Category Archives: Election 2008

This was shown at the Johnson Rayburn Richards Dinner last weekend, which Tiffany and I attended as guests of Ashish and Sameera Mahendru: As you might imagine, it went over well. If you like it, please consider making a donation … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I will try to put together a report on the Harris countywide races, time permitting. Here for now is an accounting of the more interesting legislative races: Dist Candidate July COH Raised Current COH =================================================== 129 Matula 73,153 125,824 136,934 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mark the date: Wednesday, October 8, twelve days before the start of Early Voting and 27 days before Election Day, the Houston Chronicle made its first endorsement for November, going (as I predicted they would) with incumbent Chief Justice of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As with Sherrie Matula, there’s not much I can say about Joe Jaworski that I haven’t already said. He’s dynamic and charismatic, a fighter on issues that I care about, and is literally a breath of fresh air against incumbent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Kos brings word of a fascinating poll in one of the wealthier areas of Dallas. Texas Rep. Dan Branch commissioned a Baselice & Associates poll of his district the week after the Republican convention, and what he found was surprising. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Excellent. Former President Clinton will help raise campaign money in Houston next week for state Senate candidate Chris Bell, seven months after Bell campaigned across Texas for Hillary Rodham Clinton for president. Bell is among two Democrats and four Republicans … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Note: This entry is part of a series of written Q&As with judicial candidates who will be on the ballot in Harris County. I am also doing recorded interviews with non-judicial candidates. 1. Who are you, and what are you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

With early voting fast approaching and voters really tuning in to campaign coverage, now is the time that candidates get together to debate. Or at least, one candidate calls on another to do so, with varying effect. We know all … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Three strikes, he’s out! The 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas has rejected the lawsuit by state Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, who was appealing a lower court ruling that former Fort Worth City Councilwoman Wendy Davis is eligible to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Sherrie Matula engine keeps chugging along. From Texas Parent PAC: The bipartisan Texas Parent PAC today announced its endorsement of Sherrie Matula for state representative in House District 129, which covers south Houston, Clear Lake-NASA community, cities of Seabrook … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I mentioned in my previous post that there are voter registration efforts going on all over the city today. You can find a list of them at http://registerhoustonnow.blogspot.com/, with more information such as hours of operation (some of these will … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I thought the idea of “super precincts” – that is to say, early voting-style locations on Election Day – had already been shot down. Apparently, it was still being pursued, but it was still rejected. “The biggest issue is that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t think I need to give too much intro to Sherrie Matula, whom the TexBlog PAC endorsed in June. She’s a career educator who ran a strong underfunded race in a district (HD129) that no one saw as competitive … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In many ways, the race for Harris County Judge has unfolded more or less as I thought it would. Except for one teeny little factor that I didn’t anticipate at the time. Earlier this year, Democrat David Mincberg appeared to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Some good news for Democratic Congressional candidate Larry Joe Doherty in CD10: A new poll by Goodwin Simon Victoria Research has him trailing incumbent Mike McCaul by five points. Here’s the polling memo (PDF): In the initial trial heat,McCaul gets … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In my Guess the Chron endorsements post, I wrote that “Any respectable Democratic candidate running for the CCA, a/k/a “Texas’ Worst Court”, should expect to receive an endorsement.” The Morning News comes through for me on that: Susan Strawn in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good to see that a debate between Adrian Garcia and Sheriff Tommy Thomas actually happened. I’d been worried about it, as you know. Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas and Democratic election challenger Adrian Garcia clashed Thursday over inmate deaths in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The newspapers (some of them, anyway) may be dragging a bit in getting their endorsements together, but the various PACs and interest groups have been busy. I get a lot of these in my Inbox, way more than I can … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Lone Star Projectdocuments some interesting voting behavior by CD22 candidate Pete Olson. Documents obtained by the Lone Star Project show that Republican congressional challenger Pete Olson (Texas CD22 – Houston) voted in both the State of Virginia and the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Michelle Obama pays a visit to the MOMocrats and issues a call to anyone who is still not registered to vote to please do so before the Monday, October 6 deadline. In many states, you can register at post offices, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

From the C.O. Bradford campaign: An endorsement from former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier. Lanier appointed Bradford police chief in 1996. He stated that he is supporting Chief Bradford and intends to vote for him because he is the best candidate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Today’s the day that the efforts by Sen. Kim Brimer to effectively knock Wendy Davis off the ballot in SD10 come to an end. State Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, filed a lawsuit in July claiming that his opponent should … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Note: This entry is part of a series of written Q&As with judicial candidates who will be on the ballot in Harris County. I am also doing recorded interviews with non-judicial candidates. 1. Who are you, and what are you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted before, now posting again as a reminder. TO: Voter Registrars, County Clerks, and Elections Administrators FROM: Ann McGeehan, Director of Elections RE: Election Procedures and Information Following Hurricane Ike The Secretary of State and her staff would like to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

PDiddie adds on to my post about the Harris County sample ballot, and includes a numerical tidbit of interest: Harris County election officials project that 1.2 million votes will be cast here. That jibes with what I’ve been hearing all … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rasmussen has finally given us some September poll numbers for Texas, and they’re not too shabby. First, for the Senate race. Incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn now leads challenger Rick Noriega just 50% to 43% in Texas, according to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Miya reports that a scheduled debate between Adrian Garcia and Sheriff Tommy Thomas may not take place. Challenger Adrian Garcia’s campaign is accusing embattled Sheriff Tommy Thomas of ducking this week’s planned debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We don’t get a whole lot of contested races for County Commissioner around here. The districts are drawn to elect someone from one party or the other, and as we know the Commissioners themselves have plenty of cash on hand … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I figure everyone reading this blog is sufficiently engaged with the political process to be already registered to vote. But you never know, and I’m sure most if not all of us know people who should be registered but aren’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Note: This entry is part of a series of written Q&As with judicial candidates who will be on the ballot in Harris County. I am also doing recorded interviews with non-judicial candidates. 1. Who are you, and what are you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the many things I enjoy about the process of interviewing candidates is getting to meet and learn a little about some interesting people. The election season draws a lot of newcomers into the system, and it’s cool to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron takes a look at the Sheriff’s race, and I think we all agree on the matter of what it’s all about. Both candidates for Harris County sheriff focus on the current sheriff’s record. A challenge for Republican incumbent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I think one of the least things we can do for folks who were displaced by Hurricane Ike is ensure that they are able to vote in this election if they are eligible to to do so. That should include … Continue reading → Continue reading →

While we wait for a resolution to the Kim Brimer/Wendy Davis ballot access lawsuit, take a look at Texas Watchdog’s report on Brimer’s interesting financial history. A struggling bank makes loans to a prominent businessman who offers flimsy excuses on … Continue reading → Continue reading →