Tag Archives: Harris County

Final 2020 primary early voting report: “Healthy but not historic”

Sounds about right. Democratic primary voters surged to the polls in Harris County on Friday, surpassing turnout from 2016 but falling well short of their record-setting performance in 2008. Republican primary voters, meanwhile, turned out in larger-than-expected numbers thanks to … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Ten: Come hell or high water

Yesterday was quite the day, wasn’t it? People did still vote, which is nice. Here’s the Day Ten report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Ten: Year Mail Early Total … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Nine

Getting close to the finish line here. Two more days of early voting to go. Here’s the Day Nine report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Four: Year Mail Early … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Eight: It starts to turn upward

Here’s the Day Eight report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Four: Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 5,695 16,671 22,366 2016 10,970 34,419 45,389 2018 12,914 36,185 49,099 2020 … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Six: On to Week Two

We’re back from the weekend, where the only votes tallied are in-person. We have five more days of early voting to go. Here’s the Day Six report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The … Continue reading

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Trib overview of the CD10 primary

I have three things to say about this. When Mike Siegel made a long-shot bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, two years ago, few were watching — until he surprised political observers and came within 5 points of … Continue reading

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Please don’t freak out about coronavirus

If you are freaking out or think you may be on the verge of freaking out, or you know someone who is, Harris County is here to help. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday announced the creation of a … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Senate and Tax Assessor

I’ve been very interested to see what the Chron would make of the Senate primary. Now we know: Royce West is their choice. We believe that candidate is state Sen. Royce West of Dallas, an African-American trailblazer whose record over … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Four: First Friday

We are at the end of the first business week, shortened by the holiday on Monday. It’s been a brisk week, especially compared to other years, but there should be a lot more to come. Here’s the Day Four report … Continue reading

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Chron overview of Tax Assessor race

I wasn’t expecting an interesting race here, at least not going into the filing season, but we have one. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett is familiar with elections, appearing on the ballot five times in the last six … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Four more

The Chron endorses Rodney Ellis for County Commissioner, Precinct 1, and then proceeds to spend the endorsement mostly talking about his opponent. Count us among those who were a little surprised when felony court Judge Maria T. Jackson resigned her … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Three: Midweek meandering

I don’t have any clever openings today, so once again let’s just jump right in. Here’s the Day Three report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. The totals after Day Three: Year Mail Early … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day Two: In for the long haul

Let’s jump right in. Here’s the Day Two report for 2020, and here are the totals from 2012, 2016, and 2018. As of Day One from those years : Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 5,100 3,035 8,135 2016 7,191 … Continue reading

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The interviews I didn’t do

As was the case with the 2019 Houston elections, there were too many candidates and too many races (and in this case, too little time as well) to do a full slate of interviews. I did what I could, and … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting, Day One: Off to a quick start

And we’re off. On an overcast and drizzly day in much of Texas, early voting for the 2020 primary elections in some of the state’s most populous counties was up over turnout four years ago, despite warnings by political watchers … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: The story so far

The Chron lists all their endorsements so far as early voting begins. It’s here. Early voting in the March 3 Texas primaries begins today and ends Feb. 28. Over the past few weeks, the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board has interviewed … Continue reading

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Five questions for the primary

Five questions I thought of, anyway. With my own answers, some of which are admittedly on the weaselish side. Feel free to discuss/disagree/ask your own questions/etc. 1. What kind of turnout are we going to have? The short answer is … Continue reading

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Judicial Q&A: Colleen Gaido

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading

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2020 Primary Early Voting begins today

We don’t have a long primary season in Texas – the filing deadline was barely two months ago, though to be sure some candidates have been running for much longer than that – and the first part of it is … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Ogg and Moore

Two (*) big endorsements on Sunday, in the races for District Attorney and Commissioners Court, Precinct 3. Let’s do the thing. Kim Ogg for District Attorney: “We are in the midst of righting a lot of wrongs,” Ogg told the … Continue reading

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How should we police the police?

This article raises a number of interesting questions. A quarter of the 60-plus law enforcement agencies operating in Harris County have refused to sign agreements to help local prosecutors track problem cops. Under those agreements, all signed since District Attorney … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: For Menefee

We have our first major endorsement against an incumbent as the Chron recommends Christian Menefee for County Attorney over Vince Ryan. Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan’s decision to spend millions of dollars and waste precious legal resources to prolong the … Continue reading

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The Observer overviews the DA primary

You’ve had a chance to listen to my interviews with DA candidates, now read this story for more on this important primary. When Kim Ogg first ran for Harris County district attorney, she had a simple pitch for criminal justice … Continue reading

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Judicial Q&A: Natalia Cornelio

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: The judges

After a couple of Republican endorsements, the Chron gives us a slate of judicial candidates for the Democratic primary in the district courts. A brief summary: Singhal in Democratic primary for 1st Court of Appeals, Place 3 We recommend Dinesh … Continue reading

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Interview with Audia Jones

We come to the end of the DA interviews, and also interview season for the primaries. It’s possible I’ll revisit some other races in the runoffs, but there’s not that many to pick from at this point. You never know, … Continue reading

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Julia Maldonado

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading

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Interview with Carvana Cloud

Incumbent District Attorney Kim Ogg has three opponents in the Democratic primary this year. Two of the three are running serious campaigns, and I have interviews to present to you with each of them. Today’s candidate is Carvana Cloud. Cloud … Continue reading

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Randy Roll

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading

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Interview with District Attorney Kim Ogg

Hard to believe, but we are one week out from early voting for the 2020 primaries in Texas. It’s been a busy interview season for me, as I’m sure you can imagine. This week we will wrap things up with … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Ed again

This is an easy call. [Sheriff Ed] Gonzalez, 50, a soft-spoken Houston native, former councilman and 18-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, ran as a reformer and he hasn’t disappointed in his first term. From taking a bold stance … Continue reading

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Cite and release

This has been a long time coming. Harris County law enforcement officials on Tuesday will begin a “cite and release” program that treats some misdemeanor charges like court citations for speeding tickets, just days after the district attorney’s office said … Continue reading

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Chron overview of Commissioners Court Precinct 1

As with endorsement editorials, they’re going to need to write a lot of these in the next couple of weeks. Few Harris County politicians — of any party — are eager to challenge Rodney Ellis, the widely known, well-funded, well-connected … Continue reading

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The jury duty problem

Some good ideas here, they just need to be implemented. One morning in January, about 270 people crammed into the basement of the Harris County administration building for jury duty. Another 1,130 people who were summoned didn’t show. That day’s … Continue reading

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