Tag Archives: Election 2012

Chron overview of HD134

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks at that perpetual swing district, HD134 Artful redistricting has squeezed the general election suspense from nearly all of Harris County’s legislative races, rendering most districts solidly red or blue. Democrat Ben Rose is hoping to prove his … Continue reading →

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Flipping Fort Bend

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

FiveThirtyEight projects a national insight down to the local level. In August, Nate Cohn of The New York Times put it well when he wrote: “The simple way to think about Mr. Trump’s strength is in terms of education among … Continue reading →

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WFAA/SurveyUSA: Trump 47, Clinton 43

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The margin keeps narrowing. After perhaps the most damaging week of his campaign, Donald Trump’s lead in Texas has slipped to four percentage points – within the margin of error – according to a new poll released Thursday night. The … Continue reading →

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Three State Rep race overviews

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In the order of their publication, beginning with HD149: For more than a decade in Texas House District 149 – where Harris and Fort Bend counties meet – a growing, ethnically diverse voting population has done something rare for the … Continue reading →

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Statewide registrations top 15 million

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. Texas has a record-breaking 15 million people registered to vote ahead of the November election, the Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday. Texas has 15,015,700 voters registered according to a preliminary estimate — over 777,000 more than … Continue reading →

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Record registration numbers for Harris County

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. As registration closed, Harris County’s voter roster had grown by more than 6 percent since 2014, the steepest increase in 16 years. More than 323,890 new names have been added, bringing the county voter roll to more than 2.2 … Continue reading →

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YouGov: Trump 50.1, Clinton 41.5

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So says the YouGov Election Model for Texas. Here is how that works. The raw data for our analysis is a rolling sample of over 30,000 respondents to YouGov’s polling over the past two weeks, updated with around 3,000 new … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Harris County Tax Assessor race

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s deja vu all over again. Republican Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan once again faces a challenge from Democrat Ann Harris Bennett, a rematch from four years ago for an office that oversees billions of dollars in property tax … Continue reading →

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Registration versus turnout

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey throws a bit of cold water on the surge in voter registrations. Turnout isn’t nearly as volatile as registration. Over the past 10 presidential elections in Texas, the percentage of Texas adults registered to vote has gone as … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the County Attorney race

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the one with the one Democratic incumbent running for re-election. Vince Ryan calls himself the Doberman pinscher of Harris County. The Democrat county attorney campaigned in 2012 as a government watchdog. He cannot point to any “dramatic” instances he … Continue reading →

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Lots of absentee ballots in Harris County this year

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart announced today that over 90,000 ballots have been mailed to voters who requested to vote by mail in the November 8, 2016 General and Special Elections. The number of ballots mailed is … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of SBOE races

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are a few races of interest, though the usual bet is that nothing unusual will happen. Dakota Carter, a Democrat and underdog in District 6, said he got “fired up” to run for the board because he is tired … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three State House races

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly the only State Rep race endorsements we’ll get, depending on how much the Chron cares about the less-competitive races. House District 23: Lloyd Criss We endorse Lloyd Criss, a Democrat whom Texas Monthly rated as an outstanding freshman legislator … Continue reading →

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Our first guess at Harris County turnout

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s big. Early voting in Texas for the 2016 election begins in a month. It will run through November 4. The Harris County Clerk’s office is encouraging voters to take advantage of the window, in order to avoid long lines … Continue reading →

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Voter registration way up statewide

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a lot. Nearly 15 million people are now registered to vote in Texas, a state record. Texas currently has more than 14.8 million voters registered — over 1 million more than were registered in the 2012 presidential election, according … Continue reading →

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So what’s going on with these polls of Texas?

