Tag Archives: Ag Commissioner

Time for another warfarin update

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not much effect on the feral hog population yet, but it’s still early days. Nine months after the Texas Department of Agriculture approved a new toxicant to curb crop-destroying feral hogs, many farmers and ranchers are still leery or unaware … Continue reading →

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RIP, Kinky Friedman

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I usually put obituaries in the Sunday linkdump, but I thought this one merited its own post. Richard “Kinky” Friedman — the provocative and flamboyant Texas satirist who mounted a spirited campaign for governor in 2006 — has died. He … Continue reading →

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Warfarin update

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Warfarin is a toxicant that has shown promise in reducing the feral hog population. A few years ago the Lege asked for a study on its effects before it could be approved for more general use. We now have the … Continue reading →

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You can always count on Sid Miller to be a bigot

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There are other words I could have used as well. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is ordering his employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender,” the latest move by the state’s Republican leaders against transgender people. … Continue reading →

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Texas Department of Agriculture sort of recognizes climate change

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start, I guess. On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The better statewide races

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread Hidalgo versus Mealer As noted before, Greg Abbott got 490K votes in Harris County, far less than the 559K he received in 2018 running against Lupe Valdez. Of the other six races … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Starting out with Susan

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron kicks off endorsement season with a fulsome recommendation of Susan Hays for Ag Commissioner. Hays, 53, lives in Alpine, where she and her husband purchased land several years ago to grow hemp and hops. Her background is as … Continue reading →

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Interview with Susan Hays

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time for some interviews with statewide candidates. It’s hard to say which of the Republican statewide incumbents is the worst and most in need of being unelected – they all have strong cases, and there’s always something worse to … Continue reading →

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Hispanic Policy Foundation: Abbott 51, Beto 44

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

One more poll to look at. There’s an old adage that says the more things change, the more they stay the same. And according to our new poll, that applies to politics in Texas as well, as support for Republicans … Continue reading →

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Marijuana and the Ag Commissioner race

Posted on September 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a clear choice, though to be fair on this one issue it’s not as clear as with some other offices. But really, anytime the choice includes “not Sid Miller”, it’s pretty damn clear. The first time Susan Hays tried … Continue reading →

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The easy and obvious case against Sid Miller

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Chron business columnist Chris Tomlinson writes a 95% good column about ol’ Sid. Sid Miller appeared genuinely surprised when during floor debate over his 2011 bill requiring a sonogram before an abortion, Rep. Carol Alvarado brandished the foot-long probe a doctor would … Continue reading →

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July 2022 campaign finance reports: State races

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t often follow the campaign finance reports in state races, mostly because they’re usually not that interesting and there’s too many races to look at if I was interested. I didn’t review these in January for the contested primaries, … Continue reading →

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2022 primary results: Statewide

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That didn’t take long: . JUST IN: Beto O’Rourke wins Texas Democratic primary for governor, @NBCNews projects. http://nbcnews.to/36VOfa3 — NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) 8:01 PM – 1 March 2022 Literally one minute after polls would have closed in El Paso. You … Continue reading →

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A handful of stories about statewide primaries

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s talk about Sarah. One November evening in far West Texas, Sarah Stogner decided to strip down to pasties and her underwear, plus boots and a cowboy hat, and climb onto an oil pumpjack while a small film crew watched. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: So many endorsements, so little time

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron began doing a stripped-down set of primary endorsements a few days ago. They will not be endorsing in county court or Justice of the Peace races, which I for one would argue is of greater value than some … Continue reading →

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Sid Miller’s political consultant indicted

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. Todd Smith, a top political consultant to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, was indicted Tuesday on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for state hemp licenses that are doled out … Continue reading →

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Filing update: Not that Rick Perry

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to let this speak for itself. Rick Perry is running for governor — but not that Rick Perry. The Republican Party of Texas updated its list of candidate filings Monday — hours before the deadline for the March … Continue reading →

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Filing update: We have an Ag Commissioner candidate

