Tag Archives: fundraising

July 2023 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What a difference three months has made. Back in April you could have counted the races and candidates of interest on your fingers. Now with the larger Senate race, the openings in CDs 18 and 32, and a few other … Continue reading →

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An early peek at Mayoral fundraising so far

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Campaign finance reports are officially due Monday, and there are some in the system now. Candidates are free to say how they’ve done before their reports get posted, and the Chron asked some of the Mayoral candidates what we should … Continue reading →

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Sen. Gutierrez officially announces for US Senate

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have ourselves a real contested primary. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, announced Monday he is joining the Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Gutierrez made his campaign official in a nearly four-minute video that starts … Continue reading →

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Allred gets off to a fast fundraising start

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see, but it’s just the first step. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He also transferred an additional $2.4 million … Continue reading →

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Allred begins campaigning

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Go get started early. Democrats were ecstatic when U.S. Rep. Colin Allred announced his bid against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican they have come closest to beating in more than two decades of GOP dominance in statewide elections. … Continue reading →

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Oligarch nuisance lawsuit against Beto finally tossed

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sure took long enough. A state appeals court dismissed Republican megadonor Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke, ruling Friday that statements by the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor were protected by the First Amendment. The Austin-based 3rd Court of … Continue reading →

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Previewing Allred vs Gutierrez

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have some thoughts. Since announcing his 2024 Senate campaign, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred has focused his attention on the potential bruising fight against incumbent Republican Ted Cruz. Before Allred can get to Cruz, however, he’ll likely have to face … Continue reading →

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April 2023 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

And so we begin another Congressional campaign fundraising cycle. For obvious reasons, the opening list of who’s raising what for which office is a lot smaller than it’s been recently, though I do expect this list to grow a bit … Continue reading →

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Sen. Gutierrez talks about 2024

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s officially still thinking about it and will announce after the session. I’d say it’s a strong bet he’s already decided to run. State Senator Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday he’s going to wait before deciding on running for U.S. Senate. … Continue reading →

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Sen. Gutierrez appears to be getting set to challenge Ted Cruz

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has become a fierce champion of the families impacted by the Uvalde school shooting, is likely to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, The Texas Tribune … Continue reading →

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Least-surprising headline of the week

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the Chron: “GOP donor tied to Clarence Thomas has given Texas lawmakers $19M”. The Texas billionaire in the middle of the controversy around U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has a long history in Texas politics, donating more than … Continue reading →

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Hollins moves to the Controller’s race

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have some thoughts. Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk, said Thursday he is dropping his campaign for mayor and will seek the controller’s office instead, roughly one week after Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee announced she would enter the … Continue reading →

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The Texas Observer lives again

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Now here’s some good news. The board of the Texas Democracy Foundation, the nonprofit parent organization of the Texas Observer,  on Wednesday voted unanimously to rescind its earlier plan to lay off the 68-year-old magazine’s entire staff and cease publication. “This is … Continue reading →

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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is in for Mayor

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Okay then. The Quorum Report was first on the scene. Sources: In a closed-door event over the weekend, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told pastors she is running for mayor of Houston The chatter is getting louder out of H-Town, where … Continue reading →

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A few words about Lee Kaplan

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, I dunno. During the early stages of a mayoral race, polls carry little significance and every candidate says they are organizing a diverse coalition of supporters. There often is only one indicator to differentiate contenders from also-rans: money. Fundraising enables … Continue reading →

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I don’t see any issue with HCC campaign contributions and the Maldonado vote

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the reporting in this story, but ultimately I think it’s a nothingburger. The four trustees who voted to extend Houston Community College Chancellor Cesar Maldonado’s contract received a combined $78,000 in campaign donations from a political action committee … Continue reading →

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CM Gallegos enters the Mayor’s race

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I wish him well. Councilmember Robert Gallegos, the lone Hispanic member of Houston’s City Council, has entered the mayoral race. Gallegos filed a form Thursday with the secretary’s office to start raising money for a mayoral bid, and he told the Chronicle … Continue reading →

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You can donate to Ted Cruz’s 2024 opponent now

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Kudos to Daily Kos for being out ahead of the curve. We’re not gonna lie: Holding the Senate in 2024 is going to be hard. Democrats are defending 23 seats to just 11 for Republicans, and three of those are … Continue reading →

