Tag Archives: Joe Biden

Republicans performed more or less at 2020 levels in Harris County

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Obviously, the Republicans did well in Harris County this year, better than I expected for sure. They won some judicial races – they’re probably kicking themselves for not contesting more of them – and in general came a lot closer … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: In my neighborhood

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I won’t have access to a Harris County canvass for a couple of weeks, and I may or may not do some countywide comparisons, but I did wonder about how the vote went in my neighborhood. I do a lot … Continue reading →

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The billboards of Fayette County

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Members of the local Democratic party in rural, bright red Fayette County were thrilled this month when they learned their hours of phone banking and fundraising would finally pay off. The party’s … Continue reading →

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Is this the year Tarrant County finally goes blue?

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. “Tarrant County is the 15th-largest county in the country, so it should get a lot of attention. And it’s the third-largest county in Texas, so it makes sense that there would be a lot of focus there,” said Mark … Continue reading →

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UTSA poll for October: A little weird

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not really sure how to explain this other than to say polls be weird sometimes. A new survey from UTSA’s Center for Public Opinion Research indicated that in bright blue San Antonio, support has been growing for Democrat Colin Allred in his uphill … Continue reading →

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November 2024 early voting Day Three: Let’s not overanalyze this

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Lone Star Left caught my eye on Wednesday as they looked at the statewide early voting data so far. All day, I waited for a full update from the Secretary of State (SoS) regarding the Day 1 early voter turnout. … Continue reading →

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UH-Hobby Center polls Harris County

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty good. Could be better, but more or less in line with 2020 and current expectations. With the start of early voting just days away, a new poll shows Harris County Democrats leading their Republican opponents in countywide races. In … Continue reading →

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The South Texas Congressional races

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Feels like I’ve heard less about them this year than in 2022, but as the story notes, the Dems are on offense this time. It’s déjà vu in South Texas. Texas’ two most competitive congressional races will feature rematches from … Continue reading →

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UH-Hobby Center: Cruz 50, Allred 46

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just checking in. The Texas Senate race remains close just a week out from early voting, with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz up 4 percentage points over U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, according to a new statewide poll. The Hobby School of … Continue reading →

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DACA at the Fifth Circuit

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A big week for that terrible court. On Thursday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case to determine the future of “Dreamers” who came to the country as children, including an estimated 27,000 Houstonians. The hearing is the latest … Continue reading →

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Some finance and fundraising bits

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Colin Allred keeps raking it in. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised $30.3 million for his Senate campaign in the third quarter of the year, outpacing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s haul over the same three-month period, according to figures announced by … Continue reading →

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The “Can Allred win?” question

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

At least we’re asking the question. Usually, we don’t even get that. Democrats are closing the gap in their uphill campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, with polls showing improvement for Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and national Democrats’ … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS leaves Texas anti-EMTALA ruling in place

Posted on October 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Another reminder of what the stakes are this election, in case you needed it. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions when the procedure would conflict with the state’s strict abortion … Continue reading →

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Eighteen million registered voters

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Number go up. Texas has been one of the nation’s fastest-growing states since the 1970s, but its voter rolls have at times been stagnant. From 2000 to 2012, the number of registered voters grew by 1.2 million. In only the … Continue reading →

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ERCOT will connect to the US grid

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? The power grid better known as the Texas Interconnection, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), is famous for being isolated from the other major U.S. grids. But that may soon finally change. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced … Continue reading →

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Another immigration nonprofit sues Paxton

Posted on September 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

He just can’t quit harassing them. An El Paso nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants and migrants has filed a lawsuit that attempts to block an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has increasingly targeted groups on … Continue reading →

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Some Bexar County polling

Posted on September 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

New pollster alert, checking in on Bexar County. A survey conducted by the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research suggests San Antonio residents are tepid about plans for a new sports complex for the San Antonio Spurs — a project … Continue reading →

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One “Trump Train” defendant found liable

