Tag Archives: Election 2008

The Trib’s electoral three-parter

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In case you haven’t seen it, I recommend the Trib‘s three-part series on the state of electoral politics in Texas, which was done in conjunction with the El Paso Times: The Map: Can A Democrat Win? The Map: The Giant … Continue reading →

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Revisiting the Libertarian effect

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

While we still don’t know what the deal will be with the Green Party, we may wonder what of that other third party on the ballot? Ross Ramsey takes a look at the Libertarian Party and the effect its candidates … Continue reading →

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Redistricting hearing in San Antonio

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s that time of the decade again. Monday’s joint hearing of the House Committees on Redistricting and Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence — on the University of Texas at San Antonio’s downtown campus — marked the unofficial kickoff for that process. … Continue reading →

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Edwards drops lawsuit to challenge election result in HD146

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Former State Rep. Al Edwards, who had filed a lawsuit challenging his electoral loss in the HD146 primary to Rep.-elect Borris Miles, has now dropped the suit, which should clear Miles’ path to Austin. Miles’ lawyer, Randall “Buck” Wood, of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Joe Jaworski

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the start of early voting for the May 8 uniform election date in Texas. There’s not a whole lot happening in Harris County, but down in Galveston they will be electing a new Mayor to succeed the term-limited … Continue reading →

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We’ve done well, but we can still do better

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The defeat of wingnut candidate Brian Russell, who was backed by departing SBOE member Cynthia Dunbar to succeed her, in the GOP runoff this week is unquestionably good news that will help de-loonify that dysfunctional body. I’m as glad as … Continue reading →

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Straight ticket voting trends

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One last look at partisan voting trends this decade, with a peek at how straight ticket voting has changed over time. This one is a bit trickier to determine, since it’s not tracked by the Secretary of State. You have … Continue reading →

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Final early runoff voting totals

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to the County Clerk’s daily early voting report, there were 5,126 in person early votes for the Democratic primary runoff, and 5,014 absentee ballots, for a total of 10,140. Based on 2008 runoff early voting patterns, I’d estimate final … Continue reading →

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Early poll in HD134

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the fact that they left her basically unchallenged in 2008, I get the impression that local Republicans are excited about the possibility of defeating two-term State Rep. Ellen Cohen this year. Certainly, she will face a stronger challenge from … Continue reading →

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Runoff early voting report, Day One

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Day One primary runoff early voting report was sent out late last night by the County Clerk’s office. You can see the totals for each location here. Basically, Democrats had 731 in person voters and 3785 mail ballots returned, … Continue reading →

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Population and voting trends: 2004 and 2008 judicial elections

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So we’ve seen how county returns changed in the Presidential election between 2004 and 2008. Obviously, there are many factors that can affect a Presidential election, even when there’s not really an active campaign going on in the state. How … Continue reading →

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Population and voting trends: 2004 and 2008 Presidential election

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Taking a look at the voting trends in the fastest growing counties made me want to know more about this, so I broke out the spreadsheets and took a look. I’ll present the results in a three-part series, starting today … Continue reading →

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Joe Agris

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I read with great interest this feature story on Houston plastic surgeon Joe Agris, who was a longtime collaborator with the late Marvin Zindler in getting medical help to indigent children. I did so partly because Agris is a fascinating … Continue reading →

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Where the votes are going

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Stiles looks at Census data and notes a political point. Seven Texas counties — Rockwall, Williamson, Collin, Hays, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Denton — are listed among the nation’s 30 fastest-growing areas, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released … Continue reading →

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What do you do with a problem like Rick Green?