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Republicans are feeling a little touchy about them. “I think the emerging picture is one that looks a little bit tighter in the presidential election than we’ve seen in recent elections in the state,” said Joshua Blank, whose Texas Lyceum … Continue reading →

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Another story about the possible Trump Effect on downballot races

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s mostly about one legislative race in particular, but that’s okay. When he worked in the oil industry, Thomas Benavidez traveled to drilling sites across Texas and northern Mexico. The work was exciting, and the pay was good. He rarely … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A Libertarian moment

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron thinks outside the box in endorsing for the Railroad Commission. Our editorial board interviews scores of candidates for political office every election year, but seldom do we find ourselves wholeheartedly endorsing a nominee from the Libertarian Party. Then … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: HISD Trustee district VII in a Presidential year

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, we have a special election for HISD Trustee in district VII on the ballot this November. There’s one Democratic candidate in that race and three Republicans. These races are normally held in odd-numbered years, in which turnout … Continue reading →

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It’s not crazy to think that a downballot Democrat could win statewide this year

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that headline in a minute. I’ve got some reading to sort through first. We’ll start with the most pessimistic, or perhaps the least blue-sky, story of how things are likely to go. Arizona. Georgia. Utah. Indiana. Is … Continue reading →

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Who watches the election watchers?

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong with this? In 2012, Greg Abbott caused a stir when he issued this warning to international election observers: Don’t set foot inside Texas polling places. Abbott, then the attorney general, was worried the Organization for … Continue reading →

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PPP: Trump 44, Clinton 38

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We knew this poll was coming, and it confirms what we have been seeing elsewhere. PPP’s new Texas poll finds a relatively tight race, at least on the curve of recent Presidential election results in the state. Donald Trump leads … Continue reading →

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Still considering the possibility that Hillary could win Texas

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Josh Barro looks at recent national poll numbers and contemplates the possibilities. If things get just a little bit worse for Trump nationally, he could start losing a lot of states we normally think of as very safe for Republicans … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for State Rep candidates

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, it’s July, and you know what that means: Campaign finance reports! There aren’t many State Rep races of interest this November, but there are four that I wanted to look at. HD134 Rep. Sarah Davis Ben Rose Name Raised … Continue reading →

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What it will take to win the District Court of Appeals benches

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that one place on the local ballot where Democrats could potentially gain some real ground is with the district Courts of Appeals. There are no competitive Congressional or State Senate races, the one competitive … Continue reading →

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Gallego claims poll lead over Hurd in CD23

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just another item to add to the list of reasons why Donald Trump is and has been bad news for Texas Republicans. Voters in the district, which is the largest Congressional district in the country which is not its own … Continue reading →

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No bonds this year

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe next year. Mayor Sylvester Turner likely will not ask voters to approve bonds this November to replace the nearly depleted debt residents approved in 2012, a move that may delay several projects. […] Having addressed a $160 million shortfall … Continue reading →

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Mixed signals on voter registration

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s mostly good news, but it could be better. While nonpartisan groups say funding is lagging to sign up Latinos to vote in the November election, voter registrations — likely fueled by Donald Trump’s salvos against people of Mexican heritage … Continue reading →

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Our first general election poll of Texas

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In a poll released today and conducted June 13-14, 2016, Texas voters are specifically rejecting Donald Trump’s lies and the corruption of State GOP elected officials. While Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 7 points (36.8 % – … Continue reading →

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What should the goals for 2016 be for Texas Dems?

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Given that carrying the state is highly unlikely, what else is there to aim for this year? So will Democrats make a presidential play for Texas or not? Presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton stoked the issue last month by saying she … Continue reading →

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An early look ahead to the legislative races

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a look at the legislative races that could end with a seat changing parties. • HD-23. Freshman state Rep. Wayne Faircloth, R-Dickinson, against former state Rep. Lloyd Criss, R-La Marque. • HD-43. State Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville, … Continue reading →

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Hillary Clinton on the Trump effect in Texas

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton posed a wild notion in a new interview: She could carry Texas in the fall. In a newly published New York magazine interview with reporter Rebecca Traister, … Continue reading →

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My vision for Metro: Buses

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said before that I would have some suggestions for new Metro Board Chair Carrin Patman and her team as they take their places. This post is where I start sharing those suggestions. The idea is to focus on proposals … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Harris County GOP Chair runoff

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is the Republican runoff I’m most interested in. Two years after wresting control of the Harris County Republican Party, Paul Simpson is facing an unexpected runoff challenge from political newcomer Rick Ramos in a race that again pits establishment … Continue reading →

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