Posts Tagged ‘Elections’

Rufo On Rogan: Democrats Destroying Democracy To Save It

Saturday, March 16th, 2024

I haven’t reported much on the farce of Democrats tearing through the thicket of law to get at their great devil Donald Trump, mainly because it is such a farce, but here’s Christopher Rufo on Joe Rogan discussing how dangerous and anti-democratic their blood vengeance crusade is.

  • Joe Rogan: “How disturbed are you by what seems to be this acceptance that people have for prosecuting political opponents?”
  • JR: “Because to me, it’s, regardless of what you think about Donald Trump as a human being and the polarizing figure that he is, setting the precedent of trying your political opponents to somehow or another, either put them in jail, or make them seem like complete total criminals in a way that would, for the casual, for the person who’s not reading deep into the headlines.”
  • JR: “The casual Democrat that sees this Trump real estate thing that just happened, where he got fined $365 million. I’ve seen people argue ‘fraud is fraud and this is that and he’s a fraud,’ and then I saw Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank explain this is what every real estate developer does.”
  • JR: “They say ‘My building’s worth $400 million,’ and then someone comes along from the bank, and they say ‘No, it’s worth $300 million. We’ll give you a loan on $300 million’ or whatever.”
  • Christoper Rufo: “It’s negotiation.”
  • JR: “People overvalue their property all the time. [Someone] has a house and it’s worth $700,000, they decide to list it as $900,000.”
  • Plus the lunacy of a leftist judge saying Mar-a-Lago is worth only $18 million, when a more realistic valuation is well over $1 billion.
  • CR: “We have a democratic system that favors Trump, in the sense that he won in 2016, he’s winning the primary right now for republicans in 2024.”
  • CR: “But you have a bureaucracy that is dead set against him. And the rhetoric amounts to a very odd claim. They essentially say: ‘We want to keep him off the ballot, we want to put him in prison, we want to bankrupt him so he can’t become the president, even if the people support him. We want to deprive the people of making the decision.'”
  • CR: “So you want to take it out of the realm of politics and into the realm of administrative justice or the criminal justice system, and adjudicate it in that way on bogus pretexts.”
  • CR: “Who actually rules in this country? Is it the American people who get to decide by their vote who represents them in the government? Or is it the permanent bureaucracy that has accumulated so much power?”
  • CR: “I’m of the mind that the people should decide, not the bureaucracy. And this is a contest where Democrats are saying essentially we have to destroy democracy in order to save democracy.”
  • Evidently there’s no undemocratic Rubicon Democrats won’t cross, no bridge they won’t burn, to destroy democracy in the name of saving it from Orange Man Bad.

    More Texas 2024 Primary Results Tidbits

    Thursday, March 7th, 2024

    Now that the dust has settled a bit, here are some more election tidbits from Tuesday’s primary, most gleaned from The Texan’s tracking page.

  • President Trump got more than twice as many primary votes as Joe Biden.
  • Ted Cruz got more than twice as many votes (1,979,327) as all the Democratic Texas Senate candidates combined (964,250). And even more votes than Trump (1,808,823).
  • Trump and Cruz both won all 254 Texas counties. Joe Biden lost sparsely populated Loving County to Frank Lozada one vote to zero, and King County (small and overwhelmingly Republican) either hasn’t reported Democratic votes or didn’t hold a Democratic primary. (Both Trump and Cruz got over 70 votes in Loving County.)
  • Republican incumbent Christi Craddick won her Railroad Commissioner’s race without a runoff at 50.4%.
  • If you compare the topline race primary results of 2022 (Texas Gubernatorial race) to the Presidential primary results of 2024, Republican votes are up just over 365,000 (2,323,754 in 2024 vs. 1,954,172 for 2022), but Democrats are down over 96,000 votes (979,179 for 2024 vs. 1,075,601 for 2022).
  • The Ken Paxton slate for the Court of Criminal Appeals (David Schenck, Gina Parker, and Lee Finley) all won over their respective incumbents fairly handily.
  • The previously reported Gonzalez/Herrera runoff was the only Texas U.S. House race where the Republican incumbent was pulled into a runoff; all the others won with ease.
  • 2022 saw Republican Monica De La Cruz beat Democrat Michelle Vallejo in U.S. House District 15, the only swing district in Texas after redistricting, by nine points. November is going to see a rematch between the two, as both won their primaries. Given the ongoing border crisis (TX15 runs down to Rio Grande Valley) and both Texas Republican and Trump inroads into Hispanic voters, I would not expect Vallejo to improve on her previous showing.
  • Harris County DA Kim Ogg lost her Democratic Party primary to the more radical, Soros-backed Sean Teare. “Although Ogg had financial support from billionaire donor and criminal justice reform activist George Soros during her first campaign in 2016, Soros did not assist Ogg in her 2020 re-election bid and threw his support to Teare this election cycle. The Soros-funded Texas Justice and Public Safety PAC spent over $1.5 million in the final weeks of the campaign to help Teare unseat Ogg.” Democrats also seethed that Ogg let investigations of corruption among Judge Lina Hidalgo’s staffers go forward. How dare she not treat Democrats as above the law? Teare will face Republican nominee Dan Simons, a former assistant district attorney and defense attorney, in November. Bonus: Ogg had trouble voting because her lesbian girlfriend already cast her ballot for her. As commentor Leland noted, does Harris County not follow Texas voter ID laws?
  • Travis County residents are evidently delighted with more rapes and murders, as they just voted to keep Jose Garza DA.
  • School choice was a big winner Tuesday.

