Tag Archives: Election 2024

Final May 2024 special election early voting: The usual pattern holds

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of the early voting period for this weird and not really wanted May special election – okay, not wanted for HCAD, the SD15 special was fine and normal. All along we’ve tried to guess at … Continue reading →

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May 2024 special election early voting, Day Eight: A little bit of an uptick

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll cut right to the chase: Here’s your Day Eight early voting report for the May 4 HCAD and SD15 special elections. As the penultimate day of early voting, as well as the first day of a truncated Week Two, … Continue reading →

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May 2024 special election early voting, Day Seven: Two more days to go

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Sunday of early voting is always the slowest day, as it has the shortest hours and no mail delivery. This Sunday was no exception, as a total of 780 ballots were cast, all in person. That brings the in … Continue reading →

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May 2024 special election early voting, Day Five: More than halfway there

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We have completed five days of early voting for the May special HCAD and SD15 elections, with four more days to go. The Day Five daily EV report is here. There have been 7,980 in person votes and 12,901 mail … Continue reading →

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Texas Medical Board’s abortion guidance is a mess

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Doctors who perform life-saving abortions may soon be required to document whether they first tried to transfer the patient to another facility to avoid terminating the pregnancy, a move some say goes … Continue reading →

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Ted Cruz may owe taxes on his podcast payments

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a gift that keeps on giving. The peculiar payment scheme behind U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s popular podcast has raised ethical questions and drawn complaints about election law violations. Now tax experts say the deal involving a massive radio … Continue reading →

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Ogg brings in Paxton on Hidalgo aides case

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Really? I mean, really? Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday she is handing the pending criminal cases against three of County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former staffers to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office. Ogg stopped short of calling … Continue reading →

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May 2024 special election early voting, Day Three: Still slow going

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your Day Three early voting report from the May 2024 special election. As of the third day, a total of 16,078 ballots have been cast, with 4,399 in person votes and 11,679 by mail. 3,111 in person votes have … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: One out of three ain’t good

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron notices there are HCAD elections and makes endorsements in them. Position 1: Kathy Blueford-Daniels While on the Houston Independent School District board from 2020 until the state takeover, Kathy Blueford-Daniels, 66, served as the appointed member on the … Continue reading →

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May 2024 special election early voting, Day One: Why are we doing this again?

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Landing has another look at the HCAD elections and just how weird this all is. The county Democratic and Republican parties have endorsed and are campaigning for candidates in each of the three races. Accusations of nefarious intentions … Continue reading →

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Re-endorsement watch: Again for Jarvis

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron re-endorses Rep. Jarvis Johnson for the special election in SD15. The crowded Democratic race to replace current Mayor John Whitmire in the Texas Senate has narrowed to two candidates with starkly different backgrounds and philosophies of governance and … Continue reading →

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A brief history of May elections in Harris County

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As previously noted, early voting begins today for the special HCAD and SD15 elections. I have said before that we are not used to voting in May in Harris County and that because of that and because of the annoyingly … Continue reading →

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Second complaint filed over Ted Cruz’s podcast payments

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Bring ’em all on. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a money-in-politics watchdog group, has filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee alleging that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz violated the upper chamber’s ban on members taking honoraria for speeches or … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas: Special school edition for April 21

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a special edition of the weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger, focused on school districts and the May election. Let us know what you think. Welcome to a special schools edition of Dispatches from Dallas. A number … Continue reading →

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Early voting for the May 4 election begins Monday

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth announced that early voting for the May 4 Uniform and Special Elections for Texas Senate District 15 and the Harris County Appraisal District begins on Monday, April 22, and runs through Tuesday, … Continue reading →

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Is Ted Cruz ever going to feel some pressure about abortion?

