Tag Archives: Election 2010

Specter switches

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As Greg says, wow. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter’s decision would … Continue reading →

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Statewide race for Earle?

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting news. Retired for all of four months, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is considering running for a new job, possibly as the state’s top lawyer. “There have been people who have talked to me … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Castro for San Antonio

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Julian Castro, who narrowly lost the 2005 Mayoral race in San Antonio to outgoing Mayor Phil Hardberger, was endorsed for the office this year by the San Antonio Express News. Castro is the best prepared candidate, and he offers the … Continue reading →

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Two legislator stories

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a nice profile of State Rep. Kristi Thibaut, who had a very busy year last year. Thibaut first ran for the Legislature in 2006. She had been a state Senate messenger and a government major while in … Continue reading →

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The sanctity of marriage personified

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have so much respect for The Onion for its ability to stay ahead of the satire curve. Rudy Giuliani is declaring war on gay marriage — vowing to use his … Continue reading →

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It would be OK with me if all those who favor it decide to leave

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I ask a question about secession. Is that really what the GOP base is about these days? I get an answer. Do you think Texas would be better off as an independent nation or as part of the United States … Continue reading →

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The Senate fundraising scorecard so far

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s what you see for candidates for the US Senate in Texas for the 2009-10 election cycle. I’ve removed the two incumbents plus candidates from previous cycles who are sitll filing finance reports. Republicans Name Raised Spent Net Cash Debts … Continue reading →

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Everyone has an opinion on Kay and Rick

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former Congressman Martin Frost thinks Rick Perry has a good shot at winning his primary against Sen. Hutchison. Perry, who won with less than 40 percent in a four-way general election field in 2006, is not popular with the general … Continue reading →

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Texas secession: Views differ

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Rick Perry has found his audience for secession talk: Ron Paul Nation. If you don’t feel like sitting through that (can’t say I blame you), Bud Kennedy gives the capsule review: [Paul calls] secession “very much an American … Continue reading →

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Keep your eye on the ball, Tom

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: So how does a former ambassador gird for a possible battle with the ever-black-hatted, cigar-chomping Kinky Friedman for the Democratic nod for governor? Campaign honchos who faced the finger-in-the-eye-of-the political-establishment candidate in … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading →

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BAR for AG

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Barbara Radnofsky has been talking about a run for Attorney General in Texas in 2010 for some time now; I had a conversation about it with her back in 2007. Today she officially announced her intent, making her the third … Continue reading →

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Perry walks back secession talk

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the sun rises in the east, so do politicians who say stupid things revise and extend those remarks afterward when people start asking them questions about what they really meant. And so it was the case with Rick Perry, … Continue reading →

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White rakes it in for his Senate bid

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Among other things, today is the deadline for federal candidates to report their campaign finance status. Of the many contenders for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Senate seat, whenever that becomes available, I think it’s safe to say that Bill White had … Continue reading →

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Vasquez responds to Coleman and Hernandez

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I received the following statement from the office of Harris County Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez, which was sent to KHOU and Fox 26 in response to the charges made by State Reps. Garnet Coleman and Ana Hernandez about the voter … Continue reading →

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Kinky makes it official

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

sigh Failed 2006 independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman has taken the first step toward another bid for Texas governor, this time as a Democrat. He sent out a letter to Texans this morning, which is in full after the jump … Continue reading →

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Presidential results by Congressional district

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Swing State Project has compiled a list of Presidential results by Congressional district, for all 435 DCs around the country. I’ve pulled out the Texas numbers and put them in a Google spreadsheet for ease of viewing. Here are a … Continue reading →

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ITL and OTL

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t suppose it really matters what part of town Mayors and Mayor wannabees live in. What does matter is how they want to approach questions of what different parts of town want and need. Candidate and Councilman Peter Brown, … Continue reading →

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DCCC targeting CD10

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good to hear. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will begin running radio ads next week in the districts of six Republicans, all of whom voted against the economic recovery package. One of the six targeted districts, though, sticks out from … Continue reading →

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Dallas Dems look to 2010

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Never too early to be thinking about these things. “I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say we can do 57 percent [countywide] in 2010,” said Darlene Ewing, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party. Because of that comfort … Continue reading →

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Strengths and weaknesses fails

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the good news. San Antonio’s Ken Mercer, part of the board’s seven-member social conservative bloc, tried to put the much-debated “strengths and weaknesses” language back into the state’s science standards that guide the content of textbooks and curriculum. Mercer’s … Continue reading →

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Let the results speak for themselves

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Seems to me there’s an easy and straightforward way to resolve the debate that Burka and the Texas Politics Project are having over the efficacy of the latter’s Internet-based polling: Why don’t we compare the results they get to what … Continue reading →

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Meet Tom Schieffer

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Real good interview by BOR’s Todd Hill with prospective Democratic candidate for Governor Tom Schieffer. I’ve said before that while I’m glad to see a Democrat with some stature take steps towards the Governor’s race, Schieffer is a big unknown … Continue reading →

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Time to throw out the first attack mailer of the season

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So we got a weird little piece of mail Saturday. Addressed to both of us, in a plain envelope with no return address was a one-page letter that attacked Carl Whitmarsh, best know for his prodigious Democratic email list, and … Continue reading →

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“What’s Medicaid?”

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t too much to ask, is it? Give State Rep. Gary Elkins some credit for being honest. At a hearing [Thursday] of the House Committee on Human Services, Elkins and other members of the panel considered more than two … Continue reading →

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Coleman pushing for CHIP restoration

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Way back in those crazy, innocent days right after Joe Straus was elected Speaker, some of us had the silly idea that this might portend better legislation making it through the House. You know, serious policy stuff that actually benefits … Continue reading →

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The dentist in charge

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman has a profile of Don McLeroy, the young-earth creationist who is also the chair of the State Board of Education and who is currently leading the fight to cripple science education in Texas. I’m not going to get … Continue reading →

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Kinky says he’s getting ready to run

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Kinky Friedman has been saying for a long time that he wants to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He’s now finally getting ready to make that official. At least, that’s what he tells Gardner Selby: Friedman … Continue reading →

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Texas lawmakers on Twitter

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Elise Hu has compiled a list of elected officials in Austin who use Twitter, for those of you who are into such things. It’s a shorter list than I would have expected, but I’ll bet it grows before the legislative … Continue reading →

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Schieffer jumps in

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We have a candidate, one not named Kinky. Former U.S. Ambassador Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth has just announced he is taking his first formal step toward seeking the Democratic nomination for governor during a Texas Independence Day press conference … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As I mentioned on Friday, I had the opportunity to speak with State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. She’s the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus (I mistakenly said “House Democratic Caucus” in my intro, but got it right after … Continue reading →

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Help celebrate 27 for 27

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The following is a message from the TexBlog PAC and my much younger colleague, Matt Glazer.

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One more PPP poll

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

PPP does the Governor’s race, general election-style. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry would both best Democrat Tom Schieffer in a potential gubernatorial face off next year, although the race has some potential to be competitive if the current Governor … Continue reading →

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PPP on the Texas Senate race

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Public Policy Polling follows up its snapshot of the Republican GOP matchup for Governor with a poll of Senate possibilities. We tested Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and state Senator Florence Shapiro on the Republican side against … Continue reading →

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