    The 2024 primary election was a major success for school choice advocates in Texas. Several opponents of education reform lost outright, others went to runoffs, and still more were electorally weakened.

    Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and head of the American Federation for Children Victory Fund, released a statement touting six wins and four forced runoffs in the 13 races where his PAC was engaged.

    Throughout multiple called special sessions in 2023, the Republican-led House alternatively delayed and killed Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to create school choice in Texas. Ultimately, these efforts culminated with 21 Republicans voting for an amendment by John Raney (R-College Station) to strip school choice from an omnibus education measure.

    Accounting for retirements and with the runoffs still to be decided, only a handful of incumbent Republicans who sided with the teachers’ unions to kill school choice during the legislative session will be returning to Austin in 2025.

    As covered yesterday, anti-school choice incumbents defeated include Reggie Smith, Travis Clardy, Glenn Rogers, Ernest Bailes and Steve Allison, while those driven into run-offs include Justin Holland, John Kuempel, Gary VanDeaver and DeWayne Burns

  • Some State Board of Education news. “Pat Hardy, a former teacher and a veteran representing District 11, which covers parts of Fort Worth, lost her seat to challenger Brandon Hall, a youth pastor.” Also: “Another incumbent, Tom Maynard of District 10, which includes Williamson and Bell counties, will go into a May 28 runoff against Round Rock school board member Mary Bone, who describes herself as a conservative champion for Texas kids.” If Bone wins, she’ll probably make a good State Board of Education member, but Round Rock ISD desperately needs more conservatives on the board.
  • Williamson County primary results. I didn’t see any surprises there.
  • Things that make you go “Hmmmm”: “Potential Speaker Candidate Hired by Bank with Ties to Bonnen and Phelan.”

    A lawmaker rumored to be eyeing the speakership in the Texas House is employed by a bank that has connections to current House Speaker Dade Phelan and disgraced former Speaker Dennis Bonnen.

    State Rep. Cody Harris, a Republican from Palestine, was first elected to the House in 2018. At the time, he was a real estate broker for Liberty Land & Ranch LLC.

    In August of 2021, however, Harris added a new item to his resumé—Vice President of Business Development for Third Coast Bank.

    The career change is notable given the bank’s ties to the current and former speaker.

    In late 2019, Third Coast Bank acquired Heritage Bank, where Bonnen had served as President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. He currently sits on Third Coast’s Board of Directors.

    Phelan’s brother Lan Phelan was a director of Third Coast from 2013 until at least 2016, according to filings with the secretary of state. A 2021 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that the bank’s Beaumont location was leased from Phelan’s family investment firm.

    Additionally, the most recent personal financial statement from Dade Phelan shows that he owns shares in Third Coast.

  • Texas 2024 Primary Election Results: Trump Triumphant, Phelan In Runoff, Phelan Cronies Slaughtered

    Wednesday, March 6th, 2024

    Lots of gratifying results came out of yesterday’s primaries. Perhaps the most gratifying is that the Straus-Bonnen-Phelan Axis, which has thwarted conservative priorities for decades, finally had a stake driven through its heart.

    First statewide and national office races:

  • President Trump crushed Nikki Haley in Texas with over 76% of the vote.
  • Indeed, Trump won every Super Tuesday primary save Vermont, where Haley eked out a win.

    Former president Donald Trump seems poised to breeze to the Republican presidential nomination after nearly sweeping the party’s Super Tuesday contests.

    By 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Trump had won the Republican presidential contests in at least twelve of the Super Tuesday states: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Maine, Alabama, Massachusetts, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, and delegate-rich California.

    Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, meanwhile, earned her first — and likely only — win of the night in Vermont.

    Results from caucuses in Alaska and Utah were still outstanding around 11:30 p.m. ET.

  • The results were so crushing that they managed to drive establishment catspaw Haley from the race.
  • Ted Cruz cruised to a victory with just under 90% of the vote, and will face Democrat Collin Allred in November. Allred won a clear majority in a five-way race, with Roland Gutierrez coming in at very distant second that was more than 40 points behind.
  • U.S. Representative Tony Gonzalez is headed into a runoff with YouTuber and gun rights activist Brandon Herrera.

    In the Republican primary race for Texas Congressional District 23, Brandon Herrera has taken incumbent Congressman Tony Gonzales to a runoff.

    According to unofficial totals, Gonzales captured 46 percent of the vote to Herrera’s 23 percent.

    Leading into the election, much of the discussion centered on Gonzales’ multiple censures from Republican organizations.

    The congressman had been censured by the Medina County Republican Party, which was followed by a censure from the Republican Party of Texas (RPT).

    The RPT censure was only the second time in history the party had used the maneuver for a sitting politician, the first being in 2018 with then-House Speaker Joe Staus (R-San Antonio). House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) then became the third sitting member to be censured by the State Republican Executive Committee when they approved the official resolution in February.

    Gonzales’ censure came after RPT found that he had violated the multiple tenets of the party platform with his votes in Congress.

    The incumbent Gonzales had also been criticized for his stance on border security.

    In December, he penned a letter to both Democratic and Republican federal leadership stating that he believes the border crisis could reach a “point of no return” if lawmakers do not act soon.

    The letter came after a disagreement with Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX-21) over a border security bill Roy introduced to require the detention or expulsion of illegal immigrants, which would prohibit “all asylum” claims. Gonzales has also labeled some of his GOP colleagues “insurgents” and accused 20 Republicans of planning to push “anti-immigrant” legislation under the guise of border security policy.

