Category Archives: Election 2020

They’re coming for Cornyn

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s bring it on. Texas Democrats are launching a multimillion-dollar initiative to help take down U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, regardless of who they ultimately choose as their nominee next year. Emboldened after their gains in 2018 — including the … Continue reading →

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Kulkarni 2.0

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see this. Democrat Sri Kulkarni, an ex-foreign service officer who last year came within five points of unseating U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, announced Thursday he is challenging the Sugar Land Republican anew in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District. Making … Continue reading →

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CD07: Fletcher draws an opponent

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Someone was going to do it. Republican Army veteran Wesley Hunt announced his candidacy Tuesday for Texas’ 7th Congressional District, the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston. Hunt’s candidacy, first reported by ABC 13, comes just three … Continue reading →

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More on McLeod

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the bizarre accidental judicial resignation. The Harris County attorney’s office was notified in March that Judge Bill McLeod, a Democrat presiding over Harris County Court at Law No. 4, had filed a transfer of campaign … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte has her eye on Castro’s seat

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

With seemingly-informed speculation that Rep. Joaquin Castro will run for Senate in 2020, someone else will need to run for the Congressional seat he’d be abandoning. That speculation has now begun, with some familiar names in the conversation. Former state … Continue reading →

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Please delete April Fools Day from your calendar

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I just can’t. An April Fools’ Day resignation prank? One Texas civil court judge wishes it were so. A newly elected judge in Houston accidentally resigned on Monday, according to local media and a county official, after he shared plans … Continue reading →

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More calls for Joaquin Castro to run for Senate

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting louder. Latino Victory Fund, a national advocacy group that began in San Antonio, is putting more pressure on U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro to leap into the Senate race against Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn. On Friday, Latino Victory … Continue reading →

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Emily’s List takes aim at Cornyn

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. The influential Democratic group EMILY’s List is adding U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to its target list for 2020 — and in doing so, signaling it’d like to see a woman challenge him. EMILY’s List, which works to elect … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder, Will Hurd is still a Republican

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That means he does Republican things. Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd said he would vote for Donald Trump in 2020 over his friend, former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, should he decide to run and win the Democratic Party’s nomination. … Continue reading →

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Joaquin reportedly in for Senate

Posted on March 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This would be exciting. Joaquin Castro, the Democratic congressman from San Antonio, “is all but certain” to enter next year’s race for U.S. Senate and take on incumbent Republican John Cornyn, a source familiar with Castro’s thinking said Thursday. The … Continue reading →

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Kim Olson looking at CD24

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m down with this. While retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson, a Democrat who lost the 2018 general election for state agriculture secretary by a respectable 51-46 margin, has shown some interest in challenging GOP Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Tribune’s … Continue reading →

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Add one more to the list of potential Cornyn opponents list

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Joe Kopser, who made a strong showing in CD21 in 2018, puts himself on the roster of possible not-Beto challengers for John Cornyn in 2020. Call it the other “Beto Effect“. Just months after Democrat Beto O’Rourke outperformed expectations by … Continue reading →

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Cornyn still thinks he may face Beto

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He could be right, but I would not expect it. Beto O’Rourke has ruled out another run for the Senate, and as he edges closer to a bid for president, Texas Democrats are still searching for someone to challenge Sen. … Continue reading →

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What about Wendy?

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

If not Beto and not Joaquin… Wendy Davis of Texas said Tuesday she is considering a U.S. Senate run in 2020 but is waiting to see whether another high-profile Democrat, Rep. Joaquin Castro, goes through with challenging Republican incumbent John … Continue reading →

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Ridiculously early UT/TT poll: “Not Trump” leads

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll take it. A slight majority of Texas voters would choose someone other than Donald Trump in a presidential race held right now, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. While 45 percent said they would “definitely vote … Continue reading →

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What about Joaquin

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

If Beto O’Rourke is indeed not running for Senate, Rep. Joaquin Castro may step up to do it. Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro told the Associated Press on Thursday that his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is … Continue reading →

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Ridiculously early Quinnipiac poll: Trump has a small lead

