Tag Archives: Election 2008

Sen. Chris Harris and Rep. Will Hartnett to retire

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One more out the door of the upper chamber. State Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, announced [Monday] afternoon that he will not seek reelection — the fourth veteran lawmaker to announce their retirement from the Upper Chamber. He is the longest … Continue reading →

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Still cleaning up Tommy Thomas’ mess

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Some stains take a long time to scrub out. The U.S. Justice Department is proceeding with an investigation of Harris County sheriff’s operations, after county leaders refused to enter into a civil rights settlement with the government or hire an … Continue reading →

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PPP: Perry takes lead on Obama in Texas

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not by that much, however. Rick Perry has an under water approval rating in Texas and he’s leading Barack Obama by a smaller margin than John McCain won the state by in 2008…but at least he is leading Obama, which … Continue reading →

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Lampson looking at options

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Former US Rep. Nick Lampson has said he’s thinking about running in the newly-drawn and now open CD14, but that’s not the only option he’s pondering. Lampson said in an interview that he’s received a great deal of encouragement since … Continue reading →

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Are there West Texas pickup opportunities available?

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Depends on how you look at it, I suppose. Former Potter County Democratic Party chairman Abel Bosquez said he plans to run for the same Texas House seat he did not win in last year’s election. “I am ready to … Continue reading →

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Rep. Beverly Woolley to retire

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Robert Miller had the scoop, and Texas Politics has the details. Rep. Beverly Woolley, a longtime Republican Party activist elevated to some of the most prestigious leadership positions in the Texas House, announced today – her 72nd birthday – that … Continue reading →

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Doggett v Castro by the numbers

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Greg looks at primary results from the last two cycles in the newly drawn CD35, and finds confirmation of the convention wisdom that Rep. Lloyd Doggett has his work cut out for him against State Rep. Joaquin Castro. Go take … Continue reading →

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Ron Paul not running for re-election in CD14

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like we won’t need to challenge him after all. Late Tuesday morning, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, sent out the following message to his Twitter followers: “I have decided not to seek re-election to Congress.” Brazoria County newspaper, The … Continue reading →

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On challenging Ron Paul in CD14

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jason Stanford has a question. So why aren’t we targeting Ron Paul again? The Texas legislature drew him the reapportionment equivalent of a target on his back. They took away some of his red meat territory and gave him Galveston … Continue reading →

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Congressional map gets final approval

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the Governor. The Republican-controlled Texas Senate approved a new congressional district map for the state Monday and sent it to Gov. Rick Perry for his approval. […] The map was approved 19-12 along party lines and without debate. … Continue reading →

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Another Travis County DA race?

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When Ronnie Earle announced his retirement in 2007, it kicked off a spirited Democratic primary to replace him that was ultimately won by his chief lieutenant, Rosemary Lehmberg. It looks like we may have another such primary next year. Former … Continue reading →

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2012 still looks like 2008 so far

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Lyceum put out a series of polls this week – you can see links to them here – but it was the Thursday poll that interested me the most, as it was related to the 2012 elections. Here’s … Continue reading →

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Two other views of Texas redistricting

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a fascinating paper from the Harvard Election Data Archive that attempts to project how many Congressional seats each party will win based on statewide performance. Based on the 2008 presidential election results, twenty-two of the twenty-three current Republican members … Continue reading →

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Plans from an alternate universe: The Veasey-West plan

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Congressional redistricting, which took so long that it couldn’t be done during the regular session, has zipped through the special session, thanks in no small part to the virtual elimination of public testimony. At this point, the full House needs … Continue reading →

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House Redistricting committee approves modified Congressional map

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Even quicker than the Senate committee. The Texas House Redistricting Committee approved a new version of the Congressional map that makes a few tweaks, mainly in North and South Texas. But the overall goal remains the same: Maintain and expand … Continue reading →

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WaPo on Texas redistricting

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Fix makes a few curious statements about the proposed Congressional redistricting map for Texas. Despite the Lonestar State voting 55 percent for Republicans in the 2008 presidential race, the GOP-controlled legislature’s proposed map features 26 districts that went for … Continue reading →

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Updated Seliger-Solomons numbers