    The leading issue for voters statewide leading into the primary election is border security and immigration, which is represented by the vote totals in this race.

    Herrera describes himself as a “Second Amendment activist, and social media personality,” known online as “The AK Guy.”

    He proclaimed, “Texas is done with RINO’s,” during the night of the primary election.

    “The war starts now.”

    (Previously.)

  • But in Texas, the big news was that Dade Phalen, the latest in the Joe Straus/Dennis Bonnen cabal that has stayed in power with Democratic Party backing to thwart conservative priorities, is headed into a runoff with David Covey for Texas House District 21, with less than half a point separating the two.

    The Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan will be heading to a runoff, after failing to receive the support of a majority of Republican voters in his district.

    Phelan, who was first elected to the House in 2014 and has been speaker since 2021, will face off against former Orange County GOP chairman David Covey in a runoff election that is certain to garner attention from across the state.

    Phelan had been criticized by conservatives for failing to pass conservative priorities, placing Democrats in leadership positions, and leading the charge to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton last year. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Covey, calling any Republican who backed Phelan “a fool.”

    Phelan received 45.8 percent of the vote with Covey earning 45.3 percent.

    Alicia Davis, a Jasper County activist, took 8.9 percent of the vote.

    “The people of House District 21 have put every politician in Texas, and the nation, on notice,” said Covey. “Our elected officials are elected by the people and work for the people, and when they don’t, there will be consequences.”

    “Since 1836, Texans have answered the call to defend liberty and fight for our freedoms. I have every intention of continuing that tradition,” he added.

    Covey was joined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at his election night watch party. Patrick, who has been a vocal critic of Phelan, had not officially endorsed Covey.

    But it wasn’t just Phelan! A whole bunch of the Republican state reps who backed Phelan either lost outright or are headed to runoffs:

  • Mike Olcott thumped incumbent Glenn Rogers in Texas House District 60.

    The runoff rematch between state Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) and Mike Olcott went entirely unlike the first round two years ago, with Olcott defeating the incumbent in a landslide.

    Once Palo Pinto County returns came in, it was clear which way the bout would go. Olcott won Rogers’ home county by 365 votes and cleaned up in the rest of the district.

    Last go-around, Rogers nipped Olcott by a few hundred votes, thanks in large part to support from Gov. Greg Abbott. This time in the rematch, the governor switched sides after Rogers voted against his education savings account plan — opposition to which the incumbent has remained steadfast. On Monday, state Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) announced his support for Olcott in the race.

    Rogers outlasted his previous two stiff primary challenges, the first in 2020 for the open seat against Jon Francis, the son-in-law of conservative mega-donors Farris and JoAnn Wilks. Then in 2022 Olcott challenged Rogers, the incumbent, and narrowly lost.

    This time, Abbott has made multiple trips to the district, stating at one that, “There are many reasons we are here today, and one of those is that I made a mistake last time in endorsing Glenn Rogers. And I’m here to correct that mistake. I’m here to make sure everyone knows, I’m here to support Mike Olcott to be your state representative.”

    Olcott swept the top-level endorsements with Abbott, Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

  • Joanne Shofner absolutely destroyed incumbent Travis Clardy in Texas House District 11, 63% to 37%.

    uring the 88th Legislative session last year, Clardy was one of the House members who voted in favor of stripping education savings accounts from the November education omnibus bill.

    Leading into the election a central issue was how each candidate landed on school choice, as both Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have based their candidate endorsements on support for education freedom.

    Clardy was also issued a cease and desist letter by Abbott for “representing to the public that Governor Abbott has endorsed you in your bid for re-election,” when in fact Abbott had endorsed his opponent Joanne Shofner, whom the letter called “a true conservative.” Clardy has continued to express vocal opposition to school choice: “Right now, the price to get his endorsement was I had to bend the knee and kiss the ring and say that I will vote for vouchers[.]”

    Shofner, along with both Abbott and Cruz’s support, also had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

  • Janis Holt defeated Ernest Bailes in Texas House District 18, 53% to 39%. Colony Ridge was a hot topic in the race.
  • Shelley Luther defeated incumbent Reggie Smith.

    Conservative activist Shelley Luther has won her rematch against incumbent Republican State Rep. Reggie Smith of Van Alystne to represent House District 62 in North Texas.

    House District 62 includes Grayson, Fannin, and portions of Delta and Franklin counties.

    Smith, who has served in the Texas House since 2018, is part of the House leadership team, serving as chair of the House Election Committee under House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont). As chair, Smith either slow-walked or killed several Republican priority measures addressing election security.

    Smith’s record from the past year also includes voting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton—who was later acquitted by the Senate—and voting against school choice legislation.

    Luther, who made state and national headlines in 2020 when she was jailed after refusing to close her salon during the COVID-19 shutdowns, said previously she looks forward to working with the governor to pass school choice this next session.

  • Marc LaHood defeated incumbent Steve Allison in Texas House District 121, 54% to 39%.

    Allison voted with Democrats to strip a school choice measure from a school spending measure.

    His opposition to school choice drew the ire of Gov. Greg Abbott, who endorsed LaHood.

    During Allison’s two terms, he has earned an “F” rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index for his votes on fiscal issues. He was also one of the 60 Republican House members who voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

  • Hillary Hickland defeated incumbent Hugh Shine in Texas House District 55, 53.1% to 39.5%.

    Belton mom and pro-family advocate Hillary Hickland has won the Republican Primary Election for House District 55, unseating incumbent State Rep. Hugh Shine of Temple.