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If former State Rep. Rick Green wins his primary runoff against Fort Worth family court judge Debra Lehrmann for the Supreme Court Place 3 nomination, he will join Railroad Commission nominee David Porter as a second underqualified Republican candidate on … Continue reading →

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Vasquez and Carrillo

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Newly-unelected Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez makes the same complaint about why he is headed for the unemployment line as Victor Carrillo did. Carrillo started the ethnic angst with an e-mail to supporters indicating racial bias had cost him re-election. That … Continue reading →

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The post-primary reconciliation

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Republican primary for Governor has been long and nasty. It will likely go to a runoff, where we’ll get five more weeks of concentrated nastiness and attack ads. Any time this kind of high-level primary occurs, people wonder if … Continue reading →

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No official guess on turnout

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Secretary of State doesn’t want to speculate about turnout for today’s election. “We are not making a projection on the turnout for tomorrow,” Russell Dillard, spokesman for Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, said Monday. “It’s pretty difficult to … Continue reading →

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District Clerk primary overview

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s one race on the ballot that features an incumbent countywide Democrat in a non-judicial office, and that’s Harris County District Clerk, where Loren Jackson is running for a four-year term after being elected to complete Charles Bacarisse’ unexpired term. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Obama for SJL

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

President Barack Obama has endorsed Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in her primary for CD18. From the press release: “Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a tireless champion for Houston’s working families,” said President Obama. “That’s why we need her back in … Continue reading →

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How do incumbents do in runoffs?

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So with all of the polls showing Rick Perry ahead in the GOP primary but below 50%, the odds appear good that he’s headed for a runoff. What are his odds of winning that runoff? The Come and Take It … Continue reading →

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Two Trib primary stories

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has done a series of good, informative stories on primary battles across the state, which I recommend you read. Two of their most recent are especially worthwhile: First is HD43, in which freshman Dem Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra … Continue reading →

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Rick Molina campaign kickoff

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There was a lot of good news for Democrats in Harris County in 2008, but one place we fell short was in HD144, which had been left open by Robert Talton’s decision to try to be the Republican nominee in … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Jim Wrotenbery

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. There are a lot of judicial races on the ballot in Harris County this election, and so this is intended to help introduce the candidates … Continue reading →

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No RNC convention here

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Thank God for small favors. Washington-based Hotline reported Wednesday that the Republican National Committee, holding its winter meeting in Honolulu last week, had narrowed its search for a 2012 convention site to four cities — Houston, Tampa, Fla., Phoenix and … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ahmad Hassan

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Also running for the Democratic nomination for Harris County Judge is businessman Ahmad Hassan. Hassan is a real estate and mortgage broker and the owner & President of Alexandria Real Estate and Mortgage. He has been a US citizen since … Continue reading →

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The Sheriff versus the deputies

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I continue to be surprised at how antagonistic this relationship has been. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia on Friday released a long-promised “Bill of Rights” for deputies under investigation by the department, but three deputies’ unions criticized the sheriff for … Continue reading →

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Is the GOP gubernatorial primary headed for a runoff?

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib and Texas Politics both report on that Rasmussen poll, which in addition to giving us our first relevant general election result also shows Debra Medina climbing into double digits, with both Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison under … Continue reading →

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Strange parallels

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story about the primary challenges to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee goes out of its way to try to find parallels to Jackson Lee’s own successful primary election of 1994. A little too far, I think. The district looks … Continue reading →

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Silvia Mintz

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing I need to do now that the filing deadline has passed is try to learn about some of the late entrants. It turns out that Silvia Mintz, who filed to run in HD132, has a heck of a … Continue reading →

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The top Texas races

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas on the Potomac lists their Top Ten Texas Races For 2010. I have no quarrel with nine of their choices, but I think this one is wrong: Dallas County elections Democrats seized power in the Dallas courthouse four years … Continue reading →

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No re-run for LJD

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Jack McDonald has backed out of running for CD10 next year, which left the Democrats without a candidate for that race. For a few minutes, it looked like 2008 candidate Larry Joe Doherty might be ready to … Continue reading →

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Welcome to the not-quite-a-city of The Woodlands

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On January 1, a unique experiment in city-like governance will commence in The Woodlands. A new government body, approved by residents two years ago and called The Woodlands Township, will take control of the Montgomery County community 30 miles north … Continue reading →

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Federal court rules for TDP in voting machine case

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little surprised by this. A three-judge panel has ruled that Dallas County election officials violated federal law when they did not inform the Department of Justice about changes in the way straight-party votes are counted on electronic voting … Continue reading →

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