Tag Archives: Election 2016

After-deadline filing review: The Lege

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we come to the State House, which is where most of the action will be in 2020. In 2018, much of the energy and focus was on Congressional races, to the point where some hand-wringing articles were written about … Continue reading →

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Flynn to “challenge” GOP decision to boot him from HD138 ballot

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Still more filing finagling. Texas House candidate Josh Flynn is challenging a decision by the Harris County Republican Party to rule him ineligible for the House District 138 primary because he did not “properly” submit his resignation from the county … Continue reading →

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Filing update: Focus on Harris County

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One more look at who has and hasn’t yet filed for stuff as we head into the final weekend for filing. But first, this message: Hi y’all, as we approach the filing deadline in Texas, this is a reminder that … Continue reading →

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Our first Congressional race ratings

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Politico, here’s the early view of the state of Texas’ Congressional races in 2020. Lean Dem CD23 (Open, R) CD32 (Allred, D) Tossup CD07 (Fletcher, D) CD22 (Open, R) CD24 (Open, R) Lean GOP CD02 (Crenshaw, R) CD10 (McCaul, … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the District J runoff

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This unfortunately misses a relevant piece of information. The candidates vying for the District J city council seat in December’s runoff election have different backgrounds and separate bases of political support but have arrived at similar conclusions about the way … Continue reading →

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Filing period preview: Harris County

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: Congress, Statewide, and SBOE/Senate/House. For County races, I cannot use the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, as it doesn’t include local races. I am instead using the Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Reports for Various County Offices link on the County Clerk … Continue reading →

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The evolving CD31 candidate landscape

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We have a lot of Democratic candidates raising 2018-type money in the big, targeted Republican-held Congressional districts. Some have clear frontrunners, at least based on money raised – Wendy Davis in CD21, Sri Kulkarni in CD22, Gina Ortiz Jones in … Continue reading →

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District Court Judge Smoots-Thomas accused of wire fraud

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Yikes. A Harris County judge is facing federal charges that accuse her of using campaign donations for personal expenses, including for mortgage payments, private school tuition and travel. Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, is charged with wire fraud charges, according to … Continue reading →

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Jackson to challenge Ellis in Precinct 1

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Former Harris County criminal court judge Maria T. Jackson will challenge incumbent Rodney Ellis for Harris County Precinct 1 commissioner, her campaign announced Monday. Jackson, the county’s longest serving felony judge until her resignation last month, plans … Continue reading →

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Chrysta Castañeda

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate race will be the top statewide contest in 2020, but beyond that it’s the judicials and the one Railroad Commissioner slot on the ballot. Candidate Chrysta Castañeda has thrown her hat into the ring for that job. The … Continue reading →

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Our increasingly diverse swing districts

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Current trends keep on trending. New 2018 census data shows that some of the most competitive congressional districts in Texas are continuing to become more diverse, as campaigns gear up for what’s expected to be the state’s most competitive election … Continue reading →

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Barohich not running again in SBOE6

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Another open seat. Texas State Board of Education chairwoman Donna Bahorich, who represents part of Harris County, announced Friday she will not seek reelection in 2020 as the District 6 representative. “I have 8 years of service on the board,” … Continue reading →

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Are we supposed to be scared by this?

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, I wouldn’t be. Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher will be one of the first targets of a new nationwide anti-impeachment effort rolled out by President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Trump Victory announced Wednesday it will hold a “Stop The … Continue reading →

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One thing our state loves spending money on

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Defending unconstitutional anti-abortion laws in the courts. As Texas defends abortion laws in federal court that mandate fetal burials and seek to outlaw certain medical procedures, the state has been ordered to pay pro-abortion attorneys $2.5 million — fortifying women’s … Continue reading →

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Appealing the Crystal Mason illegal voting conviction

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This continues to be an appalling travesty. When Crystal Mason got out of federal prison, she said, she “got out running.” By Nov. 8, 2016, when she’d been out for months but was still on supervised release, she was working … Continue reading →

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Univision News poll: Trump 42, Dem 47

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a fun poll. Days away from the third Democratic debate in Houston and over a year from the 2020 presidential election, an exclusive poll by Univision News found that 40% of registered voters in the state say they will … Continue reading →

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The Harris County GOP thinks it can come back in 2020