    HD 55 encompasses part of Bell County.

    School Choice has defined the HD 55 race, as Shine voted against Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposed school choice package.

    Hickland meanwhile accumulated endorsements from Abbott, former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Home School Coalition, and Young Conservatives of Texas.

  • Matt Morgan defeated incumbent Jacey Jetton in Texas House District 26, 53.8% to 38.6%.

    Businessman Matt Morgan has defeated State Rep. Jacey Jetton of Richmond in the Republican Primary.

    House District 26 includes part of Fort Bend County.

    The failed impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton featured prominently in the race.

    Jetton was among the Republicans who voted to impeach Paxton.

    Morgan—who fell short to Jetton in a runoff in 2020—quickly earned the endorsement of Paxton. He also had the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, who called Jetton a “liberal.”

    During his two terms in office, Jetton earned an “F” rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index for his votes on fiscal issues.

  • Brent Money unseated “incumbent” Jill Dutton in Texas House District 2, reversing the results of the January runoff between the two.
  • Former Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson takes a narrow lead over incumbent Justin Holland into the Texas House District 33 runoff.

    State Rep. Justin Holland (R-Rockwall) and challenger Katrina Pierson will duke it out for another three months after neither eclipsed 50 percent, both advancing to the runoff.

    The pair were neck and neck in the Rockwall County and Collin County portions of the district.

    Holland’s clash with Pierson and London was highly-anticipated. Pierson has the largest profile of any challenger in this 2024 primary, having served as a Donald Trump campaign spokeswoman in 2016. On top of that, London challenged Holland in the 2022 primary, giving him some level of ballot name ID.

    Despite that Trump affiliation, Pierson was omitted from the former president’s endorsement list in Texas races.

    The incumbent found himself in the political right’s crosshairs after three consequential votes: impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton, striking down Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice plan, and advancing through committee a proposal to raise the age of purchasing certain semi-automatic rifles to 21.

    Holland far outraised and outspent his two opponents, who combined raised $337,000 to the incumbent’s $1.2 million.

    He was the beneficiary of around $170,000 from Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), $225,000 from the Charles Butt Public Education PAC, $50,000 from the casino group Texas Sands PAC, $40,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, and $115,000 from the Associated Republicans of Texas.

  • Alan Schoolcraft took a small lead against incumbent John Kuempel in the Texas House District 44 race. “Following election night results, Alan Schoolcraft and John Kuempel will go head to head in a runoff election scheduled for May 28. Schoolcraft received 48.13% of votes while Kuempel received 45.02% of votes.” Schoolcraft was endorsed by President Trump.
  • Mitch Little, Ken Paxton’s impeachment lawyer, appears to have won Texas House District 65 over incumbent Kronda Thimesch . “Little, with Paxton’s backing, defeated State Rep. Kronda Thimesch, who had the backing of Governor Greg Abbott, by about 300 votes.” Which means a recount is likely.
  • In Texas House District 1, Chris Spencer forced incumbent Gary Vandeaver into a runoff, with less than 2.5% separating them.
  • Helen Kerwin takes a seven point lead over incumbent DeWayne Burns into the Texas House District 58 runoff, and only missed an outright win by 1.2%. Kirwin was also endorsed by President Trump.
  • Challenger Keresa Richardson takes a seven point lead over incumbent Frederick Frazier into the Texas House District 61 runoff. Looks like I’ll have to wait until May to use the “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” joke…
  • Challenger Andy Hopper takes a narrow lead over incumbent Lynn Stuckey in the Texas House District 64 race into the runoff.
  • Challenger David Lowe was only two points behind Stephanie Klick going into the Texas House District 91 runoff.
  • Given the usual run of only one or two incumbents getting knocked off in primaries (and those usually involved in prominent scandals), having 17 reps meet that fate is a political earthquake on par with Newt Gingrich-lead Republicans capturing the House after 40 years of Democratic rule in 1994. All the outside gambling and other special interest money was on the Phelan Axis side, and they still got stomped. I credit this in large measure to Trump, Paxton, Abbott and Cruz getting involved in statehouse races.

    The Phelan Axis decided that killing school choice and the Paxton impeachment were the hills they wanted to die on, and a large number of them did.

    But not every rep who voted for the Paxton impeachment and/or against school choice lost or got taken to a runoff:

  • Keith Bell defeated Joshua Feuerstein in District 3.
  • Cole Hefner defeated Jeff Fletcher in District 5.
  • Jay Dean defeated Joe McDaniel in District 7.
  • Cody Harris stomped Jaye Curtis in District 8.
  • Trent Ashby thumped Paulette Carson.
  • Steve Toth defeated Skeeter Hubert in District 15.
  • Stan Gerdes beat Tom Glass in District 17.
  • Ellen Troxclair won against Kyle Biedermann in District 19.
  • Terry Wilson beat Elva Chapa in District 20.
  • Greg Bonnen destroyed Larissa Ramirez in District 24.
  • Gary Gates beat Dan Mathews in District 28.
  • Ben Bumgarner won a three-way race in District 63.
  • Matt Shaheen beat Wayne Richard in District 66.
  • Jeff Leach beat Daren Meis in District 67.
  • David Spiller beat Kerri Kingsbery in District 68.
  • Stan Lambert beat Liz Case in District 71.
  • Drew Darby defeated Stormy Bradley in District 72.
  • Dustin Burrows defeated Wade Cowan 2-1 in District 83.
  • Stan Kitzman defeated Tim Greeson by a similar margin in District 85.
  • John Smithee defeated Jamie Haynes in District 86.
  • Ken King walloped Karen Post in District 88.
  • Candy Noble edged Abraham George in District 89.
  • Giovanni Capriglione beat Brad Schofield in District 98.
  • Charlie Geren defeated Jack Reynolds in District 99.
  • Morgan Meyer edged Barry Wernick in District 108.
  • Angie Chen Button decisively Chad Carnahan in District 112.
  • Briscoe Cain stomped Bianca Gracia in District 128.
  • Mano Deayala defeated John Perez in District 133.
  • Lacey Hull defeated Jared Woodfill in District 138.
  • That’s 31 Republican reps that could theoretically reconstitute the Phelan axis, but I’m not sure they have the stomach for it.

