Category Archives: Election 2006

I’m sure you know about Shelley Sekula Gibbs’s “if wishes were horses” poll from a couple of weeks ago. I’ve now received word from the Nick Lampson campaign about their own poll, one that is (shall we say) a bit … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I kind of like the way the Friedman campaign is responding to all of the negative publicity they’ve gotten lately. There’s just nothing more attractive than whiny victimhood, is there? So far, though, none of Friedman’s opponents have taken credit … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m almost all the way through the Harris County State Rep candidates. Today’s interview is with Janette Sexton, who is running for State Rep in HD144 against Crazy Bob Talton. HD144 was one of too many Republican-held seats that went … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And we’re back in the saddle again with Texas Parent PAC, which has tapped Juan Garcia of Corpus Christi as its latest endorsee. From the press release (PDF): “Juan Garcia is a proven leader who will represent the Coastal Bend … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I know a lot of the discussion about Kinky Friedman lately has been about his questionable attitudes on race, and how that bears on a campaign that’s based largely on a persona, but it’s important to remember that in ways … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Neil makes an observation about Sen. George Allen and the recent news of his real heritage, and draws more of a parallel than he thinks to the Texas gubernatorial race. Ever since Mark Schmitt first told me about him, George … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Now this is a nicely done story on the County Treasurer’s race. Kudos to KPRC for not skimping on the details or cramming it all in to a 15-second sound byte. One point that needs to be made about the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another find by BOR, another day Kinky Friedman has to spend saying he’s not a racist. All in all, a pretty bad news cycle for Friedman. Even Chron cartoonist Nick Anderson has piled on. Couple points to make here. One, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yes indeed, it’s another Texas Parent PAC endorsement. Today’s winner is Joe Farias, who’s running for HD118 in San Antonion, which was left open by Rep. Carlos Uresti’s victory in the Democratic primary for SD19 this March. This is one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In my link dump post from yesterday, I mentioned that Vince at Capitol Annex had begun a series of email interviews with legislative candidates, beginning with Sherrie Matula (HD129) and Kathi Thomas (SD25). He’s got a third one up now, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Bay Area Houston, the kids at Clear Lake High School have invited all the candidates in HD129 to a debate. Sherrie Matula will be there. Will her opponent, State Rep. John Davis? Or will he wussy out like his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following is a press release from Jim Henley: Rep. John Culberson has refused to debate challenger Jim Henley, a middle school debate teacher at Sidney Lanier middle school. Two weeks Henley invited Culberson to participate in a series six … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Oh, Martha, Martha, Martha! State Rep. Martha Wong says in her first TV ad of the season that she helped expand health care to the poor, but the two-term lawmaker has cast several votes to cut such programs. As the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Texas Parent PAC keeps chugging along. The latest endorsed candidate is Austin’s Valinda Bolton, running for the open HD47. A win there would give Travis County an all-Democratic delegation, and would represent a swing of three seats since 2002. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The story of the current kerfuffle over yet another racially ignorant remark by Kinky Friedman is, among other things, an interesting peek into how something becomes a story. See, as the article says and as Phillip and Ryan document, this … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Still working my way through the Harris County State Rep candidates. Today’s interview is with Mark McDavid, who is running for State Rep in HD138 against two-term incumbent Dwayne Bohac. HD138 was one of three Democratic seats that was targeted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

By now you’ve probably heard about the latest SurveyUSA governor’s poll, which is the third one this month to put Rick Perry in the danger zone of 35% support or less. It also continues the positive trend for Chris Bell, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another day, another Texas Parent PAC endorsement. Today’s lucky winner is Dallasite Allen Vaught, who is running against Bill Keffer in HD107. This race hasn’t really been on my radar – for whatever the reason, I just haven’t heard that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

That would be Bob Perry, the granddaddy of the Swift Boaters, who was sued by the Republican Attorney General of Indiana for violating the state’s law against political robocalls. Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter filed a lawsuit yesterday against a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Democratic State Supreme Court candidate William Moody, the official statewide Democratic candidate of the Dallas Morning News, is running an unusual campaign. More to the point, he’s walking an unusual campaign. Judge Bill Moody of El Paso is running one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Add another Houston Democrat to the list of Texas Parent PAC endorsees, as Kristi Thibaut joins Ellen Cohen in the club. From the press release (Word doc): “Kristi Thibaut is the kind of hard-working, independent leader who will stand up … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Today the Chron gets started on endorsements for the 2006 general election. It’s earlier than I expected, which is good, and has an entry I totally did not expect, which is bad. I’m speaking about their head-scratching endorsement of Orlando … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Next up on my interview list is Sammie Miller, who is running for State Rep in the Woodlands up in Montgomery County. That’s a tough job, as you can imagine, but she’s giving it a great effort. Here’s the interview: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s been covered before, but it’s still worth your time to read this op-ed by former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby on how Texas came to adopt the law that restricted Republicans from replacing Tom DeLay on the ballot in CD22. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You may recall that Ellen Cohen and Martha Wong were invited to participate in a debate at Rice University, which is now scheduled for October 12. Apparently, the debate will now also include Libertarian candidate and current Rice student Mhair … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The first time I thought Talmadge Heflin might really lose in 2004 was when the stories about his and his wife’s attempt to adopt his former housekeeper’s baby hit the news (see here and here for background). What probably started … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If there’s one Democratic-held seat in the State House that people think has a strong chance of flipping to the Republicans, it’s the West Texas district HD85, now being vacated by former Speaker Pete Laney. It’s a solidly Republican district … Continue reading → Continue reading →

OK, I feel like it’s time for something a little lighthearted. I had mentioned this before, and now here it is: the 2006 Guess The Chronicle Endorsements game. The object is to try to predict as many of the Chronicle’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Today I have a slightly different interview, with Bob Smither, the Libertarian candidate for CD22. Here it is: Link for the MP3 file is here. Couple of points to add: One is that I completely spaced on asking him why … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Dallas Morning News may have endorsed only Republicans in its first go-round of state races, but they’ve managed to find a suitable Democrat in their State Supreme Court picks. SUPREME COURT, PLACE 2 William Moody Unlike most of Mr. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Continuing with my series of Q&A’s with local county and judicial candidates, today I bring you Veronica Torres, who is running for District Clerk in Fort Bend County. 1. Who are you and what are you running for? I am … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sherrie Matula picked up a couple of nice endorsements recently. One is from the Houston chapter of the 80-20 Initiative, which is called the Houston 80-20 Asian-American PAC. I’ve got a copy of their endorsement letter here (PDF). The 80-20 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

By Rep. Senfronia Thompson. Friedman last week attributed a spike in Houston’s crime rate to the “crackheads and thugs” who evacuated New Orleans. “He has demonstrated a total lack of human sensitivity,” said state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. “The people … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mary Beth Harrell will be meeting voters in John Carter’s home town of Round Rock next week. Will Carter be there, or will he be too scared to show his face? From Harrell’s press release: I’ve asked my opponent, John … Continue reading → Continue reading →