Posts Tagged ‘Greg Abbott’
Friday, September 12th, 2014
Reporting on the Wendy Davis campaign at this point is like reporting on the Titanic 80% of the way into the sinking (“And there goes the second smokestack under the waves!”). But someone has to write a first draft of those epic failures for the historical record, so let’s press on…
Right now polls show Greg Abbott up a comfortable 18 points over Davis, 54% to 36%.
It’s gotten so bad that the Davis campaign “leaked” one of those ridiculous, can’t remotely trust them “internal polls” that shows her a mere 8 points behind Abbott, 38% to his 46%. You know it’s bad when you can’t even pretend to be winning in your own fantasy land poll.
Also, the Abbott campaign filed an ethics complaint against the Davis campaign for using her campaign funds to attend a book signing in New York City. (I wonder if her New York City signing had the same strict conditions as her Austin signing.) Since Davis did have one fundraising event on the trip, I doubt the complaint will succeed legally, but it does further the Abbott campaign’s picture of Davis as a woman who has more supporters in New York and California than in Texas.
The big question at this point is: What’s the floor for how poorly Wendy Davis can do in the general election? I think she can drop below the 39.96% Tony Sanchez garnered in 2002. I don’t see her eclipsing the pitiful low-mark of Garry Mauro’s 31.18% in 1998, much less Chris Bell’s 29.79% in the 4-way Perry-Bell-Strayhorn-Friedman race in 2006. Davis has garnered a lot more fawning media attention than Sanchez ever got, and didn’t have the bruising primary fight Sanchez had against Dan Morales, much less one where her opponent ended up endorsing the Republican nominee, as Morales did. On the other hand, Davis doesn’t have $60 million of her own money to spend on her campaign the way Sanchez did.
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, Chris Bell, Elections, Greg Abbott, Tony Sanchez, Wendy Davis
Posted in Elections, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, August 28th, 2014
It’s not been a good month for people trying to pretend the Wendy Davis campaign is actually capable of winning the Governor’s mansion.
First, during a time when Davis desperately needs media attention to have any hope of closing the gap with Republican opponent Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Rick Perry indictment is sucking up all the media oxygen. “It’s very good for Greg Abbott because he’s up by 12-13-14 points on Wendy Davis and he has two to three times as much money as she does to close out this race in the final weeks.”
Next comes word that Wendy Davis is actually polling 10 points behind where Bill White was at this time four years ago. And Bill White, despite running a markedly more competent and professional campaign than Davis has thus far, got slaughtered.
Then it was revealed that Davis was trying to hide her 2013 tax returns, giving partial copies to the media “with the stipulation that the document couldn’t be shared with anyone or published in full.” A look at those returns shows why. Her 2013 tax return itself shows that out of $249,754 in gross income, Wendy Davis actually paid Uncle Sam a grand total of $788 in withholding in 2013. That left her just a wee, tiny bit short of the amount she she estimated had to pay. Namely, $60,000 short. But even that amount (which is what she sent in with her extension form) turned out to be less than the $70,252 she actually owed, which is why she paid $1,246 in tax penalties.
Evidently, when you pull Davis’ string, she says “Math is hard!” in addition to “Abortion is awesome!”
Finally, Davis’ laughable attack ad attempt to link Abbott to problems at the troubled Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas gets slammed by MSM fact checkers. In fact, Jerald Combs, the only person indicted in the now-closed CPRIT investigation, has not donated anything to Abbott.
In a state as deep red as Texas, Democrats were always going to need a string, spotless candidate running a flawless campaign to have any hope of beating Abbott. Davis isn’t, and she hasn’t.
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, Elections, Greg Abbott, Media Watch, tax returns, Texas, Wendy Davis
Posted in Democrats, Elections, Media Watch, Texas | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 19th, 2014
I hit Instapundit this morning, and guess who the banner ad was attacking?
That’s right: An anti-Greg Abbott, pro-Wendy Davis ad on Instapundit! That’s some mighty fine use of targeted advertising, Wendy Davis campaign!
Next up: A Jewish Defense League fundraising appeal on Al Jazerra…
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, Greg Abbott, Instapundit, Media Watch, Texas, Wendy Davis
Posted in Elections, Media Watch, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, August 14th, 2014
With all Obama’s manifest incompetence at the national and international level, it’s easy to neglect Texas election news, so here’s a small update to tide you over.
Even liberal MSM fossil Paul Burka says that the governor’s race is over and Wendy Davis has already lost. (Shhhhh! Don’t tell her national liberal donors! Let them keep tossing dollars down the hole…
Abbott wants to reform Texas occupational licensing schemes, noting that an EMT only requires 33 days of training, but cosmetologists and barbers require 350 days of training.
Lt. Governor candidates Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte will be having debate in September.
Brandon Creighton wins special election for state senate.
In the Texas House District 136 race (my district), Democratic challenger John Bucy claims to have raised more money than Republican incumbent Tony Dale. But that’s only true by counting Bucy’ spersonal political expenditures as contributions, contrary to state law, counting his volunteer campaign manager’s non-existent $22,018.70 “salary” as a contribution, and counting a bunch of other in-kind contributions.
