This was supposed to be an unpredictable election due to the tea parties and the Medina candidacy. It was supposed to be an election in which angry conservatives rose up and smote incumbents. Nothing remotely like that occurred. Republican congressional candidates, who might have been tainted by Washingtonitis, won with
The following article first appeared in Lone Star Report. I am publishing it with the permission of Will Lutz. This is his take on the Todd Smith-Jeff Cason Republican primary battle race and the involvement of Citizen Leader PAC. * * * * What started as a local race between
I wrote about this new PAC, formed by TLR’s Dick Weekley and Leo Linbeck III along with Harlan Crow, on the weekend. In that post, I said: It would really be nice if the founders, who contributed $50,000 each, have realized that Republican primary voters, thanks to Rick Perry, are
Note to readers: The descriptions of these races reflect the best information I have been able to glean. It isn’t always possible to know what is happening “out there.” The four most endangered Republican incumbents (alphabetical order): Chuck Hopson Delwin Jones Todd Smith Vicki Truitt Hopson’s problem is that he
This mass e-mail was sent to me by SREC member Mark McCaig. Dear Texas Republicans, Like the vast majority of Texas Republicans, I am a strong supporter of legislation that will require photo identification to vote. As a member of the State Republican Executive Committee, I supported efforts by the
Elections committee chair Todd Smith has researched the history of Voter I.D. legislation in Texas. He shared his findings with me. In 1997, Elections chair Debra Danburg, a Democrat, brought HB 330 to the floor. The bill amended the Election Code to require an election judge to ask for a
This is Todd Smith's bill that passed on Friday. It is a good and much-needed election reform bill as a response to U.S. Supreme Court rulings that corporate and union PACs may lawfully expend funds for the purpose of issue advocacy, but not for directly supporting candidates. This leaves a
By Abby Rapoport, Texas Monthly Intern The Elections Committee sent Voter ID out of committee over lunch—but it’s not the bill most wanted. After going through several versions and so-called “compromise bills”, the committee ultimately voted on Troy Fraser’s Senate version, identical language and all. The meeting, a chaotic gathering
Here’s the problem for Tom Craddick. The House passed tuition deregulation in 2003 for one reason and one reason only: The speaker twisted Republicans’ arms to get the votes. Almost six years later, tuition and fees at Texas’s public university have risen by an average of 50%, according to Robert
