Tag Archives: Election 2020

More on the poll watcher problem

It’s all right here. You just have to pay attention to what they’re saying. As Texas Republican lawmakers seek to expand the powers of partisan poll watchers — and Democrats warn doing so will lead to intimidation of minority voters … Continue reading

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DCCC starts with two targets in Texas

Consider this to be written in chalk on the pavement, pending the new Congressional maps. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Tuesday that it will target two Republican-held districts in Texas — the ones currently held by Reps. Tony Gonzales … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Appellate court redistricting bill withdrawn

I had a post all ready to go yesterday with more on the bill to redistrict the appellate courts, and then this happened on Thursday night: . #SB11 redistricting the Texas appellate courts from 14 to 7 has been withdrawn. … Continue reading

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House committee passes its voter suppression bill

I remain pessimistic about this, but we have no choice but to fight. A Texas House committee on Thursday advanced an elections bill that would make it a state jail felony for local election officials to distribute an application to … Continue reading

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More local pushback against SB7 and HB6

From the inbox: Mayor Sylvester Turner invited a diverse group of elected officials, community leaders, and business executives to stand in solidarity against voter suppression bills in the Texas Legislature. More than 50 individuals and organizations have vowed to fight … Continue reading

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Why North Texas?

The Trib reprints a WaPo story about a cluster of Capitol insurrectionists in the Dallas suburbs, and it’s something. Hope for Trump’s return is fervent in Frisco and across the northern Dallas suburbs, an area of rapid growth and rapidly increasing diversity. … Continue reading

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Let’s get rid of Democratic appellate court justices

If that’s the Legislature’s goal, then this would be an effective way of accomplishing it. A Texas Senate committee [heard] public comment Thursday on a controversial proposal to consolidate the state’s 14 intermediate appellate courts into just seven, a move … Continue reading

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A bit of business pushback against voter suppression

It’s a start, but much more is needed. A group of 72 Black business leaders are calling on companies to publicly oppose a series of bills being advanced by Republicans in at least 43 states that could dramatically curb access … Continue reading

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AC repairman sues Hotze

Hell yeah. An air conditioning repairman who was held at gunpoint last October as part of a right-wing group’s voter fraud investigation has sued the group and its CEO, Houston conservative activist Steven Hotze. David Lopez, the repairman, filed a … Continue reading

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Another report on the South Texas vote in 2020

Some interesting stuff in here. Cambio Texas, a progressive organization whose mission is to increase voter turnout and elect leaders that reflect the community, has released a post-election report that relies on extensive interviews with elected officials, campaign workers, consultants, … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: State Senate comparisons

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading

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What is Ken Paxton hiding?

I was almost tempted to start this post with the rhetorical “Just when you think Ken Paxton couldn’t sink any lower” gambit, but then I realized I have never thought Ken Paxton couldn’t sink any lower. Even with that, this … Continue reading

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How much should Dems try to compete in the CD06 special election?

Let’s make sure someone gets to the runoff, then we can worry about that. Democrats running to replace the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington, believe they can flip the seat in an unpredictable off-year special election. But Democrats at … Continue reading

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It’s Voter Suppression Week in the Senate

Delayed by a day, but that won’t stop anything. Republican lawmakers in Texas are attempting to cement more bricks into the wall they hope will shield their hold on power from the state’s changing electorate. After more than 20 years … Continue reading

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Rep. Vela not running for re-election

We have our first interesting Congressional race of 2022. U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, a Brownsville Democrat, announced Monday he is retiring from Congress at the end of this term. Vela was first elected in 2012 and represents much of the … Continue reading

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We have a poll that says people oppose more voting restrictions

A good sign, just remember our mantra about polls. As state Republicans push to restrict voting, a new poll shows a majority of Texans want more time to vote early and do not approve of threatening voters or those who … Continue reading

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Republicans roll out their big voter suppression bill