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, 2014 Lt. Governor's Race, Brandon Creighton, Democrats, Greg Abbott, John Bucy, Regulation, Republicans, Texas, Tony Dale, Wendy Davis
Posted in Democrats, Elections, Regulation, Republicans, Texas | No Comments »
Friday, July 18th, 2014
This has not been Wendy Davis’ week.
First Greg Abbott’s campaign announces that he has more than $35 million cash on hand. Since Abbott was already the prohibitive favorite, hearing that he’s shattered Texas gubernatorial fundraising records wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine for Team Wendy.
Second, a Dallas Morning News headline proclaims that “Hollywood luminaries, labor and trial lawyers fuel Wendy Davis campaign.” Thus reminding everyone yet again that Davis is a liberal media darling whose fundraising occurs out of state because she’s far more popular in Hollywood than in Texas.
Now even the Democrat-friendly Texas Tribune is debunking her fund-raising numbers:
Instead of $13.1 million in cash on hand as claimed, the reports Davis and her allies filed show there was actually $12.8 million in the bank at the end of June, a difference of about $300,000.
Meanwhile, the $11.2 million Davis claims she raised over the latest period — an amount she said was larger than the $11.1 million Abbott raised — contains over half a million dollars in non-cash “in-kind” donations and counts contributions that could benefit other Democratic candidates.
One of the biggest sources of non-cash donations: a $250,000 in-kind contribution from country singing legend Willie Nelson. That’s how much the red-headed stranger told the campaign he would have charged for a free concert he gave at the senator’s Houston fundraiser, the campaign said.
The lower-than-advertised cash figure and non-traditional accounting methods raise questions about how much money can be accurately attributed to Davis for the latest period.
Also this:
It was the cash-on-hand figure from Battleground Texas that came in lower than advertised. In the press release, the Davis campaign said Battleground would report $1.1 million in the bank. But Battleground told the Ethics Commission it only had $806,000 in the bank.
That’s a double-dose of good news: The hopeless Davis campaign is sucking up money that might go to competitive races nationwide, and the well is running dry on Battleground Texas, which might conceivably be able to swing a few down-ballot races with better funding.
And the general election is four months away…
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, Elections, fundraising, Greg Abbott, Texas, Trial Lawyers, unions, Wendy Davis
Posted in Elections, Media Watch, Texas, unions | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 11th, 2014
More news from inside the handbasket, including the dust-up in Gaza and the illegal alien surge at the border:
Israel hits Gaza for a third day in retaliation for yet another round of rocket attacks. Is there really anything left to say about this that hasn’t been said before? Hamas is the elected government of Gaza, they fire rockets indiscriminately against Israeli civilians and fire them from their own civilian areas to maximize civilian damage at both ends, making them legitimate military targets under international law.
And speaking of rockets, Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system racks up a 90% success rate. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ, who adds “Suck It 1980s Lefties”.)
And Hamas might be receiving taxpayer money.
Also speaking of rockets, in Iraq ISIS seizes control of one of Saddam’s chemical weapons sites, filled with rockets full of nerve gas agents. You know, the ones liberals swore didn’t exist in 2004…
Food inflation costs overwhlem wage growth.
Get ready for the next round of ObamaCare rate shock.
Scabies outbreak at the border. Well, that’s just lovely. Thanks, Obama!
Even Democrats think Obama should visit the border.
Are veterans being turned away from appointments because treating illegal aliens takes precedence? Caveat: Twitter is not a source.
But the Obama Administration seems to be going to great lengths to prevent lawmakers from inspecting illegal alien holding facilities.
“We can medically treat non-citizens in a few days, maybe even hours, but not our own veterans.”
Planes full of illegal aliens landing in El Paso.
They’re even trying to house illegal aliens in Virginia.
The scale of the problem:
Important reminder: Not all Hispanic immigrants are in favor of unlimited illegal aliens coming to the country.
Greg Abbott criticizes Obama. “Whether it’s on the broken VA system, or our porous border, he is all talk and no action. He’s all hat and no cattle.”
Airlines reduce flights to Venezuela due to cash trapped in the country by currency controls. How’s that socialism working out for ya?
Hillary Clinton and Adultery. Then again, maybe Hillary is one of Ashley Madison’s fake profiles.
Hillary’s book drops off the Amazon 100 list. Evidently there are tens of millions of Democrats who found that not buying Hard Choices was, in fact, an easy choice…
Public employees union AFSCME severs ties with the United negro College Fund because they took money from the Koch brothers. So it’s more important to display their hate than to help black people go to college…
50 colleges now charge more than $60,000 a year to attend, and Harvard, Yale and MIT are not among them. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Evidently former Merrill Lynch chairman Stan O’Neal wants this to disappear.