    Of those, Bell, Dean, Lambert, Darby, King and Geren were the only ones to vote both for the Paxton impeachment and against school choice. Michael Quinn Sullivan (who I’m pretty sure is ecstatic at the numbers of Phelan enablers taken down yesterday) has identified Burrows and Harris as the two most likely Phelan axis members to attempt to take the gavel next year, and Geren and Capriglione have always struck me as among the biggest supporters of the axis. But a lot of those other names strike me as “soft” axis supporters who might be persuaded to support an actual Republican for speaker, least the same fate befall them as all the other Phelan backers taken down.

    All in all, it was a very, very good day for Texas conservatives.

    Today Is Primary Election Day In Texas! Go Vote!

    Tuesday, March 5th, 2024

    Today is primary day! Find your voter registration card and go vote!

    Here are some Texas primary day links:

  • Texas State House Republican Primary Candidates
  • Gun Owners of America issue Texas endorsements.
  • Election news roundup For February 28
  • Election news roundup for March 4.
  • Williamson County Voting Locations.
  • Travis County voting locations.
  • The Texan’s results page, for when results start coming in this evening.
  • Update: Voting for my suburban Wilco district seamed pretty heavy; the parking lot at the local rec center was full and there was a short line to vote, despite my getting there around 3:45 PM. If you haven’t voted already, you might want to head out a little early…

    BattleSwarmBlog Endorses Christi Craddick For Railroad Commissioner

    Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

    I’m not one to vote for a Republican incumbent just because they’re a Republican incumbent. That, and the fact that the operations of the Texas Railroad Commission are seldom reported on and mostly opaque to me, have heretofore kept me from backing Christi Craddick’s reelection bid, especially since she has four challengers this year.

    Nor have her multiple direct mail flyers (with so few competitive races this year, she’s one of the few sending them) saying all the right things, sold me either. Nor did endorsements from the Williamson County Republican Party, or the Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC, do the trick. (I’m inclined more toward the latter, simply because it agrees with GOA endorsements.)

    So I was still looking for a sign. And lo and behold, one was given unto me.

    The Houston Chronicle endorsed her opponent James Matlock.

    Once upon a time (say 40 odd years ago), the Chronicle, much like the city it was published in, was reliably conservative and Republican. That hasn’t been true for a long time. Today they suffer from the same far left myopia that infects the rest of the MSM, and they seem to have endorsed Matlock for his regurgitation of some well-debunked Gaslands anti-fracking talking points. (Oh, they also endorsed Nikki Haley, because of course they did.)

    The fact that Craddick’s most prominent opponent is far enough off-base to be endorsed by the Houston Chronicle is enough to make me back her…

    Texas State House Republican Primary Candidates

    Tuesday, February 20th, 2024

    Today marked the start of early primary voting, so here’s a roundup on Republican state house races.

    I’ve posted several times on the need to primary and defeat every one of the Dade Phelan toadies who voted to kill school choice or who voted to impeach Ken Paxton. Every candidate who voted to kill school choiceretired or draw a primary challenger.

    So here is a list of every contested Republican state House race, whether the incumbent voted to kill school choice or impeach Paxton, and who their challengers are:

  • District 1: Gary VanDeaver:

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Dale Huls
    Chris Spencer

  • District 2: Jill Dutton

    Dutton is listed as the incumbent because she won the special election for the seat of the expelled and disgraced Bryan Slaton. But she wasn’t in office to vote for or against school choice or the Paxton impeachment.

    Challenger:
    Brent Money

  • District 3: Keith Bell

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Joshua Feuerstein

  • District 5: Cole Hefner:

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Dewey Collier
    Jeff Fletcher

  • District 7: Jay Dean

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Bonnie Walters
    Joe McDaniel

  • District 8: Cody Harris

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Jaye Curtis

  • District 9: Trent Ashby

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Paulette Carson

  • District 11: Travis Clardy

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Joanne Shofner

  • District 12: No incumbent (Kyle Kacal retiring)

    Challengers:
    Ben Bius
    John Slocum
    Trey Wharton

  • District 14: No incumbent (John Raney retiring)

    Challengers:
    Rick Davis
    Paul Dyson

  • District 15: Steve Toth

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Skeeter Hubert

  • District 17: Stan Gerdes

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Tom Glass

  • District 18: Ernest Bailes

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Janis Holt
    Stephen Missick

  • District 19: Ellen Troxclair

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Kyle Biedermann
    Manny Campos

  • District 20: Terry Wilson

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Elva Janine Chapa

  • District 21: Dade Phalen

    As Speaker of the House, Phalen voted Present on the school choice gutting and Paxton impeachment votes, but is known to be the motivating factor behind both.

