Tag Archives: Steve Toth

The facts about Colony Ridge (that Greg Abbott and the other Republicans will ignore)

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What the Liberty County Sheriff says: On a Sunday evening before Labor Day, Liberty County Sheriff’s Cpl. Robert Whitesel maneuvered his patrol car through the sprawling development known as Colony Ridge, humming along to a Guns N’ Roses power ballad. … Continue reading →

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This is definitely a “root for the meteor” situation

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Also a “pop some corn” situation. Two state lawmakers have called for the resignation of Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, after The Texas Tribune reported that he is being investigated after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a Capitol intern. … Continue reading →

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The forced-birth zealots target the Internet

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I hate to be an alarmist, but we live in a time and a place where stuff like this has to be taken seriously. A proposed state law in Texas would force Internet service providers to block websites containing information … Continue reading →

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It’s going to be a brutal legislative session for LGBTQ folks in Texas

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I really wish this weren’t the case, but it is. It’s going to be bad. Two bills that would ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in Texas public schools before certain grade levels are poised to receive … Continue reading →

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Republicans are not going to stop passing anti-abortion bills

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. There is no finish line for them. During their 20 years in control of the Texas Legislature, Republican lawmakers have steadfastly worked to chip away at abortion access. Bound by the limits of Roe v. Wade, … Continue reading →

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A little sandbagging from the SOS on the fraudit

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Who’s running this show? In the five days since the Texas secretary of state’s office announced it is auditing the 2020 general election in four counties, local officials indicated they were in the dark about what the reviews would entail. … Continue reading →

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Of course there’s time for a stupid election “audit” bill

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of course there is. Fresh off their success passing legislation to tighten Texas voting laws, Republicans in the Texas Senate are working to hastily push through a bill filed just two days ago that would pave the way for county … Continue reading →

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Sure, let’s have a fraudit here in Texas

Posted on July 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What could possibly go wrong? Republican House members are seeking a forensic audit of the November election results, but only in Texas’ largest counties that mostly went for Democrat Joe Biden. Legislation filed by Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, requires … 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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Think of the kids today

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Today, the anti-trans sports bill SB29 is on the House calendar. Hopefully, it will fail to make it to the floor before midnight, which is the deadline for Senate bills to be passed by the House. Whatever the case, spend … Continue reading →

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Again with defining the Governor’s powers in an emergency

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The legislative process has begun, and I feel like we’ve already lost the plot. For roughly the past year, Republicans and Democrats have picked apart the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — and particularly how Gov. Greg Abbott has … Continue reading →

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What should the Governor’s powers be in a future emergency?

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He admits there could maybe be some limits, but as is often the case has no great idea what they might be. Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he is open to reconsidering his executive powers during state emergencies, a point … Continue reading →

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How bad will the attack on voting be this session?

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to say, but there’s no reason to be particularly optimistic. As the country’s political polarization reaches a boiling point — illustrated vividly Wednesday by the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president who believed his … Continue reading →

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The Republican war against Harris County

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

To be fair, it’s not just Harris County that’s in the crosshairs, it’s the big urban counties, and cities in general. But it’s real and it’s dangerous and it’s anti-democratic. Republicans in the Texas Legislature are gearing up to bar … Continue reading →

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Texas Central once more gets to deal with the Lege

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They’re both farther along, and not as far along, as they might like heading into this session. Less than two months before the Texas Legislature begins its next session, the yearslong battle over a controversial high-speed rail project is expected … Continue reading →

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There’s a raft of pro-pot bills that have been filed so far

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And one formidable obstacle to them all, in the form of Lt. Gov. Dan “One Million Dollars!” Patrick. Texas lawmakers set a record with over 60 marijuana-related bills in 2019 — and this year, they’ve already introduced 11 measures that … Continue reading →

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Federal judge denies Hotze petition

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully, this will be the end of this particular nonsense. A federal judge Monday rejected a request by a conservative activist and three Republican candidates to toss out nearly 127,000 votes cast at drive-thru polling sites in Texas’ most populous, … Continue reading →

