Tag Archives: Election 2010

A thought about the stealth campaign

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Forrest Wilder writes about the un-campaigns being run by most statewide Republicans. But now comes a new twist: the art of the non-campaign. The candidate who doesn’t even bother to put on a show, doesn’t even pretend to reach the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The clerks

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Two more endorsements from the Chron, one of which may be the least enthusiastic endorsement they’ve ever given. District Clerk: Chris Daniel The Harris County district clerk’s office runs behind the scenes in our judicial system. It maintains records for … Continue reading →

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On polls and turnout

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So as you know, the latest YouGov poll came out on Friday, and it was ugly for Wendy Davis, showing an 18-point lead for Greg Abbott. PDiddie was despondent, EoW was trying to keep the faith, and Texpatriate was somewhere … Continue reading →

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The run and hide strategy

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Where’s Danno? Texas voters [were] treated to a peculiar sight Friday evening: a one-candidate debate. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, [answered] questions in a Spanish-language television event without Republican rival Dan Patrick. He’ll be meeting … Continue reading →

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Congressional Dems request federal investigation of Abbott’s persecution of Houston Votes

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Democratic congressmen from Texas have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a raid by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office that targeted a nonprofit voter registration group. The Dallas Morning News reported Aug. 31 on the attorney … Continue reading →

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Interview with Judith Snively

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As I said on Monday, once you get past the District Attorney race, there’s not a lot of high-profile electoral action in Harris County this year, but as we know not being high profile doesn’t make your race any less … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s voter registration persecution

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Now this is what a partisan witch hunt looks like. On an overcast Monday afternoon, officers in bulletproof vests swept into a house on Houston’s north side. The armed deputies and agents served a search warrant. They carted away computers, … Continue reading →

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On redistricting and race

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Phase Two of the redistricting trial is underway, and if it sounds an awful lot like Phase One to you, you would be right. Texas’ Republican-controlled Legislature didn’t discriminate against minorities by drawing election maps in 2011 that voting-rights activists … Continue reading →

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If you read just one more story about Wendy Davis’ campaign

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I would recommend you read this one, by Andrea Grimes. In four months, Texans are guaranteed to elect a new governor for the first time in 14 years, and Davis’ battle stance is appropo: She’s been under attack from naysayers, … Continue reading →

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Hassan drops out of County Judge race

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Democrat Ahmad Hassan has ended his campaign for Harris County judge, saying incumbent Republican Ed Emmett should be given another four-year term to finish projects vital to the community. Hassan, owner of the Katy-based Alexandria Realty … Continue reading →

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YouGov: Abbott 50, Davis 34

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. With just under 100 days to go until the gubernatorial election, an overwhelming majority of voters have made up their minds and favor Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott over Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis by double digits, according to … Continue reading →

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We will have exit polls this year

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Two years ago, a consortium of news outlets that conducts nationwide exit polls during every November election announced it was scaling back efforts in Texas and 18 other states. The move left political researchers with little data to study … Continue reading →

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HERO repeal petitions announcement today

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s the day we find out what happens. The city’s controversial HERO ordinance prohibits discrimination based on federally recognized groups such as race and age, but also extends those rights to sexual orientation and gender identity. Opponents of the ordinance … Continue reading →

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Is this really the end for Kinky Friedman?

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll believe it when I see it on my 2018 ballot. It’s been more than a month since he lost his bid to be the Democratic nominee for Texas agriculture commissioner, and the cigar-smoking author-musician can’t shake the loss — … Continue reading →

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One point of perspective on the repeal petitions

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the HERO-haters turning in their repeal petitions. Opponents of Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance Thursday turned in well more than the minimum number of signatures needed to trigger a November vote on whether to repeal the … Continue reading →

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What would you have done differently?