    Challengers:
    David Covey (Endorsed by President Trump.)
    Alicia Davis

  • District 24: Greg Bonnen

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Larissa Ramirez

  • District 26: Jacey Jetton

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Jessica Rose Huang
    Matt Morgan

  • District 28: Gary Gates

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Dan Matthews

  • District 29: No incumbent (Ed Thompson retiring)

    Challengers:
    Jeff Barry
    Alex Kamkar
    Edgar Pacheco Jr.
    Trent Perez

  • District 30: No incumbent (Geanie W. Morrison retiring)

    Challengers:
    Bret Baldwin
    Jeff Bauknight
    Vanessa Hicks-Callaway
    A.J. Louderback

  • District 33: Justin Holland

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Dennis London
    Katrina Pierson

  • District 44: John Kuempel

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Greg Switzer
    David Freimarck
    Alan Schoolcraft (Endorsed by President Trump)

  • District 53: No incumbent (Andrew S. Murr retiring)

    Challengers:
    Hatch Smith
    Wesley Virdell

  • District 55: Hugh Shine

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Jorge Estrada
    Davis Ford
    Hillary Hickland

  • District 56: No incumbent (Charles “Doc” Anderson retiring)

    Challengers:
    Pat Curry
    Devvie Duke

  • District 58: DeWayne Burns

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Helen Kerwin (Endorsed by President Trump)
    Lyndon Laird

  • District 60: Glenn Rogers

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Mike Olcott (Endorsed by President Trump)

  • District 61: Frederick Frazier

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Chuck Branch
    Keresa Richardson

  • District 62: Reggie Smith

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Shelley Luther

  • District 63: Ben Bumgarner

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Carlos Andino Jr. (website shows as expired)
    Vincent Gallo

  • District 64: Lynn Stucky

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Elaine Hays
    Andy Hopper

  • District 65: Kronda Thimesch

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Mitch Little

  • District 66: Matt Shaheen

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Wayne Richard

  • District 67: Jeff Leach

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Daren Meis

  • District 68: David Spiller

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Kerri Kingsbery

  • District 70: Incumbent Democrat Mihaela Plesa

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Republican Challengers:
    Joe Collins
    Steven Kinard

  • District 71: Stan Lambert

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Charles Byrn
    Liz Case (Endorsed by President Trump)

  • District 72: Drew Darby

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Stormy Bradley

  • District 74: Incumbent Democrat Eddie Morales Jr.

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Republican Challengers:
    Robert Garza
    John McLeon

  • District 76: Incumbent Democrat Suleman Lalani

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Republican Challengers:
    Dayo David
    Summara Kanwal
    Lea Simmons

  • District 80: No incumbent (Democrat Tracy King retiring)

    Republican Challengers:
    Don McLaughlin
    Clint Powell
    JR Ramirez

  • District 83: Dustin Burrows

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Wade Cowen

  • District 85: Stan Kitzman

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Tim Greeson

  • District 86: John Smithee

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? No

    Challenger:
    Jamie Haynes

  • District 87: No incumbent (John Four Price retiring)

    Challengers:
    Richard Beyea
    Cindi Bulla
    Caroline Fairly
    Jesse Quackenbush

  • District 88: Ken King

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Karen Post

  • District 89: Candy Noble

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Abraham George

  • District 91: Stephanie Klick

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Teresa Ramirez Gonzalez
    David Lowe

  • District 97: No incumbent (Craig Goldman retired to run for U.S. Congress)

    Challengers:
    Cheryl Bean
    John McQueeney
    Leslie Robnett

  • District 98: Giovanni Capriglione

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Brad Schofield

  • District 99: Charlie Geren

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Jack Reynolds

  • District 108: Morgan Meyer

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Barry Wernick

  • District 112: Angie Chen Button

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Chad Carnahan

  • District 119: Incumbent Democrat Elizabeth Campos

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Republican Challengers:
    Brandon Grable
    Dan Sawatzki

  • District 121: Steve Allison

    Voted to kill school choice? Yes
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challengers:
    Marc LaHood
    Michael Champion

  • District 128: Briscoe Cain

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Bianca Gracia

  • District 133: Mano Deayala

    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    John Perez

  • District 138: Lacey Hull
    Voted to kill school choice? No
    Voted to impeach Paxton? Yes

    Challenger:
    Jared Woodfill

  • Sources:

  • List of Texas state house races
  • School choice vote role call
  • Paxton impeachment vote roll call
  • Ballot information for the 2024 election.
  • I’m still missing a few candidate websites, so if you note any errors or omissions, let me know in the comments below.

    Trump Endorses Phelan Opponent David Covey

    Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

    A huuuuuge Texas Republican Primary endorsement just dropped.

    Former President Donald Trump has officially waded into the Texas House Republican primaries with his first endorsement, throwing his support behind House District (HD) 21 candidate David Covey, who is challenging incumbent House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont).

    In an exclusive interview with The Texan last year, Trump first indicated his intent to endorse Covey, saying, “Well, tell David to get ready,” after slamming Phelan for the House’s role in impeaching Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

    Now, in a post on Trump’s social media website Truth Social, the former president and leading 2024 GOP presidential candidate made his support for Covey official.

    “David Covey is running against Dade Phelan, the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, who led the Fraudulent Impeachment of the recently re-elected, in a landslide, Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote. “David is an America First Conservative who will Secure the Border, Restore Election Integrity, Protect our Families, and Military/Vets, and Defend our under siege Second Amendment.”