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The only pre-session gambling expansion story you need

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just re-run a version of this for the foreseeable future. Although casino giants and sports betting groups are making a big push in Texas, the head of the state Senate said he isn’t seeing much progress on the issue going … Continue reading →

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Beto tries again to get ridiculous defamation lawsuit dismissed

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hope he has better luck here. The gubernatorial election is over, but Kelcy Warren’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke lives on. Warren, the Dallas pipeline tycoon, sued O’Rourke in February over accusations he made on the campaign trail that Warren … Continue reading →

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LULAC files that lawsuit to end Houston City Council At Large districts

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been waiting for this. The League of United Latin American Citizens on Monday filed its long-anticipated lawsuit against the city of Houston, seeking to get rid of at-large City Council seats that it says leave Hispanic residents with insufficient representation at City Hall. … Continue reading →

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Whitmire launches his Mayoral campaign

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off. State Sen. John Whitmire formally launched his campaign for Houston mayor Tuesday evening with a fundraiser at the ritzy Post Oak Hotel, attended by dozens of the city’s political luminaries — including the hotel’s billionaire owner, Tilman … Continue reading →

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Time once again for the biennial paean to the gambling lobby

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Such a weird tradition we observe. Even before Gov. Greg Abbott declared in October that he’s willing to consider expanded gaming options in Texas, that industry was trying to improve its odds in the state by doling out massive campaign … Continue reading →

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Yeah, the crypto lovers here are still all in

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, at least they’re consistent. The crypto community in Austin was buzzing. Hundreds of investors, legislators, professionals and enthusiasts packed the halls of the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center at the University of Texas on Nov. 17-18 for the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement Regrets Watch: She’s not going to do that

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t. I just can’t. Why do two West Texas oil billionaires — Christian nationalists waging war against secular public schools — care who becomes the next chief executive of Harris County, hundreds of miles from their homes? Why did a Houston real … Continue reading →

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More big money in the Governor’s race

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Thirty day reports are in. Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke continue to shatter fundraising records in Texas with over $200 million that is funding a statewide ad war as the state’s most competitive governor’s race in decades heads into … Continue reading →

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Trib profile of Rochelle Garza

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good story with a lot of details you probably don’t know about the Democratic candidate for Attorney General. It also includes this bit of annoying news: Polls show the contest is the tightest of all statewide races. Garza, 37, is within … Continue reading →

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Beto still seeking to dismiss oligarch’s lawsuit against him

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Might have better luck this time around. Remember last year when Gov. Greg Abbott’s biggest donor sued gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke for defamation, slander, and libel? Well, that’s still going on. The legal fight has moved into a state appeals … Continue reading →

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Let’s name a few legislative battlegrounds

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting to be that time of the election cycle. Two years ago, Democrats were gearing up for a rare opportunity in modern times: capturing the Texas House majority. But after they came up woefully short — and Republican-led redistricting … Continue reading →

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On resign to run

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The TL;dr version of this is “No one ever said the Elections Code was fair”. John Whitmire’s plans have been clear since November: He is running for re-election to the state Senate, and he also is running for mayor. If all … Continue reading →

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July 2022 campaign finance reports: State races

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t often follow the campaign finance reports in state races, mostly because they’re usually not that interesting and there’s too many races to look at if I was interested. I didn’t review these in January for the contested primaries, … Continue reading →

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Meet the new billionaires in charge of Texas

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Somewhat worse than the old billionaires, who were already pretty bad. Gun owners allowed to carry handguns without permits or training. Parents of transgender children facing investigation by state officials. Women forced to drive hours out-of-state to access abortion. This is Texas now: … Continue reading →

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July 2022 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Mid-Year Campaign Finance Reporting Day to all who celebrate. Today we’ll be looking at the races of interest in Harris County, which thankfully for me has a lot fewer candidates to review than the last time we did this … Continue reading →

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July 2022 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The runoffs are now over, and we’re fully into the fall election season. As before, I’ve consolidated this list down to the elections of interest, which means I’ve dropped CD30 as it was a primary-only affair. I’m also dropping CD10 … Continue reading →

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