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

News item #1: Whatever happens in Arizona in November, we got a preview of the difficulty Republican candidates will have in states where high-stakes ballot initiatives literally put abortion on the ballot. Shortly after Arizona’s high court ruled that the … Continue reading →

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SD15 rounds two and three

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

If it weren’t for the HCAD elections on May 4, the SD15 special election would be the headliner. Molly Cook and state Rep. Jarvis Johnson both say they take every election seriously, and that includes their head-to-head matchup on May … Continue reading →

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Good luck finding any info about those county appraisal board elections

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I’ve written a bunch about the HCAD Board elections, including doing interviews with four of the candidates, so that you my readers and anyone else who stumbles across this page can hopefully know a little something about … Continue reading →

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The Chron covers the HCAD elections

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

At long, long last. Most Houston-area property owners likely are unaware that the amount of taxes they owe is decided, in part, by a group of local appraisers overseen by a little-known board of directors. But for the first time … Continue reading →

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Book ban law stays blocked

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Key portions of a law signed last year by Gov. Greg Abbott requiring booksellers to rate books for sexual content when selling to schools will not go into effect after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined … Continue reading →

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Interview with Kathy Blueford-Daniels

Posted on April 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of my interviews with candidates for the HCAD positions. I might have tried to broaden the field under some other circumstances, but in this case I felt it best to concentrate on the candidates who … Continue reading →

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Allred maintains his fundraising pace

Posted on April 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna need to keep that going. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised over $9.5 million for his U.S. Senate campaign in this year’s first quarter, surpassing the campaign of his rival Sen. Ted Cruz. Notably, Allred has also raised more money … Continue reading →

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Some Tarrant Appraisal District drama

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A candidate for the Tarrant Appraisal District board alleges County Judge Tim O’Hare tried to pressure him into dropping out of the race. Colleyville City Council member Chuck Kelley, who is running for Place 3, said O’Hare first … Continue reading →

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Interview with Melissa Noriega

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have two more interviews for you for the now-elected HCAD Board positions, for which I remind you that election day is May 4 and early voting begins a week from today on April 22 and runs through April 30. … Continue reading →

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Trying again on judge shopping

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

If at first you don’t succeed… U.S. Senate leaders introduced legislation to end “judge shopping” — a practice that’s made a federal courthouse in Amarillo with a Trump-appointed judge a destination for conservative litigants challenging Biden administration policies. Senate Majority … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the HD139 runoff

Posted on April 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

While I hope that the Chron runs overviews of all of the primary runoffs, I really hope they run at least one freaking story about the HCAD special election. Angie Thibodeaux is an affordable housing consultant who wants to make … Continue reading →

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Ted Cruz is still trying to make people believe he has “bipartisan accomplishments”

Posted on April 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We return to the Department of Obvious Reactions to Dumb Things. Heading into the heat of his reelection race against Dallas Congressman Colin Allred, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is testing the waters with a rebrand. Cruz, who has made a … Continue reading →

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So what is HISD going to do with this bond proposal?

Posted on April 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea. I’m not sure they have any idea, either. Houston ISD officials are considering asking taxpayers to approve a multibillion-dollar bond in November, but Superintendent Mike Miles’ administration has yet to go through a widely used process … Continue reading →

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RNC scales down Hispanic outreach efforts

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. A Hispanic outreach center that the National Republican Committee opened on San Antonio’s Southeast Side in 2021 is among numerous minority outreach offices across the country that have been shuttered for the 2024 election cycle. Democrats say … Continue reading →

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FEC complaint filed over Cruz’s podcasting gig

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Go for it. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is facing a formal campaign finance complaint over money sent from the company that syndicates his podcast to a political action committee supporting his reelection bid. The complaint, filed Tuesday with the Federal … Continue reading →

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Interview with Austin Pooley

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with our interviews for the three now-elected At Large positions on the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) Board. The first person I heard from after I had posted about the HCAD announcement of the race and how to … Continue reading →

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The Find Out PAC

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I thought I had written about this before but I hadn’t, so here it is. Texas’ Supreme Court has taken center stage in interpreting the state’s abortion laws in cases that have garnered national attention. And a new Democratic political … Continue reading →

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Interview with Pelumi Adeleke

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I hope by now you are aware of the May 4 election for three At Large positions on the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) Board. These positions have existed before as appointments but thanks to the constitutional amendment about property … Continue reading →

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Hey look, it’s a story about the HCAD elections

Posted on April 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

About damn time. A question you are unlikely to hear at any bar, diner or dinner table over the next month: Who are you voting for the county appraisal district board? Few area residents are aware of the election, even … Continue reading →

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