Tag Archives: David Dewhurst

Chron story on the anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. A bill that would reshape future legal battles over Texas’ public beach boundaries is stirring backlash from advocates and former state leaders, who claim the proposal would give beachfront property owners the green light to vacuum up … Continue reading →

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Former Land Commissioners oppose anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Among coastal states Texas is unique. The 1959 Texas Open Beaches Act (TOBA), as well as time-honored common law and tradition in existence since long before 1959, provides that Texas beaches are open to the public. In … Continue reading →

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Republican former Senators defend anti-majoritarian practices

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the spirit in which this was offered, but it’s completely out of touch with reality. The purpose of the 31-member Texas Senate is similar to that of the U.S. Senate: to cool down some of the fevered legislation … Continue reading →

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Five questions for the primary

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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How good a stepping stone is Mayor of Dallas?

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Stephen Young notes that being Mayor of Dallas has not been particularly helpful to others’ ambitions. If he’s anything, Dallas mayor-elect Eric Johnson is an ambitious guy. He’s got degrees from Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, and took … Continue reading →

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The Beto-Abbott voters

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Barring divine intervention, Greg Abbott will handily beat Lupe Valdez — the only real question is by how much. The floor, if there is one, is Wendy Davis’ crushing loss to Greg … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

UT/Trib: Cruz 41, O’Rourke 36, part 2

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We pick up where we left off. Republican Ted Cruz leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke 41 percent to 36 percent in the general election race for a Texas seat in the U.S. Senate, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune … Continue reading →

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What next for voter ID?

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Hasen, writing in Slate: The trial court was ready to throw out the entire law, but the 5th Circuit said such a remedy went too far. The court held that when a trial court finds a law has a … Continue reading →

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Oral arguments before SCOTUS on HB2

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Monthly: It’s been a circuitous journey for HB2, the omnibus abortion bill the Texas Legislature passed 2013. Suits have been filed, the law has been overturned, appeals have been made. A collection of Texas abortion clinics, led by … Continue reading →

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Eltife not running for re-election

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

He will be missed. After 23 years in elected office, state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, said he will not run for re-election in 2016 to devote more time to family, friends, his work and his community. Eltife said he’s loved … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Abbott versus Perry in Latino districts

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

District level election data for 2014 has been available for a few weeks now. Seems like as good a time as any to return to a favorite topic, namely how Greg Abbott did in heavily Latino areas. An exit poll … Continue reading →

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Three thoughts on the state of the Mayor’s race

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Inspired by this story, which doesn’t name any potential additions to the ever-large field of Mayoral wannabes for 2015 but which does put some things in context. Most observers consider Rep. Sylvester Turner, with his support base from the African-American … Continue reading →

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Abbott and the Latino vote

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib drops a number on us. Along with his 20-point margin of victory, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott accomplished something on Election Day that many naysayers doubted the Republican could: He took 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. For Texas conservatives, … Continue reading →

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What will The Dew do now?

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

“Go away” would be my first choice. David Dewhurst is not ready to leave Texas politics. The outgoing lieutenant governor said Monday he is planning to start a “large public policy venture” and may consider a run for political office … 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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Special session for border security?

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong? State Sen. Dan Patrick, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, joined some of his conservative colleagues on Tuesday in calling for “immediate action” to address the surge of undocumented immigrants crossing into Texas. “The Texas … 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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Some postmortem thoughts

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib leads with the obvious. As the results of Republican primary runoffs began to roll in Tuesday evening, Texas Democrats realized they were getting exactly what they wanted — and exactly what they feared. The victories of Dan Patrick … Continue reading →

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Primary runoff results

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So long, Dave. Riding a wave of conservative sentiment that Texas Republicans were not being led with a hard enough edge, state Sen. Dan Patrick crushed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff election for lieutenant governor, ending … Continue reading →

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Dewhurst admits he has no control over his campaign

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t think of any other way to characterize this. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Monday he was “appalled” by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson’s decision to publicize court filings detailing Dan Patrick’s past mental health issues and that he tried … Continue reading →

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One thing I won’t criticize Dan Patrick for

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is just wrong. Sen. Dan Patrick issued a terse statement late Thursday about a period in his life 30 years ago during which he sought medical attention to cope with “mild depression and exhaustion.” Patrick, who is in a … Continue reading →

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No hiding behind privilege

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest voter ID litigation update, from the Brad Blog: Just over a week ago, it was North Carolina legislators ordered by the court to cough up documentation relating to passage of new, draconian restrictions on voting rights in their state. … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Republican primary election

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve done the Democrats, so now let’s take a look at the Republicans. In this case, I did have a few specific questions in mind, so my approach here will be a little different. First, we all know that Steve … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder, the Ledbetter bill was bipartisan

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, it had to be bipartisan to pass in the Lege, but let’s keep that in mind as the debate continues. After 42 years in the Texas House, Rep. Senfronia Thompson has earned a nickname – “Miz T” – … Continue reading →

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No pay equity problems here

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

No sauce for the gander, either. Women in Democrat gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis’ Senate office last year averaged about $3,000 more in earnings than the male employees, according to data acquired by Austin bureau chief Peggy Fikac. Out of 12 … 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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The Dew is in it to win it

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Let the attack ads begin! Despite mounting pressure to throw in the towel, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst skipped a Wednesday deadline to take his name off the May 27 primary runoff ballot, instead committing himself to an expensive come-from-behind battle … Continue reading →

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What will The Dew do this time?

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Go negative or go home is the strategy the pundits have selected for him. Political experts have a bit of advice for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s re-election campaign: go negative or go home. The incumbent Senate president was crushed in … Continue reading →

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The UT/TT primary polls were completely useless

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I expressed my contempt with the UT/Texas Trib’s Democratic primary poll result for the US Senate race last night, which they richly deserved. Sure, pollster Jim Henson admitted that “the first person to raise some money and run some ads … Continue reading →

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Primary results: Statewide

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott won easily. They never had to sweat their primaries, so on Tuesday night Attorney General Greg Abbott and Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis turned their attention to a fall election that is shaping up … Continue reading →

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BGT fires back

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Allegations that Battleground Texas broke the law during its voter registration activities are “entirely without foundation,” the Democratic group wrote in a letter to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Tuesday. Dewhurst, citing a secretly recorded video of … Continue reading →

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The UT/TT poll’s track record in past Democratic primaries

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The one result in that UT/TT poll from Monday that has people freaking out is the one that shows nutball LaRouchie Kesha Rogers leading the Senate race with 35%, followed by David Alameel with 27%. I expressed my skepticism of … Continue reading →

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How extreme is too extreme?

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The GOP candidates for Lite Guv are doing their best to test the hypothesis that having an R next to your name is all you need to get elected statewide in Texas, regardless of your stated positions on issues. The … Continue reading →

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Where are the women’s health providers?

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Republican jihad against Planned Parenthood continues to have real consequences. In 2011, under pressure from Republican leaders, state health officials began enforcing a provision lawmakers wrote to exclude Planned Parenthood and any clinics with organizational ties to abortion providers … Continue reading →

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