Tag Archives: Election 2012

PPP poll shows Obama leading Perry in Texas

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps this will put a little dent in the Perry-for-President bandwagon. A potential Rick Perry Presidential bid has been getting oodles of attention in the last few weeks. There’s one place where voters aren’t real into the possibility though- Texas. … Continue reading →

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Sine Die, take two

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The House followed the Senate out the door yesterday, leaving a bit of unfinished business behind. The Senate’s version of a bill to criminalize intrusive pat-downs by federal agents with the Transportation Security Administration has died in the House, after … Continue reading →

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It’s Williams versus Williams in CD33

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another Williams switches from Senate to Congress for 2012. Weatherford car dealer Roger Williams switched from the U.S. Senate race to a race for Congress this morning, finishing up a swap that began last week with calls to supporters in … Continue reading →

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Time for another “What to do with the Astrodome?” study

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been two years since we had one of these. The Astrodome’s next incarnation — planetarium? hotel? heap of dynamited rubble? – will be the subject of yet another study ordered up by Harris County Commissioners Court this week. What … Continue reading →

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The budget is still broken

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What was true at the beginning of the regular legislative session is still true as the special session winds down: The budget is still broken. Instead of revamping the business tax structure or taking aim at tax exemptions, lawmakers cut … Continue reading →

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Pena to run for re-election

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

To borrow from Greg, we’ll still have Aaron Pena to kick around, at least for a little while longer. The political ambitions of state Rep. Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, have been the subject of speculation since he switched parties prior to … Continue reading →

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Castro says he’s in for Congress

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on in CD35. State Rep. Joaquin Castro said today he is running next year for U.S. Congress in a new district carved by the state’s Republican majority, likely pitting him in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett … Continue reading →

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Williams in, Lucio out for Congress

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Lege has finished its job with Congressional redistricting, expect to hear a lot more stories about the hopefuls and the not-hopefuls and their plans. For instance, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams. With the race for Senate getting crowded, … 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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Cut education now, pay later?

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question for Republican legislators, isn’t it? GOP legislators didn’t budge this session from their commitment to reduce Texas’ education spending even in the face of protests, negative ad campaigns and reams of criticism. The outcry didn’t faze them … 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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Redistricting on Commissioners Court agenda

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Well, not quite, but if you look on Page 15 of the June 21 Court agenda you will see an item that says “Request for approval of an order adopting priorities and principles for redistricting of the four Harris County … 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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Senate approves teacher furlough bill

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another divisive bill, another party-line vote. Legislation allowing school districts to reduce teacher pay and furlough them — to help absorb big budget cuts — sailed through the Texas Senate on Monday with a straight party-line vote. Lawmakers are working … Continue reading →

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Be careful who you pray with

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Lie down with dogs” department: Gov. Rick Perry, who has made economic populism the cornerstone of his political ambition in Texas, has jumped headfirst into America’s culture war as he ponders whether to run for president of the … 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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May elections

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Lege passed a bill that would have the effect of moving the date for primary runoffs into May. This is causing heartburn for cities like Austin that hold their municipal elections in May of even numbered … Continue reading →

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Wendy Davis profile

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib profiles State Sen. Wendy Davis. It’s a good read. The filibuster was a defining moment for Davis, a twice-divorced single mother who had her first daughter as a teenager, was the first in her family to go to … Continue reading →

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Who’s running for what where?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Chris Cillizza notes an old familiar face who’s back on the scene. Former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) is running again after losing his seat to businessman Francisco Canseco (R) last fall. Rodriguez won the seat in an 2006 special election, … Continue reading →

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Back to school finance

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege has started the process of picking up where it left off on school finance. The Trib reminds us how we got here. [T]he earlier failure of SB 1581, which put a behind-closed-doors conference committee in charge of any … 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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Vote on school finance today

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday night, the Lege finally reached an agreement on school finance, which is to say on how to distribute the $4 billion in cuts to public education to the school districts. Today the Lege gets to vote on that … 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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Maybe the problem is that the national GOP isn’t nutty enough

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Have no fear, Texas may come to the rescue. First, there’s Dan Patrick. Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick announced this morning he’s forming an exploratory committee for the US Senate seat being abandoned by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison . Patrick … 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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Sanchez files paperwork to run for Senate

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And he’s in. Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who rose from an impoverished childhood in the Rio Grande Valley to become a three-star Army general commanding multinational forces in Iraq, filed the paperwork Wednesday to seek the Democratic nomination for … Continue reading →

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Let the candidate speculation season begin!

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have Congressional districts yet but we do have potential Congressional candidates. Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos is considering seeking higher office. Villalobos told Action 4 News he is considering running for congress and has officially formed an … 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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