    Covey reacted to the news with a statement, writing that he spoke with Trump and reassured the president that he intends to win the race.

    “When I spoke with President Trump, a few minutes ago, I reassured him that for the sake of Texas’s future, we will win this race for President, and my race to unseat liberal Dade Phelan,” Covey said.

    Naturally this is big news. Texas House District 21 Republican voters who hadn’t been paying attention to how Phelan has repeatedly thwarted conservative priorities and foolishly impeached Paxton now have no excuse to ignore Phelan’s sins.

    Phelan needs to go, as well as every one of his enablers in the Texas House.

    The weeds making up the Democrat-backed Straus-Bonnen-Phelan axis must be pulled out by their roots so they can’t grow back.

    And Just Like That, The 2024 Republican Presidential Primary Is Over

    Sunday, January 21st, 2024

    Well, that was quick.

    Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race Sunday afternoon and endorsed former president Donald Trump, announcing the suspension of his embattled campaign in a video posted to social media just two days before the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary.

    DeSantis’s departure comes days after his allies began making calls to top donors asking whether the candidate should drop out ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

    The campaign continues to tell reporters that their candidate will stay in the race through South Carolina, force rival and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to drop out should she lose her home state, and hopefully go toe-to-toe with Trump in the event that she drops out.

    But behind closed doors, DeSantis allies are of course mindful of the fact that the Florida governor continues to poll in the single digits in New Hampshire compared with Haley, who is still polling behind Trump but is gaining on him in some surveys. As recently as Tuesday, one day after DeSantis finished roughly 30 points behind first-place finisher Donald Trump in Iowa, the campaign insisted that DeSantis still had a path forward to the nomination.

    No one outside of the MSM and desperate NeverTrumpers give a rat’s ass about Haley.

    On paper, DeSantis should have been a formidable candidate. The popular governor of a large, thriving state, DeSantis had more impressive credentials than Trump when it came to fighting wokeness, pulling it out root and branch in Florida institutions.

    But his campaigning has, alas, been anything but impressive. Indeed, he never gained any traction and all the media attention as the “Trump alternative” has been lavished on Haley.

    Usually second place in Iowa is quite a respectable showing (Trump himself came in second to Ted Cruz in 2016, and Ronald Reagan to George H. W. Bush in 1976), one that punches your ticket to later primaries, usually to at least Super Tuesday. But Trump won an absolute majority in Iowa, something that hasn’t happened for a non-incumbent in the last half century. (Maybe longer; online records before that seem spotty.) DeSantis and his team seem to have figured, I think correctly, that he had no path to the nomination.

    At this point, Trump looks poised to win every primary on the schedule, including Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina, where he currently leads her by 35 points.

    Now the only question is whether the NeverTrump rump (and I include National Review here) will swallow both their pride and their shame at refusing to fight over the stolen 2020 election and embrace the overwhelming choice of the Republican Party base, or will they go hunting for another Egg McMuffin to prop up in a desperate bid to spoil Trump’s election chances?

    LinkSwarm For January 19, 2024

    Friday, January 19th, 2024

    Trump wins Iowa (and picks up Ted Cruz’s endorsement), Democratic party popularity becomes ever more selective, Hunter Biden’s laptop confirmed as Hunter Biden’s laptop (not that we ever had any doubt), two shithole countries exchange airstrikes, and a science fiction legend dies. It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!

  • Donald Trump won the Iowa Caucuses in convincing fashion, winning 51% of the vote. Ron DeSantis came in second with 21%, and MSM-and-Never Trump darling Nikki Haley pulling in 19%, and Vivek Ramaswamy a distant 4th with 7.6%. (Ramaswamy then endorsed Trump.) The most satisfying part of this result is seeing the Hindenburg of Haley puffery crash and explode.
  • Ted Cruz has endorsed Trump. “‘I’m a big believer in letting democracy play out,’ Cruz said. ‘I’ve got to say Trump’s victory was across the board. He won 51 percent of the vote. He won 98 of the counties. Congratulations to President Trump on that dominating victory.'” Despite DeSantis many strengths as a governor, he did not run a good campaign. And remember, Cruz actually beat Trump in Iowa in 2016, and ran a competitive campaign into May. That’s not going to happen this year. Trump seems likely to win all the primaries in every state.
  • “Americans Identifying As Democrats Hits Record Low.”

    A Gallup poll released on Friday reveals that a record low percentage of Americans who identify as Democrats in 2023 hit a record low, when independent ‘leaners’ are excluded.

    Just 27% of Americans self-identify as Democrats, the smallest figure in the party’s history according to the survey. That said, self-identifying Republicans also hit 27%, though it did not mark the lowest figure in the party’s history – which was in 2013 when just 25% of Americans identified as such. The previous low for Democrats was in 2017 and 2015 at 29%.

    Independents, meanwhile, take the cake – with 43% of Americans identifying as such.

  • “Jim Jordan Demands Answers After Biden Admin Caught Flagging “MAGA” And “Trump” To Track Political Opponents’ Financial Transactions.” This is the sort of thing EFF used to freak out over, but refuses to do so now that it’s targeted at Republicans…
  • “Oregon cannot trace $426 million in Covid money.” Of course not. But I bet a lot of friends of powerful Oregon Democrats made out very well indeed…
  • Not that any of us ever had any doubt, but DOJ confirmed that the “Laptop from Hell” is in fact Hunter Biden’s laptop, and that they knew that all along:

    (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)

  • Things that make your blood boil: “Texas man arrested in connection with videos showing seven men who sexually assaulted toddlers at a public mall.”