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The rest were cleared. An Austin jury cleared all but one of six Donald Trump supporters who were accused of breaking federal law when they surrounded a Joe Biden campaign bus driving down a Texas highway days before the 2020 … Continue reading →

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A curious thing about the polls of Texas

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve probably seen this headline by now. For the first time in their hotly contested campaign, a poll shows U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, trailing challenger U.S. Rep. Colin Allred. The Morning Consult poll, conducted between Sept. 9 and 18, places … Continue reading →

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Jury deliberations begin in “Trump Train” lawsuit

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Axiously awaiting a verdict. A jury in Texas began to deliberate Friday whether the so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 election in a heated highway encounter amounted to political intimidation. “This case is … Continue reading →

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UnidosUS 2024 Pre-Election Poll of Hispanic Electorate

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, today released findings from its 2024 Pre-Election Poll of Texas’s Hispanic Electorate. The data shows that the top five priorities for Texas Latino voters, two months out … Continue reading →

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Trump Train trial gets underway

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s have a Day One check in. A federal trial began Monday over claims that supporters of former President Donald Trump threatened and harassed a Biden-Harris bus in Texas four years ago, disrupting the campaign on the last day of … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues to block rule protecting abortion information

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like this should be bigger news. Texas sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a new rule that seeks to protect the privacy of women living in states that ban abortion who travel out of state … Continue reading →

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UT/Texas Policy Project: Trump 49, Harris 44

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A new, statewide poll of registered voters in Texas shows a slight uptick in support for Democrats following last month’s Democratic National Convention. The poll by the Texas Politics Project at the … Continue reading →

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“Trump Train” lawsuit goes to trial

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very big deal. It’s been four years since a campaign bus carrying Wendy Davis and others was nearly run off the road by a so-called “Trump Train” — a caravan of Republican activists waving giant flags showing support for Donald … Continue reading →

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Amtrak gets federal grant for more high speed rail planning

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Amtrak has received a nearly $64 million grant to continue planning the Texas High-Speed Rail project after several years of stagnation due to the COVID pandemic. The project — which proposes a less than 90-minute high-speed rail route between … Continue reading →

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Water, water, everywhere

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

All due to leaks. Texas’ most populous cities lost roughly 88 billion gallons of water last year because of aging water infrastructure and extreme heat, costing them millions of dollars and straining the state’s water supply, according to self-reported water … Continue reading →

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The first Harris/Trump poll of Texas

Posted on August 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s talk about this for a minute. Vice President Kamala Harris trails former President Donald Trump by 5 percentage points in Texas, shaving off nearly half the Republican nominee’s one-time advantage over President Joe Biden from earlier this year, according … Continue reading →

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RFK Jr qualifies for the ballot

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Whoopie. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, will be on the Texas general election ballot this November. The Texas Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday afternoon that it had accepted Kennedy’s petition to appear on the state ballot … Continue reading →

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A high level overview of passenger rail in Texas

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There’s stuff happening, mostly talk for now but maybe there will be more. A robust passenger rail system has long been seen as a pipe dream in car-dependent Texas. But a glut of federal dollars for rail projects and a … Continue reading →

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President Biden drops out of 2024 race

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I think we all were expecting this to happen at some point. It was still quite the jolt to see the first breaking news alert on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of people had their weekends cut short. One of my … Continue reading →

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Behold the US High Speed Rail map

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

May I live long enough to see this happen. The U.S. High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) published a map outlining its proposal for a new 17,000-mile national high-speed rail network across the United States, which it claims will “cut our … Continue reading →

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Other Beryl stuff

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A mini-roundup, with mostly non-CenterPoint things. How’s your Internet service? An Xfinity spokesperson said Wednesday that service was restored to approximately 355,000 customers — or about 36% of those experiencing service outages — in the 36 hours after Hurricane Beryl … Continue reading →

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The leaked EMTALA draft is not a victory

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This hit the internet like a thunderstorm yesterday. The US Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of an opinion that was briefly posted on the court’s website. The decision would … Continue reading →

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