Texas Megathread

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IndependentTexas' list of candidates for each office

U.S. Senate:
John Cornyn (I)
Michael Fjetland
Maxey Scherr
Chris Mapp
Dwayne Stovall
Linda Vega
Eric Wyatt

Governor:
Greg Abbott - TX Attorney General
Wendy Davis - State Senator (Fort Worth)
Lisa Fritsch
Larry Kilgore
Miriam Martinez
Tom Pauken - former RPT Chair; former Workforce Commission member

Lieutenant Governor:
David Dewhurst (I)
Dan Patrick - State Senator (Houston)
Jerry Patterson - Land Commissioner
Todd Staples - Agriculture Commissioner
Leticia Van de Putte* - State Senator (San Antonio)

Attorney General:
Dan Branch - State Representative (Dallas)
Sam Houston
Ken Paxton - State Senator (McKinney)
Barry Smitherman - Railroad Commissioner

Comptroller:
Mike Collier
Glenn Hegar - State Senator (Katy)
Harvey Hilderbran - State Representative (Kerrville)
Debra Medina

Land Commissioner:
George P. Bush
John Cook - former Mayor of El Paso
David Watts

Agriculture Commissioner:
J. Allen Carnes - Mayor of Uvalde
Kinky Friedman
Jim Hogan
Tommy Merritt - former State Representative (Longview)
Sid Miller - former State Representative (Stephenville)
Eric Opiela

Railroad Commissioner:
Becky Berger
Malachi Boyuls
Steve Brown
Wayne Christian - former State Representative (Center)
Ray Keller
Joe Pool, Jr.
Ryan Sitton

(I) = Incumbent
* Van de Putte has not officially announced or filed but is widely assumed to be running.
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Lieutenant Governors race is probably going to be most interesting: Last poll I saw, Dewhurst had a decent lead over Peterson or Patrick, but he only had 26%, which makes it difficult to imagine that being good news for him.

Yeah, there's definitely going to be a runoff there. Should be fun.

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I have doubts about his survival. Working in his favor is the fact that the primary is earlier than it was in 2012; in 2012 it was in May. While the primary has already gotten heated between the four in their many debates (seriously- they are having so many [inks]ing debates, town halls, etc), nobody's broken through yet. Also in his favor is his incumbent advantage and money. He just bought another ad buy today I think.

Dewhurst's failures in the first special session will be an issue too, one we're already hearing in attacks from Sen Dan Patrick. That's bigger than his failed Senate run, imo, since this speaks to his handling of the job he currently holds and is asking the primary electorate to let him keep. The bill eventually passed, but Gov Perry had to step in and call another session.

Between now and March the primary voters will have to decide which of his challengers is their guy. If that doesn't happen, but a runoff is still triggered, he could appeal to the voters that weren't supporting his runoff challenger.

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For those interested, here is a 1 1/2 min video with clips of her announcement: http://youtu.be/Qu1cGgLUqO0 I think any Texan that hears her speak, no matter their politics, is going to be impressed with her personality.

And here's a longer video of her speaking to Battleground Texas volunteers later in the day: http://youtu.be/KJfOxukWQN4. Skip to 1:30 for her remarks.

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The Young Conservatives of Texas Straw Poll results are out. Link to the results and analysis: http://yct.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/YCT-Poll-Results-Analysis.pdf

WINNERS (EXCLUDING NO PREFERENCE):
U.S. Senate – John Cornyn
Governor – Greg Abbott
Lt. Governor – Jerry Patterson
Attorney General – Ken Paxton
Comptroller – Glenn Hegar
Ag. Commissioner – Eric Opiela
Land Commissioner – George P. Bush
Railroad Commissioner – Wayne Christian

The only difference between this and limiting it to only votes within Texas is that Sid Miller wins Ag Commissioner. What's amazing is how vulnerable this makes Cornyn look. I'm going to forever wish that Liz Cheney had chosen to challenge Cornyn instead of Enzi.

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I wonder if I can vote in the GOP primary. I should find out.

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I work for World Market!!

And I wasn't thinking about it bc of Davis, I was thinking about the Lite Guv primary. BTW I became a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar today

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Here is a run down of recent TX political stories.


Texas Tribune

Democrat David Alameel Will Run for Cornyn's Senate Seat
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/29/democrat-david-alameel-will-run-cornyns-senate-sea/
Alameel came in 4th in the Dem primary for one of Texas' new minority-majority districts, which is currently held by Rep Mark Veasey.