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Consider this to be for entertainment purposes only. In a very early look at possible 2020 presidential matchups in Texas, President Donald Trump is essentially tied with former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders or former U.S. Rep. … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s talking about John Cornyn

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’ve read more stories about John Cornyn lately than I read about Beto a year ago at this time. As President Donald Trump embarked for El Paso on Monday to rally support for a border wall, Texas … Continue reading →

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Elisa Cardnell

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your first official candidate for CD02. A naval battle just might be on the horizon in one of Houston’s most competitive Congressional districts. On Thursday Navy veteran and science teacher Elisa Cardnell, a Democrat, filed papers with the Federal … Continue reading →

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More looking forward to 2020

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna have some more of that sweet Congressional election action. Smelling blood after picking up two Texas congressional seats in November – along with Beto O’Rourke’s narrow loss in the U.S. Senate race – House Democrats [recently] announced six new … Continue reading →

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Beto may yet be a Senate candidate in 2020

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s at least talking about the possibility. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke last week to discuss a possible 2020 Senate campaign against GOP Sen. John Cornyn, according to a source familiar with the … Continue reading →

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MJ Hegar considers a Senate run

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we’re getting somewhere. Military veteran MJ Hegar, a former U.S. House candidate, is seriously considering a run for the Democratic nomination to take on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. Hegar, who served in the Air Force in Afghanistan, … Continue reading →

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We’ll know soon enough if Beto is running for President

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Oprah. Beto O’Rourke said Tuesday he will decide whether to run for president by the end of the month, signaling his closely watched deliberations over a 2020 run are entering their final stages. The former Democratic congressman from El … Continue reading →

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Cornyn’s 2020 strategy

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. As the Texas GOP Party chairman from 2010 to 2015, Steve Munisteri warned that Republicans could no longer take the Lone Star State for granted and that the party needed to reach … Continue reading →

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Cornyn is not waiting on 2020

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what I’d do if I were Big John Cornyn. John Cornyn and other politicians say an incumbent should run in one of two ways: scared or unopposed. Given that philosophy, Texas’s senior senator is having nightmares about his 2020 … Continue reading →

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The first targets for 2020

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already agreed that the 2020 election season has begun, so a little attack advertising over the shutdown seems like a good play National Democrats have five Texas Republican congressmen in their crosshairs as they begin the 2020 election cycle … Continue reading →

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Trying again to primary Cuellar

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. It’s not going to be easy. A grass-roots Democratic group that helped power the upset victory of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has identified a Texas Democrat as its first target ahead of the 2020 congressional primaries — but … Continue reading →

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2020 is starting early

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Example One: The calendar just turned to 2019, but the 2020 race for Congressional seats in Texas is already on. A few days after Christmas, San Antonio resident Liz Wahl, 33, a former cable television news anchor, filed papers in … Continue reading →

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From the “If at first you don’t succeed” department

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Three Dem Congressional candidates from 2018 may try again in 2020. Among the typically deep-red districts that came down to single digits were three races around Harris County. Incumbent Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, won by … Continue reading →

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More Congressional retirement speculation

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Roll Call: Life in the minority will be a new experience for most House Republicans next year. And many of them may not remember what happened the last time the GOP lost the House. After the 2006 Democratic wave, … Continue reading →

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Recruiting more women for 2020

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We made a lot of progress towards better gender balance in our various legislative bodies this year. If we want to make more progress in 2020, it starts with finding and recruiting more female candidates. Even on a rainy Thursday … Continue reading →

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From the “It’s never too early to make candidate announcements” department

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Three sitting District Judges from Dallas County plan to run for the Fifth District Court of Appeals in 2020. Judge Bonnie Goldstein of the 44th Civil District Court will campaign for Place 3. Judge Craig Smith of … Continue reading →

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Who might be next to retire from Congress?

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We may see some more exits in the coming years, some voluntary and some not. Retirement talk is generally speculative until an incumbent makes an official announcement. But many Republican operatives bet that U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the most senior … Continue reading →

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Why not both?

Posted on December 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe argues that Beto doesn’t need to choose between running for President and running for Senate. Why doesn’t Beto run for both the presidency AND the U.S. Senate? Beto could do it under a provision known as the LBJ … Continue reading →

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