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re so adorable. Once a rock of Republican politics in Texas, Harris County has become nothing short of a nightmare for the GOP over the last four years as Hillary Clinton and Beto O’Rourke carried the county and Democrats dominated … Continue reading →

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A reminder about the local legislative races

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s review the facts together. State Rep. Jon Rosenthal wasn’t supposed to win his Texas House seat last year. He was too much of a Democrat for the swath of northwest Harris County that had long elected Republicans. But in … Continue reading →

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Yet another story about suburbs shifting away from Republicans

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Collect the whole set! Texas is currently experiencing two trends that are favorable to Democrats: increasing urbanization, and big demographic shifts. The Texas Tribune recently reported that Hispanics are expected to become the largest demographic group in the state by 2022, with … Continue reading →

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Our all-important metro areas

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Another look at the trouble Republicans face in Texas now. The key to Texas’ political future is whether it finally follows the geographic realignment that has transformed the politics of many other states over the past quarter century. Across the … Continue reading →

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The psychological shift

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. [Democratic operative Jason] Stanford has a theory about how [Texas Democratic] angst started. He says it began with the 1996 U.S. Senate race in Texas. Democrats were recovering from losing two years … Continue reading →

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Bonus commentary on 2019 lineup

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There was a lot of last minute activity at Monday’s filing deadline, as there usually is. Probably more so this year, as approximately ten percent of Houston adults are running for office this November. The point here is that the … Continue reading →

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Once again with GOP anxiety

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I recommend Xanax. Or, you know, marijuana. I’ve heard that’s good for anxiety. Republicans have long idealized Texas as a deep-red frontier state, home to rural conservatives who love President Donald Trump. But political turbulence in the sprawling suburbs and … Continue reading →

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There will be a special election in HD28

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this the other day. The chair of the powerful House budget-writing Appropriations Committee, state Rep. John Zerwas, will be the new executive vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of Texas System. Zerwas, a doctor by training, announced … Continue reading →

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Rep. Will Hurd to step down

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. I did not see this coming. The U.S. House’s last black Republican member, Rep. Will Hurd of Helotes, announced Thursday that he is retiring from Congress. President Donald Trump’s racist comments about elected officials weighed heavily on Hurd, who … Continue reading →

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That UT-Tyler poll

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose I have to talk about this. A poll conducted by the Center for Opinion Research at the University of Texas at Tyler showed [Beto O’Rourke] leading among Texas voters in the Democratic presidential primary. The survey showed O’Rourke … Continue reading →

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An update on election security

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing to see here. Russian hackers probed election systems in all 50 states, a new Senate report confirmed Thursday. The report comes one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller told Congress that the Russian government is working to meddle … Continue reading →

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We’ll have a much better idea of who the candidates are soon

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of people filing to run for Congress as Democrats. It remains to be seen how many of them are viable. Three times as many Democrats have already filed to run for Congress in Texas this year … Continue reading →

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There’s no reason to trust the Republican study to “reform” the judicial election process

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, hell no. After a punishing election for Republican judges, state leaders are set to take a long look at Texas’ often-criticized judicial selection system — a partisan election structure that Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht has described … Continue reading →

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Libertarians and Greens sue over the petition process for ballot access

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see about this. Ahead of the 2020 election cycle, a group of Texans, along with a number of nonmajor political parties, have sued the secretary of state’s office, alleging that Texas election law discriminates against third-party and independent candidates … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls will step down

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is a domino falling. Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls announced Wednesday that he would not seek a third term in 2020. “My work in law enforcement, it’s been an honor and a privilege,” said Nehls. … Continue reading →

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You want to be President, you’ve got to come to Houston

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And so they are. No Democratic candidate for president has won Texas in over 40 years, and yet the flow of Democratic contenders coming through the state, and Houston specifically, has been unusually strong in 2019. Just since March, 14 … Continue reading →

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Some county race updates

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

2020 is going to be a very different election year in Harris County, because for the first time in anyone’s memory all of the non-HCDE countywide offices are held by Democrats. If you’re a Democrat in Harris County and you … Continue reading →

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Scouting the opposition in CD07

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not impressed so far. Facing a roomful of conservative voters at a meet-and-greet earlier this month, Republican Wesley Hunt laid out the stakes for his party’s primary in Texas’ 7th Congressional District. “This is about putting the best candidate forward … Continue reading →

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