Governor's Race Draws Spotlight on Red Light Cameras
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/05/governors-race-draws-spotlight-red-light-cameras/

Davis Expresses Concerns on Energy Market Proposal
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/05/wendy-davis-skeptical-need-energy-market-change/

Most Statewide Candidates Won't Release Tax Returns (including a run-down and links to all info)
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/05/most-statewide-candidates-wont-release-tax-returns/

Polling Center: Obama Weighs Heavily on Texas Democrats
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/05/polling-center-obama-weighs-heavily-texas-democrat/

This doesn't pertain to 2014 directly, but

Dallas Morning News

Ted Cruz at ALEC Summit: End Direct Vote for Senators
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/ted-cruz-at-alec-summit-end-direct-vote-for-senators.html/


Also from the DMN

Study: Refusal to Expand Medicaid is Costing Texas Billions
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20131204-study-refusal-to-expand-medicaid-is-costing-texas-billions.ece
The facts continue to be on the Democrats' side with this issue, despite local politics.

Greg Abbott, Wendy Davis clash over public education
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20131203-greg-abbott-wendy-davis-clash-over-public-education.ece

Fort Worth Business Press

District 10 Race Drawing A Crowd
http://fwbusinesspress.com/fwbp/article/1/3232/Breaking-News/District-10-race-drawing-a-crowd.aspx
The only true swing senate seat.

More of Davis' attack on Abbott when he started talking about education:

DMN
Wendy Davis: Greg Abbott is no teacher's pet.
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/wendy-davis-greg-abbott-is-no-teachers-pet.html/

Wendy Davis allies challenge Greg Abbott claim his oath of office made him defend $5 billion cut to Texas schools
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/wendy-davis-allies-challenge-greg-abbott-claim-his-oath-of-office-made-him-defend-5-billion-cut-to-texas-schools.html/

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Dallas Morning News - Ag Commissioner Hopeful Sid Miller Accused of Mishandling Horses
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20131205-agriculture-commissioner-hopeful-sid-miller-accused-of-mishandling-horses.ece




Save a horse, vote for Kinky


Also, a Tea Party plant (not really, but maybe?) has entered the Democratic primary for US Senate: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/anti-obama-democrat-kesha-rogers-files-for-u-s-senate.html/

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Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Lawrence Miller has switched parties. The Democrats now have their first statewide official in the state since 1998.

Do you have a link? Googled his name and nothing came up about this.

http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14488/breaking-judge-lawrence-meyers-of-the-statewide-court-of-criminal-appeals-joins-democratic-party

Burnt Orange Report post + the TX Dem Party's official statement.

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4 out of 4 Republican lieutenant governor candidates want creationism taught in public schools.

Shameful.

And of course...

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In other words, what should be done? Absolutely nothing.

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TX Dems need to pick which of the non-Kinky candidates we want for Ag Commis, or else the vote could split and stick us with Kinky

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Republicans have begun striking Wendy Davis on a lawsuit she filed against the Ft. Worth Star Telegram after a failed city council run in 1994 (or '96).


In the rare Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express News pieces that can be read by non-paying subscribers,

Republicans say Wendy Davis libel suit says much about her

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Davis's response when asked about this last fall, from the Houston Chronicle piece:

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From Houston Chronicle, about the suit itself:

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Other Reads
Texas Tribune: Texas Democrats, a Habit of Losing Big Elections
Texas Tribune: Highways are Talking Point as Candidates Take to Road
Dallas Morning News: Wendy Davis Calls on Payday Lender to Leave State Post



That last gem was buried three pages into their website, next to this HILARIOUS headline:
"Poll: George W. Bush, Ted Cruz Among Men Most Admired by Americans
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/poll-george-w-bush-ted-cruz-among-men-most-admired-by-americans.html/

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That "professor" is out of her mind.

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Davis has been hitting Abbott hard on Pay Day Lenders, and she seems to have some great material to back her attack up. Hopefully her campaign can avoid any more stupid mistakes like the one they made calculating donations from the TEC website. Here is a timeline of the issue so far:

Dec 30 Dallas Morning News Wendy Davis calls on Payday Lender to leave State Post
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/wendy-davis-calls-on-payday-lender-to-leave-state-post.html/
Davis calls on White to resign his state post after he revealed in an El Paso Times interview that he also works for a large Payday Lender, basically saying he has a huge conflict of interest.

Jan 2 Dallas Morning News Greg Abbott Goes to Bat for Campaign Contributor Targeted by Wendy Davis
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/greg-abbott-goes-to-bat-for-campaign-contributor-targeted-by-wendy-davis.html/
Greg Abbott defends White, draws attention to the fact that White is a contributor of his (which Davis had yet to bring up), and feebly tries to criticize Davis for voting to confirm White.

Jan 3 San Antonio Express News Davis Campaign Launches Payday Attack on Abbott with Fuzzy Math
http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/01/davis-campaign-launches-payday-attack-on-abbott-with-fuzzy-math/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
SA Express writes story highlighting the small mistake the Davis camp made on the TEC website.

Jan 4 El Paso Times Texas Sen. Wendy Davis: Greg Abbott took nearly $191K from payday lenders
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_24843872/wendy-davis-story
Davis highlights the tons of cash Abbott has taken from the Payday Lending industry. This article also included the originally higher number (miscalculated due to a glitchy government website), but the El Paso Times fixed the numbers without a big to-do.