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

But before I can get to that and other news, I have to bring you this: A Fort Worth man is running for the State Board of Education as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Green Party member. Filing for a … Continue reading →

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A brief filing update

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few observations as we head out of the holiday season and into what I expect will be the busier part of the filing period. I’m using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, the SOS candidate filing resource, and the candidate … Continue reading →

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Joy Diaz

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of “potential candidate” news is tucked into this story about the current state of the Democratic statewide slate. If Democrats had a mantra, it would probably be something like “diversity and inclusion.” So it’s kind of strange that … Continue reading →

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James White to challenge Sid Miller

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Should be interesting. State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, announced Wednesday that he is running for agriculture commissioner, marking the first major primary opponent for incumbent Sid Miller. “The combination of my proven conservative record, experience on agriculture issues, and commitment … Continue reading →

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Sid Miller running for re-election

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Governor’s race will have one fewer malicious jokers in it. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced Monday he would seek reelection, putting to rest speculation that he could challenge Gov. Greg Abbott for the top elected position in the state. … Continue reading →

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State Rep. James White not running for re-election

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, has decided not to seek reelection, he told East Texas TV station KLTV in a roundtable with lawmakers. And he hinted to another news station that he’s … Continue reading →

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We need to talk about Sid

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I don’t want to and you don’t want to talk about it, but Sid Miller might run for Governor, so we’re gonna have to talk about it. Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller doesn’t believe Texas Governor Greg Abbott … Continue reading →

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HempLicenseGate

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The headline on this Trib story is “Top political aide to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller arrested in alleged scheme to take money in exchange for hemp licenses”, and I have no idea how to make it any pithier than … Continue reading →

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Is there really a primary threat to Abbott?

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe, but it’s not a serious one. As Gov. Greg Abbott races to reopen all businesses and end mask mandates this week, it hasn’t been fast enough to defuse escalating political pressure from fellow Republicans who see Texas lagging behind … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The two types of statewide candidates

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

When we look at the precinct data in Harris County, we can separate the statewide candidates into two groups. Here’s the first group: Dist Abbott Valdez Tipp Abbott% Valdez% Trump% Clinton% =============================================================== CD02 146,399 112,272 4,345 55.66% 43.40% 52.38% 43.05% … Continue reading →

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Initial reactions: Statewide

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to do a few of these “Initial reaction” posts about Tuesday’s elections as I try to make sense of all that happened. Here we go. Let me start with a number. Two numbers, actually: 4,017,851 and 48.26%. The … Continue reading →

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“The least-discussed vulnerable Republican on the ballot”

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Grits: Grits does not expect Beto O’Rourke to win. But if he were to pull off the upset, many other dominos could fall in succession as a result, with at least three Republican senators, Texas’ Attorney General, and potentially … Continue reading →

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Interview with Kim Olson

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I think we can all agree that the competition for worst elected official in Texas is fierce, but any list of contenders would include Ag Commissioner Sid Miller. Miller’s list of idiocy, incompetence, and intolerance is too much to even … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Olson, Kulkarni, Schexnayder

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This has got to be the easiest call the Chron will make. The race for commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture seems straightforward enough. The incumbent, Sid Miller, is a career politician who used his first term as commissioner … Continue reading →

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Rural counties and AirBnB

Posted on October 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s working well for them. Texans running Airbnb rentals in rural counties earned $20.6 million in supplemental income in the last 12 months with 169,000 guests, according to a new report from the hospitality company. These results represent a growth … Continue reading →

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The meta-campaign for Senate

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s talk about what we talk about when we talk about the Senate campaign. It’s the most backhanded of compliments. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for U.S. Senate has caught so much fire throughout the state that the new favorite … Continue reading →

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Trib profiles Kim Olson

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this: Wherever she goes, Kim Olson carries with her packets of wildflower seeds advertising her campaign to unseat Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Olson calls the seed packets her “calling card.” She distributes … Continue reading →

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