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SCOTX rejects Hotze petition to throw out drive through votes

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One piece of good news. A legal cloud hanging over nearly 127,000 votes already cast in Harris County was at least temporarily lifted Sunday when the Texas Supreme Court rejected a request by several conservative Republican activists and candidates to … Continue reading →

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Hotze and Woodfill take their fight against drive-thru voting to federal court

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just another quiet Saturday… . Judge Hanen has already scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday morning—without even giving Harris County a chance to file a response brief. This, too, is extremely concerning. It looks like he may be rushing to … Continue reading →

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One last, desperate attempt to kill drive-though voting

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

These guys really suck. Not much more can be said. A new challenge to Harris County’s drive-thru voting sites, filed by two GOP candidates and a Republican member of the Texas House, asks the state Supreme Court to void ballots … Continue reading →

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30 Day 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 2

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing to look at the 30-day campaign finance reports. A lot of candidates have been reporting big hauls, especially in the hot State Rep races. As before, I will split these into four parts. Part one, with statewide, SBOE, and … Continue reading →

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Win one, lose one at SCOTX

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The win: Early voting in Texas can begin Oct. 13, following the timeline the governor laid out months ago, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, rejecting a request from several top Texas Republicans to limit the timeframe for voters to … Continue reading →

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Paxton opposes Hotze mandamus to curb early voting

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Reform Austin: In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that the GOP group suing Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent him from extending early voting for the November election has no standing … Continue reading →

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Hotze and crew appeal to SCOTX to stop the extra week of early voting

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is facing a lawsuit over his extension of early voting for the November election from prominent members of his own party — including state party Chairman Allen West, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller … Continue reading →

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July 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 2

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s move on to finance reports from the State House, which I will break up into two parts. Today’s look is on the various races in the greater Houston area, and after that I’ll look at the other races of … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit against Abbott over emergency orders

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This one is a bit more serious due to the lack of Hotze and Woodfill, but it’s still not a great way to have the debate about this issue. Five Republican Texas lawmakers are suing Gov. Greg Abbott over the … Continue reading →

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So how’s that reopening going?

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, there’s more of it. Gov. Greg Abbott announced his third phase Wednesday of reopening Texas businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing virtually all of them to operate at 50% capacity. That is effective immediately, and there are “very limited … Continue reading →

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More reopening

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going great so far, right? Gov. Greg Abbott will allow hair salons in Texas to reopen Friday and gyms on May 18, moving more quickly than expected to further restart the Texas economy during the coronavirus pandemic. The businesses … Continue reading →

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It’s all about the tape

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

You want to hear the recording of that conversation between Speaker Dennis Bonnen and MQS in which Bonnen supposedly trashed a bunch of Republican legislators? You can’t hear it unless MQS wants you to. For the past week, Texas Republicans, … Continue reading →

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Your daily Bonnen-MQS update

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just sittin’ here watching the wheels go round and round… After a week of denying that he asked an arch-conservative to target 10 fellow Republicans in the next primary election, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen challenged Empower Texans CEO Michael … Continue reading →

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Meanwhile, in Montgomery County

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There they go again. The Republican primary defeat of embattled Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal — and close contests in two county commissioner races headed for runoffs — could signal major leadership changes and a shift further to the right … Continue reading →

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2016 primaries: Congress

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The big story here is that Rep. Gene Green not only survived, but won big. He was up 65% to 32% in early voting, a margin of about 4,000 votes; in the end he won by about 58-38, for a … Continue reading →

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SD04: Creighton defeats Toth

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I went to bed before the final wrapup stories were written, but trust me, Rep. Brandon Creighton is now Sen. Brandon Creighton. In early returns in the race to succeed Sen. Tommy Williams, state Rep. Brandon Creighton was ahead of … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Chron for Creighton

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, did you know that there’s an election coming up? It’s the special election runoff for SD04 to succeed Tommy Williams and it features the ghastly Rep. Steve Toth and the slightly less ghastly Rep. Brandon Creighton. The Chron, who … Continue reading →

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