Jan 6 San Antonio Express News Davis Campaign has "oops" Moment on Payday Lending
http://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/peggy_fikac/article/Davis-campaign-has-oops-moment-on-payday-lending-5116045.php
SA Express wasn't sure if you knew about the small mistake, so they wrote another article about it.

Jan 6 Dallas Morning News Wendy Davis: GOP rival Greg Abbott helped payday loan industry collect high fees from borrowers
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/wendy-davis-gop-rival-greg-abbott-helped-payday-loan-industry-collect-high-fees-from-borrowers.html/

Jan 7 El Paso Times Sen. Wendy Davis: Attorney General Greg Abbott at fault for payday-lending uptick
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_24856669/sen-wendy-davis-says-attorney-general-greg-abbott
Davis is now highlighting a 2006 letter by Attorney General Abbott where he gave lenders the green light to gouge consumers.

Davis has also (today, Jan 7) released a letter to Gov. Perry calling on him to remove White.
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist10/pr14/p20140107a.pdf


All in all I think this is playing out well for Davis; the website mistake is embarrassing but won't matter to 99% of people. Davis is developing a strong and multi-faceted line of attack on this issue, an issue Abbott has avoided talking about for weeks now. He obviously isn't sure what to say to toe the line between not being a greedy plutocrat and not pissing off the people that gave him his $19 million war chest.


Stay tuned this or next week for fundraising numbers. I believe the last day to report is Jan 15.

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Fort Worth Star Telegram sheds some much needed light in the craziness going on in one State Board of Education race.

State Board of Education forum turns into Monday night mayhem
Posted Tuesday, Jan. 07, 2014

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/07/5468007/state-board-of-education-forum.html?storylink=addthis#.Usy-8vXm-is.twitter&rh=1#storylink=cpy

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Texas Tribune -- Davis Discusses Plan to Increase Supply of Teachers

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/09/davis-vows-increase-supply-teachers/

Also talks about raising salaries; first education reform of many her campaign will roll out in the coming weeks.

Texas Tribune -- Dewhurst Rolls Out Education Interim Charges

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/09/dewhurst-rolls-out-education-interim-charges/




The Lite Guv race needs a new poll

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Great Texas Trib article pinpointing races across the state to watch:

Texas Tribune Just A Few Races Will Tell You How the Wind Blows
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/13/just-few-races-will-tell-you-how-wind-blows/

Texas Tribune The Brief: Davis, Abbott could both be $10M candidates
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/13/brief/
(Davis expected to announce over $10M haul)

Texas Tribune Health Enrollments Surge in TX
http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/13/health-enrollments-surge-rate-uninsured-remains-hi/

Dallas Morning News Wendy Davis endorses David Alameel for U.S. Senate
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/01/wendy-davis-endorses-david-alameel-for-u-s-senate.html/
Worth posting here because it will effect the overall Dem ticket.

Talking Points memo Stockman Can't even beat Cornin in Tea Party Straw Poll
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/steve-stockman-can-t-even-beat-sen-cornyn-in-tea-party-straw-poll?utm_content=bufferff51d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

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Dan Patrick, the Houston state Sen. challenging Lt. Gov Dewhurst, has been endorsed by Mike Huckabee
http://www.danpatrick.org/dans-endorsements/

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Per Gromer Jeffers, a political reporter for DMN, Patrick has won the Denton GOP straw poll:

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Here's Jeffer's piece: DMN Texas Lt. Gov Hopefuls Say They've Got The Magic To Win
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20140113-texas-lieutenant-governor-hopefuls-say-theyve-got-the-magic-to-win.ece


Ft Worth Star Telegram Greg Abbott meets with local educators
http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/13/5482589/greg-abbott-meets-with-local-educators.html?rh=1

He recited his chorus and two verses on "local control" and picked up the endorsement of the Ft. Worth Mayor.

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At this point in 2010 cycle, Bill White had raised about $6M.

Abbott now has about $27M cash on hand, an outrageous amount, and in other news, I keep forgetting that his name has two Ts.

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Here's Lt. Gov. candidate Dan Patrick's insulting statement on Houston Mayor and likely-2018 state-wide candidate Annise Parker's marriage in California:

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Patrick does have a point

Yes. A very small, insecure point.

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The Dallas Morning News takes a hard look at Davis' personal story and includes quotes from Davis, her ex-husband Jeff Davis, and an anonymous close friend/colleauge

Dallas Morning News - As Wendy Davis Touts Life Story in Race for Governor, Key Facts Blurred
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20140118-as-wendy-davis-touts-life-story-in-race-for-governor-key-facts-blurred.ece

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Actually Patrick is right, a city government can not unilaterally decide to ignore a constitutional amendment, no matter how offensive the amendment is.

What Mayor Parker actually did was have the city offer "health and life insurance benefits to all spouses of legally married employees including same sex couples." I don't think that'll get overturned in court.



quote from: http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/11/houstons-lesbian-mayor-annise-parker-illegally-authorizes-sex-marriage-benefits/