Tag Archives: Election 2010

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 →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Poll shows strong support for red light cameras

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following hit my inbox early Friday morning: A citywide survey of 500 likely voters in Houston’s 2010 general election conducted by a nationally respected polling firm last month finds strong support for the City of Houston’s intersection safety camera … Continue reading →

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The Trib talks to Craig Watkins

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a fascinating article about Dallas DA Craig Watkins, who is running for re-election for the first time this year, in which he defends himself against charges that he has not been sufficiently vigorous in prosecuting political malfeasance. … 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 →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

White and Perry argue about the dropout rate; White wins

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

See for yourself. The major-party candidates for governor on Tuesday waded into one of the oldest and hottest debates in public education — what’s the real high school drop-out rate? — producing the kind of fireworks that suggest the state … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Groups that support Republicans oppose health care reform

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I know, quelle surprise. The uncertainty over the Congressional healthcare bill has incited fear among some small business associations in Texas. They gathered with U.S. Chamber of Commerce representatives on Tuesday to say they’re worried about ripple effects … 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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Another analysis of the Democratic judicial primaries

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Recently, I received an email from Brandon Rottinghaus, who is a political science professor at UH. He and a graduate student of his had put together a mathematical model of the 2010 Democratic primary for the countywide judicial races. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The enduring question of Latino voting

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You can count on there being some number of articles about Latino voting every year. The Chron took its turn on Sunday. The numbers are formidable. Hispanics made up 31 percent of the Texas population in the 2000 census and … Continue reading →

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Gay-baiting in the HD76 runoff

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I had not paid much attention to the Democratic primary runoff in El Paso’s HD76, which is the only Democratic legislative runoff on the ballot. I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other about the incumbent, Rep. … Continue reading →

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Population and voting trends: 2002 and 2006 judicial elections, Part I

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the next entry in this series, we’re going to look at how county returns changed from 2002 to 2006 in statewide judicial races in Texas. Again, I’m using judicial races here because they tend to reflect straight partisan preference … Continue reading →

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Runoff endorsement watch: Reiteration

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes their recommendations for the primary runoffs: Democratic runoff District judge, 234th Judicial District: Tanner Garth District judge, 270th Judicial District: Lee Arellano Family district judge, 308th Judicial District: Bruce Kessler Family district judge, 311th Judicial District: Brad … Continue reading →

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Early voting for runoffs begins Monday

Posted on April 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Houston, TX, – Early voting by personal appearance for the April 13, 2010 Democratic and Republican Primary Runoff Elections begins Monday, April 5th. The Primary Runoff Elections will decide 15 contests in which a candidate did not … Continue reading →

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Just a minute, SBOE

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I almost missed this op-ed by State Rep. Carol Alvarado about everyone’s favorite clown show, the State Board of Education. In it, she hits on a theme we’re seeing more and more of. How can board members claim that our … Continue reading →

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KBH to make her decision today

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but my breath is bated. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has called a press conference for 10 a.m. Wednesday in San Antonio and is expected to announce whether she will stay in the Senate for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Runoff endorsement watch: HCD

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Harris County Democrats, which is a club and not to be confused with the HCDP, has issued its endorsements for the Democratic primary runoffs: Dem – District Judge, 234th Judicial District Tanner Garth Dem – District Judge, 270th Judicial … Continue reading →

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You know what they say about free advice

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back when Bill White first got into the Texas Governor’s race, the Texas Tribune asked me to engage in an email debate with David Benzion about his tenure as Mayor. At the time, I said I would not presume to … Continue reading →

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Turns out we’re not actually destroying the world one textbook at a time

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. Though Texas has been painted in scores of media reports as the big dog that wags the textbook industry tail, that’s simply no longer true — and will become even less true in the future, as technological … Continue reading →

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Kirk Watson’s “Monopoly Busters”

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I hadn’t written about State Sen. Kirk Watson’s Monopoly Busters drive before now – see here for his announcement of it last week. The primary goal is to decide which House incumbents will receive campaign contributions from Sen. Watson, but … 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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A fine whine from the SBOE

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, some of the wingnut members of our State Board of Education got their widdle feelings hurt by some of the coverage of their most recent hijinks, in particular about their amendment to remove Thomas Jefferson from the world history … Continue reading →

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Miles wins recount, Edwards sues

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mary Benton has the release from the Borris Miles campaign: Borris Miles’ victory in the March 2010 Democratic Primary for State House District 146 has been confirmed by an official recount. The recount, conducted today by the Harris County Democratic … Continue reading →

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It’s the “I am rubber, you are glue” election

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron notes that some of the charges that the two gubernatorial campaigns will lob at each other could easily be lobbed right back at themselves. Perry slammed White for not ruling out new taxes, pointing to 2003, when state … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s health care lawsuit

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a copy of the lawsuit that AG Greg Abbott and a dozen of his buddies have filed against the health care reform bill that was signed into law today. You may be wondering, as I have been, … Continue reading →

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Time for KBH to kick the can down the road again

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate is on the verge of passing the fixes to the health care reform bill that the House ratified on Sunday, but that’s not important right now. What really matters is that this means Senator Hutchison has a deadline … Continue reading →

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We’re not likely to have a Speaker’s race

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Jason Embry makes the case that the start of the next legislative session will be much calmer than the previous one, and it’s hard to argue. Republican Joe Straus finished his first session as speaker of the Texas House well-positioned … 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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The redistricting battle is fought one State House seat at a time

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the State House version of the DCCC. With 2011 being a redistricting year, the DLCC takes a more prominent role in the November elections than it would in other years, and with the … Continue reading →

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“The list of shame”

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here are three last reminders of that gang of idiots known as the State Board of Education before they return in May to finalize the vandalism they committed last week. First up, from the Texas Freedom Network: So what happened? … Continue reading →

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Sibley in for SD22 special election

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With the official resignation of State Sen. Kip Averitt, his predecessor in SD22, David Sibley, has announced that he will be a candidate for the May special election to fill the remainder of Averitt’s term. The winner of the expected … Continue reading →

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The tax question

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So Bill White gave a straightforward answer to a question about taxes, and everybody goes nuts. Well, Rick Perry and his minions went nuts, and everybody else followed. The former Houston mayor, asked by the Tribune’s Evan Smith whether he … Continue reading →

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Edwards asks for recount

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. State Rep. Al Edwards has asked for a recount of the primary election votes in the race he lost to Borris Miles by 10 votes. Edwards filed the paperwork and submitted a $4,400 deposit this morning at the … Continue reading →

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Cathie Adams is a big ol’ liar

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know why anyone would ever believe anything that the former head of the Texas Eagle Forum and current Chair of the Republican Party of Texas says. But in the event that you needed a reason to doubt her … Continue reading →

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