    A Texas man is in federal custody after the FBI linked him to videos from the dark web depicting group sexual assault on toddlers in a mall.

    Arthur Hector Fernandez, 29, was arrested Dec. 18, 2023 in Kingwood, TX as the result of a Dec. 14 criminal complaint filed in federal court in Houston, records show.

    The FBI were led to Fernandez as a suspect after viewing videos of an assault of a three-year-old child; a relative of the child “recognized the bracelets an individual in the video was wearing as belonging to Fernandez.”

    Hanging’s too good for him…

  • Speaking of child sex offenders, director of California LGBTQ+ center busted in child sex sting.

    The executive director of the Rainbow Resource Center, a prominent LGBTQ+ support center based in Modesto, has been identified as one of 17 men apprehended on suspicion of attempting to engage in sexual activities with a minor.

    The revelation was first reported by the Modesto Bee.

    Gerad Slayton, 42, was taken into custody during a sting operation organized by the Turlock Police Department, targeting individuals believed to be seeking illicit encounters with minors. Slayton, recently appointed as the executive director of the Rainbow Center, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing resources for LGBTQ+ individuals across all age groups, faces allegations of pursuing sexual activities with minors.

    (Hat tip: Instapundit.)

  • Special Incompetence Unit.

    Rape kits that should have been analyzed by the NYPD but were left in storage at hospitals across the city are now part of a sprawling Department of Justice probe into the department’s Special Victims Division, The Post has learned.

    The revelation comes after The Post revealed the snafu, which meant that an unknown number of cases were not fully investigated, victims didn’t get justice, and countless rapists could be roaming free.

    (Hat tip: 357 Magnum.)

  • Pakistan and Iran have traded airstrikes in each other’s territory. “The unprecedented attacks by both Pakistan and Iran on either side of their border appeared to target Baluch militant groups with similar separatist goals. The countries accuse each other of providing a haven to the groups in their respective territories.”
  • Crazy doppelganger murder trial begins.
  • The Disney magic seems to extend everywhere. “Pixar is planning on MAJOR layoffs this year, up to 20% of employees could be dismissed.” Under Jobs it made money hand over fist, but after Disney went woke it’s produced one flop after another.

  • Speaking of layoffs, Sports Illustrated lays off everybody. Wait, you mean putting fat women and trannys on the cover of your swimsuit issue and fluffing Colin Kaepernick weren’t tickets to success? Who knew?

  • Emmy Award show rating hits all time low.
  • Science fiction legend and personal friend Howard Waldrop died over the weekend. Howard was one of the greatest short story writers the field has ever produced. Since you can’t make a living from short stories, Howard was never far from penury, and he spent six months living in a spare room in my house. Pretty much everyone in the field loved him, and he will be missed.
  • Also dead this week: PDQ RIP.
  • “If you give a 19-year-old millions of dollars and international fame, you’re going to end up with Caligula like 90% of the time.”
  • TIAA Bank Field send out query as to how Jacksonville Jaguar fans enjoyed the Wild Card game they never hosted after they missed the postseason:

  • “New Film Adaptation Of ‘1984’ To Feature Big Brother As The Good Guy.”
  • “FBI Warns Of Extremist MAGA Plot To Go To A Polling Location And Vote For Preferred Candidate.”
  • Another Case Of That Democratic Party Voting Fraud That Doesn’t Exist

    Wednesday, December 27th, 2023

    From New York City…

    Pace Salsa

    …comes another example of that voting fraud that Democrats swear up and down doesn’t exist.

    Last week in New York City, a city resident was indicted for submitting over 100 absentee ballot applications during the 2022 Democrat primaries, The Federalist reports.

    In a press release dated Dec. 19, 2023, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the suspect, Abdul Rahman, was arraigned on an indictment charging him with falsifying business records, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and other crimes for submitting falsified absentee ballot applications for the August 2022 Democratic primary election.

    Snip.

    The investigation into Rahman began after a Queens voter, Jordan Sandke, went to vote in person in the primary; however, he was refused, with a poll worker telling him “an absentee ballot had already been requested in his name.” That began an investigation whereby authorities discovered an absentee ballot had been filled out, signed, and dated in Sandke’s name on Aug. 1, 2022, with Rahman listed as the person authorized to pick up and deliver the ballot.

    According to Katz’s office, Sandke “had not filled out, signed or submitted the application, and said he had never met [Rahman] or authorized him to pick up an absentee ballot on his behalf.” Under New York law, only the person designated on a voter’s ballot to pick up and deliver it may do so.”

    During the investigation, it was determined that Sandke’s application was one of 118 Rahman dropped off at the Queens County Board of Elections office on Aug. 8, 2022, all of which named him as “the individual authorized to pick up the ballots.” The office approved thirty-two of the ballots, which Rahman retrieved the following day. Authorities interviewed a number of those named on the ballots, and several said they had not permitted Rahman “to pick up a ballot for them.”

    Snip.

    Rahman, 32, who lives in Floral Park, Queens, was arraigned on a 140-count indictment, charging him with 20 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree; 20 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree; 20 counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; 20 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree; 20 counts of falsifying business records in the second degree; 20 counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree; and 20 counts of illegal voting.

    Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino ordered Rahman to return to court on January 30, 2024. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

    Democrats swear up and down voting fraud doesn’t exist, even when Democrats are on video doing it or when they plead guilty to the fraud charges. How many close elections have been flipped due to all that non-existent fraud?