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg remembers the Wendy Davis filibuster and complains about what has and hasn’t happened between then and the one-year commemoration of it. You don’t just dust off a social movement because a year has passed and you need to … Continue reading →

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The filibuster one year later

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It still resonates. And I believe it will continue to resonate for a lot longer. The thousands of Texans whose screaming protest of anti-abortion legislation brought the Capitol to a standstill June 25 will mark the one-year anniversary much more … Continue reading →

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On defining success

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It depends on what your goals are. Suppose you were a Texas Democrat and a realist. You want your candidates to win in November and to break the spirit-killing string of losses that started after the statewide elections in 1994. … Continue reading →

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Of course some people will split their votes

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just a matter of how many of them do so, and if the races in question are close enough for it to matter. Democrats are hoping the Republicans will eventually make some of the mistakes Democrats themselves made back … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib poll: Abbott 44, Davis 32

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Republican Greg Abbott leads Democrat Wendy Davis by 12 percentage points in the race for governor, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. That result is close to the 11-point spread, also in Abbott’s favor, in the … Continue reading →

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The Latino Victory Project

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I like the sound of this. Building on record-breaking fundraising numbers, an expanded donor base and a historically high number of Latino voters in the 2012 presidential election, a progressive Latino group is set to officially begin efforts to expand … Continue reading →

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Probably the last thing I’ll write about Jim Hogan

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

At least, I hope it’s the last thing, because there ain’t much to say. Texas Democrats are not holding their breaths for a win for the office held by Republicans since Perry ousted Jim Hightower in 1992. Democratic consultant Jason … Continue reading →

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The small number of competitive legislative races in November

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib discusses the lack of legislative action in November. In the House, nine Republican and two Democratic races are still undecided. An early list of competitive November races — this is in a House with 150 seats — comes … Continue reading →

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Why isn’t Ken Paxton releasing his tax returns?

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This DMN story is actually about how Sen. Ken Paxton, currently in a runoff for the GOP nomination for Attorney General after leading the field in March, has done pretty well for himself as a lawyer since his initial election … Continue reading →

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PPP: Abbott 51, Davis 37

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another discouraging poll from PPP. In the Governor’s race Greg Abbott’s at 51% to 37% for Wendy Davis. Those numbers are largely unchanged from our last poll of the state in early November when Abbott had a 50/35 advantage. Davis … Continue reading →

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A grassroots fighting force of extraordinary magnitude

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

At least, I hope it is. Addressing hundreds of volunteers on Saturday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis highlighted her efforts to mobilize Texas voters and once again attacked her Republican opponent, Attorney General Greg Abbott, for being what she called … Continue reading →

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Collier’s sales tax criticism of Hegar makes the news

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s how you do it. Democrat Mike Collier, a certified public accountant from Houston, will start airing television ads criticizing opponent Glenn Hegar, a Republican state senator from Katy, for his support to phase out property taxes and increase state … Continue reading →

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GOP primary turnout comparison

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s been plenty of focus on Democratic turnout in this past primary, and while Republican turnout gets a nod in there, I haven’t seen it be the focus of any stories yet. In part, I suspect that’s because Wendy Davis … Continue reading →

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No love for Dan

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one vote he won’t get. Whether incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst can make up for a big primary night loss to challenger Dan Patrick in a May runoff may depend on if he can successfully court the supporters of … Continue reading →

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Comparing Davis and White

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In 2010, Bill White received 517,487 votes in the Democratic primary, for 76.0% of the vote. Wendy Davis just received 432,065 votes, for 79.1% of the total but 85,422 fewer votes than White. As is always the case, the change … Continue reading →

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Rasmussen: Abbott 53, Davis 41

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We have our first non-UT/Trib poll result for this cycle. The latest statewide survey of Likely Texas Voters shows Abbott with 53% support to 41% for Davis. At this early point in the campaign, there are surprisingly few voters who … Continue reading →

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Davis and South Texas

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Democrats are banking on the Hispanic vote as a key part of their strategy for finding a way back into state office, but Sen. Wendy Davis lost several heavily Latino South Texas … Continue reading →

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Primary Day is today

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the day when we begin to get a temporary respite from the mailers, robocalls, and TV/radio ads, as the people who didn’t vote early make their way to the ballot box for the primaries. In Harris County, a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The Chron still loves Orlando

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t love him enough to endorse him during or before early voting, but they do still love him. [Republican] primary voters should give [County Treasurer Orlando] Sanchez a place on the November ballot. Sanchez, 62, is a former three-term … Continue reading →

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