They can’t do anything about blackouts or floods or COVID vaccinations, but they sure can do this. Joining a nationwide movement by Republicans to enact new restrictions on voting, Gov. Greg Abbott indicated Monday he will back legislation to outlaw … Continue reading

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The Republican attack on Harris County voting

It’s straight up retaliation for Harris County getting positive national attention for going out of its way to make it easier to vote in 2020. Harris County made a big push to expand mail-in and early voting during the 2020 … Continue reading

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What the American Rescue Plan means to Houston

First and foremost, no layoffs. Houston and Harris County are expected to receive more than $1.5 billion through the stimulus bill approved by Congress Wednesday, providing a massive cash injection that city officials say will help close a budget shortfall … Continue reading

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January 2021 campaign finance reports: Congress

Should have done this a long time ago, just to close the books on the 2020 election cycle, but for a variety of reasons I didn’t. With the forthcoming special election in CD06, I now have a reason to care … Continue reading

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Beto’s “We can win” message

Beto O’Rourke offers a blueprint for how Democrats can win in Texas. In 2020, Joe Biden lost by less than Hillary Clinton did in 2016; eleven of the twelve State House seats we won in 2018 were successfully defended, and … Continue reading

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More storm polling

Not sure things are as negative as this story makes it sound. Two out of three Texans lost electricity, water or both in last month’s devastating winter storm, though it’s unclear their harrowing experiences will have lasting political consequences, according … Continue reading

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Twitter sues Paxton

How the tables have turned. Twitter filed a lawsuit against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a California federal court Monday and asked a judge to halt the state’s top lawyer from investigating the company. The social media giant’s … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Brazoria County

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading

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Republicans want to ban voting at night

Give me a break. Texas Republicans have made it clear that voter suppression is a legislative priority, and one of their biggest targets involves Harris County. State Rep. Jared Patterson filed a bill last week that would restrict voting hours at … Continue reading

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Come one, come all to the CD06 special election

Now that is what I call a field. A crowd of 23 candidates — including 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats — has filed for the May 1 special election to fill the seat of the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, … Continue reading

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An early analysis of the CD06 special election

Four your perusal. So, this is the part where I say the take I’ve had in my head since the seat opened up – Joe Biden should have won the district, and it was a fairly pathetic result to lose … Continue reading

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The CD06 field is already big

Pretty common for this kind of special election. The race to replace the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington, has already attracted a crowd of candidates — and more are expected in the coming days. Even before Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading

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Biden starts with decent approval numbers in Texas

Keep it up. President Joe Biden, who today is making his first visit to Texas since his January inauguration, starts his term with about the same numbers of voters giving him good and bad marks for job performance, according to … Continue reading

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Another look at how redistricting may go

RG Ratcliffe analyzes the geographic and political realities the Republicans face as they try to maximize their haul from the 2021 reapportionment. Rick Perry famously called West Texas—a sparse land with few trees or humans—the Big Empty. The 92,016 square … Continue reading

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Here’s the TDP 2020 after action report

Reasonably informative, though nothing here that I found terribly surprising. Texas Democrats have come to the conclusion that they fell short of their expectations in the 2020 election largely because Republicans beat them in the battle to turn out voters, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

May 1 special election date set for CD06

Here we go. Gov. Greg Abbott has selected May 1 as the date for the special election to succeed late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington. Wright died earlier this month after a yearslong struggle with cancer and testing positive for … Continue reading

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Susan Wright appears ready to run in CD06

She’d likely make a strong candidate. Susan Wright, the wife of the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington, is getting close to launching a campaign for his seat and could announce her bid as soon as this week, according to … Continue reading

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Jana Sachez will run in CD06

We are now getting some candidate announcements for this forthcoming special election. A Democrat who previously ran for Texas’ 6th Congressional District is again running for the North Texas seat. Jana Lynne Sanchez on Tuesday announced her bid for the … Continue reading

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