category Archives: Election 2008

Pretty good recap of the past couple of weeks for Rick Noriega and his fundraising efforts. Noriega is traveling today to Las Vegas as a guest of the Democratic National Committee to meet national party donors who are attending the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas League of Conservation Voters discusses one of the top tier races for 2008, the rematch between State Rep. Allen Vaught and the man he ousted, Bill Keffer: It appears as though former Representative Keffer is going to once … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A week after State Rep. Diane Delisi announced her intent to retire, a couple of prospective candidates for her seat emerged. Samuel Murphey, of Harker Heights, said he is considering running, and John Alaniz, of Temple, said he intends to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Okay, this is disturbing. Johnnie German admitted he was nervous as he used high-security codes to tap into the Harris County elections computer system last week and change some of the results manually. The system was in good hands as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Vince and BOR pass along the word from QR that State Rep. Robby Cook will not run for re-election in 2008. This feels like a probable loss for the Dems next year – Cook was the only sitting Dem to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Diane Trautman will take another shot at HD127 next year. Dr. Diane Trautman, former candidate for District 127 State Representative in 2006, hosted a town hall meeting at Homewood Suites in Kingwood on Saturday, November 10, and announced her intention … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The endorsements keep coming in for Rick Noriega. Here’s an email Wes Clark sent to his list: 20 months ago I asked you to take a chance. To help a veteran, who had been drafted into his race, facing long … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Excellent news. Here’s the press release: Democracy for America, a coalition of activists committed to promoting fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates and values, today announced its endorsement of State Representative Rick Noriega for United States Senate. DFA’s first endorsement of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If it’s true that you aren’t anybody in this town until Miya Shay takes a picture of you at an event of some kind, then I can now say that I am somebody. The more important aspect of Miya’s story … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I mentioned last week that Lord Cheney was skulking into Texas for a fundraiser in support of John Cornyn (who as it happens couldn’t be there for it; he was back in DC voting against S-CHIP yet again). Cheney’s visit … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Karen Brooks writes about the upcoming primary fight between State Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale and Sen. Dan Patrick, who has apparently succeeded in recruiting a proxy to wage that battle for him. Patrick – one of the most conservative senators … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is a no-brainer. Local Democracy For America groups have endorsed Rick Noriega for Senate. Texas DFA members are providing boots on the ground. Now, Rick has the chance to get the national DFA endorsement, but it won’t happen without … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Want a County Judge that won’t be distracted by trivialities? That would be David Mincberg. Businessman David Mincberg announced his candidacy for Harris County judge at a campaign kickoff and birthday party celebration Tuesday. The campaign party at Gochman Studios, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good news from the Senate 2008 Guru: You may notice in the upper left hand corner of the website that we have a new addition to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page: State Representative and Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega. Representative/Lt. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I am pleased to report that our Houston TexBlog PAC fundraiser, at the lovely home of David Mincberg and Lainie Gordon, was a big success. By my count, we had about fifty people, and a whole lot of energy and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Meet former San Antonio City Council member Art Hall, who is planning to run for Railroad Commissioner against incumbent Michael Williams. Hall, born in Hempstead, Texas, and raised in Lubbock, represented San Antonio’s District 8 for two terms. He was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just a pair of recent articles on Rick Noriega since the announcement that Mikal Watts was dropping out of the Senate race. Team Noriega, from the DMN. Rick Noriega, the sole Democratic contender to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Couple of Democratic campaigns got kicked off this week, both of which might have a positive impact on the House Speakership next year. First, on Wednesday, Armando Walle officially began his campaign to oust Craddick D Kevin Bailey in HD140. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The first Houston fundraiser for the TexBlog PAC will be this Monday, October 29, at 5:30 PM at the home of David Mincberg. Details are here. If you’re reading this, you’re invited. I’ve sent email, and I’ve created a Facebook … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s today’s Chron story about the state of the Senate race, now that it’s just Rick Noriega pursuing the Democratic nomination. Noriega said he is not worried as much about how to run the campaign as to make sure it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Whoa. San Antonio-based attorney Mikal Watts will announce this morning that he is pulling out of the race for U.S. Senate, the Guardian has learned. Watts, a Democrat, made calls to close supporters early this morning to explain his decision. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Two things to say about this story and other news concerning Congressional fundraising in Texas. Sekula-Gibbs, a former Houston city councilwoman elected to fill in for DeLay until the next full House term started, topped all candidates for fundraising in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via BOR, Quorum Report breaks the news that State Rep. Robert Puente (D, San Antonio) will retire rather than run for another term. Puente was a major Craddick D, so this – even more than the Kirk England party switch … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s Emmett v. Bacarisse in a battle about whose tax cut is less puny. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and opponent Charles Bacarisse waged a spirited and sometimes testy debate Tuesday over how much the county’s property tax rate should … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Turns out, when I’d blogged about Supreme Court candidate Sam Houston that he was not, in fact, the first Democrat to declare for the Place 7 seat on the Texas Supreme Court. I have since received an email from Baltazar … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There will be one other statewide non-judicial race on the ballot in Texas next year, for one of the three Railroad Commissioner slots. Clay Robison looks at the matchup between incumbent/Governor wannabe Michael Williams and his potential challengers. In preparation … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Having complained about the way Rick Noriega’s third-quarter fundraising total was reported, I’d like to take a minute and enjoy this headline: Noriega bests Watts in individual donations. Democratic state Rep. Rick Noriega raised more from individuals over three months … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Gotta love the idea of having this name on the ballot next year: According to Harvey Kronberg, a Houston attorney named Sam Houston will run for the State Supreme Court: For most, the name Sam Houston conjures up vision of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good stuff here. If all of the Council campaign overview stories that I’ve been bitching about were instead more like this, with actual in-depth questions about issues and space for full answers from the candidates, I’d have that much less … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Long as we’re talking about County Judge stuff, here’s some news of note: Save the Date – Tuesday, October 30 for “The Official Campaign Announcement Party” David Mincberg for Harris County Judge at The Art Studio of Molly Gochman 2445 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There are three things in life that are certain: Death, taxes, and Republicans proposing tax cuts. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday floated the idea of cutting the county’s property tax rate 1 cent — a decrease that would save … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following is via email from Carl Whitmarsh: In a surprise move to many, longtime Harris County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Position 1, Dale Gorczynski seems to have drawn an opponent in the March 2008 primary – his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I suppose you already knew that term-limited Council Member Carol Alvarado was planning to run for Rick Noriega’s to-be-vacated HD145 seat, but in the event you didn’t, now you do. Although District I City Council Member Carol Alvarado stopped just … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I guess it was too much to ask to hope that the “Noriega may have the resume, but Watts has the money” story line would fade, even for a day, as evidenced by some of the coverage that Noriega’s third … Continue reading → Continue reading →