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I had previously run the numbers for the new Congressional districts in the Seliger-Solomons plan. Now that we’ve gone from Plan C125 to Plan C130, let’s see what they look like now. Here’s a side-by-side comparison, with the districts grouped … Continue reading →

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More on the Seliger-Solomons plan

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Dunham has a nice analysis of the proposed Congressional map that’s worth your time to read. I disagree with him on two related points. Republicans successfully shored up three districts they captured from Democrats in the past two election … Continue reading →

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The Seliger-Solomons Congressional map is out

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s a joke. Seriously, I can’t describe it any other way. Look at the following districts – go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ and look up Plan C125 – and tell me how they can possibly satisfy any rational legal argument for … Continue reading →

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Maybe Perry for President would be good for us

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When George W. Bush began being talked about as a Presidential candidate, the story line on him was that he was a well-liked, popular Governor who had bipartisan appeal and support in the state. Outgoing Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock … Continue reading →

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Obama and Texas 2012

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jonathan Chait notes that recently the Obama re-election team has said it will put money into Texas, and observes that this is part of a bigger strategy. In the narrow analysis, Texas is a deeply Republican state. Obama lost it … Continue reading →

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Prioritizing the target list

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So now that we’ve had a tour of the possible targets for the Democrats in 2012, how would I prioritize them? Let’s start with the districts I’d call the Must Haves, and the Really Nice To Haves: Dist Incumbent County … Continue reading →

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Senate map is out, controversy precedes it

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Before we had a State Senate map, we had a brawl brewing over one proposed district on it. Accusing the state Senate’s Republican leaders of a “shameful partisan attack,” Sen. Wendy Davis said Tuesday that a new redistricting map for … Continue reading →

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Are there any seats Dems could lose?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve heard someone express the view that if there’s a silver lining for the Democrats after the 2010 election, it’s that their decimated caucus offers no real targets for the Republicans to aim for. The Rs weren’t completely … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Harris County

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For our last stop on this tour we look at Harris County, which provided several pickup opportunities for Democrats last decade. How will they fare this time around? Republicans started the last decade with a 14-11 advantage – they intended … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: The Metroplex

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Dallas and Tarrant Counties will each have eight districts drawn to elect Republicans in them. For this entry, I’m going to look at each of these districts. First up is Tarrant County, which gains a district (HD101) for a total … Continue reading →

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House approves Senate’s SBOE map

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the Governor for final approval of the new SBOE redistricting map. The House voted 80-61 for the map, which contained changes made by the Senate and finishes the Legislature’s action on redrawing lines for the State Board of … Continue reading →

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Updated interactive House redistricting map from the Trib

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib published a table when the Solomons redistricting map for the Texas House first came out that showed changes to each district’s partisan makeup. That map was modified before its final passage, so they have now produced this interactive … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Travis, Bexar, El Paso

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the urban counties. I’m grouping these three together because there’s really only one opportunity in each, and none of them are truly “new”. But never mind that. Let’s look at some data. District: 47 Incumbent: Paul Workman (first … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Outside the urban areas, part 2

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More districts to look at for Democratic opportunities outside of the traditional urban areas. District: 45 Incumbent: Jason Isaacs (first elected in 2010) Counties: Blanco, Hays Best 2008 Dem performance: Barack Obama, 46.78% Patrick Rose won this district in 2002, … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Outside the urban areas, part 1

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the first post in my series of analyses of the new districts. I’m using 2008 electoral data, since the next election is a Presidential year, and I feel confident that the districts were drawn with an eye strongly towards … Continue reading →

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Three things about Sanchez

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you judge the announcement of a possible candidacy by the amount of attention it receives, then the story of the recruitment of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez has been a smash success. Here are a few things being written that … Continue reading →

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Messing with Doggett

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure the Republicans would love to draw Lloyd Doggett out of existence if they can. The question is whether they can do it without causing other problems elsewhere. Republicans have tried to oust Doggett before by drawing a district … Continue reading →

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Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In case you haven’t heard, national Democrats may have found a Senate candidate for next year. Democrats appear to have recruited retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez to run for the U.S. Senate in Texas, setting the stage for the party … Continue reading →

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