Tags:AFSCME, amnesty, Border Controls, chemical weapons, college, Democrats, education, El Paso, Gaza, Greg Abbott, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, inflation, Iron Dome, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Israel, Jihad, Obama, ObamaCare, Scabies, Strategic Defense Initiative, unions, Virginia, Welfare State
Posted in Austin, Border Control, Communism, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Texas, unions, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 23rd, 2014
Some Texas statewide race news to start your week with:
Her campaign manager twitched her whiskers, then jumped off the USS Wendy Davis. Speaking of which, remember her old logo?
Of the move, liberal MSM fossil Paul Burka says it’s about time: “The Davis campaign has been a disaster.” Also:
Democrats have already started describing the Republican slate as the “Abbott, Patrick, Paxton ticket.” There is always a “be careful what you wish for” component to these races. Patrick in particular is a very shrewd operator who has widespread support from the conservative base. He is a dangerous opponent. Democrats who underestimate him do so at their peril.
The fact that Greg Abbott is kicking Wendy Davis’ ass in polls is no surprise. The fact that Dan Patrick is kicking Leticia Van de Putte’s ass by an even bigger margin is.
Davis’ political obituary is already being written: “Privately, many of her supporters are resigned to her losing. And, already, some political operatives are pondering how she can stay politically relevant beyond November.” As I’ve said before, I think in 2015 she’ll host her own show on MSNBC.
Don’t give up, Wendy Davis! “Republicans needed her to be sucking up Democratic donors’ dollars all year long.”
Davis continues to raise funds where she’s most beloved: outside Texas.
More on that theme.
Abbott’s first ads against Davis are running in Spanish during the World Cup. It’s a sign of Abbott’s strength that he feels no need to secure his own base, so he can cut into Davis’ base right out of the gate.
Davis and Van de Putte are getting together to celebrate the one year anniversary of her abortion filibuster on Wednesday.
Abbott and Davis agree to two debates.
Abbot is not a big fan of corporate welfare.
Tags:2014 Governor's Race, 2014 Lt. Governor's Race, abortion, Elections, Greg Abbott, Leticia Van de Putte, Paul Burka, Texas, Wendy Davis
Posted in Elections, Texas | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014
You may remember back in 2012 when I reported on Democratic Party candidate for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Constable Robert “Bobby” Maldonado being caught with over $1 million cash in his car’s trunk. Well, I now have a Hidalgo County guilty plea update.
But not on Maldonado. Last time I checked, he was out on a $200,000 bond.
No, I have an update on a completely different Hidalgo County Democratic Party law enforcement officer charged with money laundering.
Former Hidalgo County Sheriff Guadalupe “Lupe” Treviño, a nine-year veteran of the office and a fixture of the region’s Democratic Party, pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges of money laundering. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said the former lawman “received cash contributions for his election campaign from alleged drug trafficker Tomas ‘El Gallo’ Gonzalez.”
Trevino’s former chief of staff, Maria P. Medina, also plead guilty.
Also keep in mind that this was after Trevino prepared termination papers for his second in command, Jose Padilla after the feds arrested him for “marijuana smuggling and money laundering,” also reportedly in the pay of Gonzalez.
I wonder how many other shoes might drop.
Texas Attorney General (and 2014 Gubernatorial favorite) Greg Abbott penned this editorial on the topic, containing this great quote (albeit it one only tangentially related to the question of border corruption):
Conservative is not a color, it is not a race, it is not an ethnicity. It is a commitment to the idea that every American has a chance to succeed; that faith and family are foremost; that jobs and education are the best pathway to a better future; and that secure communities are a part of all that.
Tags:Crime, Democratic Party, Greg Abbott, Guadalupe “Lupe” Trevino, Hidalgo County, Rio Grande Valley, Robert "Bobby" Maldonado, Texas, Tomas "El Gallo" Gonzalez
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Texas | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 15th, 2014
Well, this can’t be good news for Team Wendy:
Texas women prefer Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott to self-styled feminist Democratic hopeful Wendy Davis, according to a new survey from a left-leaning polling firm.
According to a new Public Policy Polling survey, Davis’ favorability rating is upside down with women, while Abbott is right side up.
Thirty-two percent of women view Davis favorably, while 46 percent view her unfavorably, and 22 percent were not sure. But 35 percent of women viewed Abbott favorably, and only 27 percent said they viewed him unfavorably. Thirty-eight percent weren’t sure.
Abbott also took 49 percent of the female vote in a head-to-head matchup, compared to 41 percent for Davis, with 11 percent unsure.
Also this:
“Women get exhausted with women candidates who say they are pro-woman and then run on issues that real women don’t say are most important to them,” Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway told The Daily Caller.
She added that this is another indication that the Democrats’ “war on women” narrative has run its course.
Let’s hope so.
Poor Wendy. She didn’t start out alienating her supposed base, but she got there as fast as possible…
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, Greg Abbott, polls, Wendy Davis
Posted in Democrats, Texas | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 4th, 2014
My taxes and family health issues have curtailed blogging somewhat, so here are some statewide race updates, some of which stretch back to just after the primary:
The Weekly Standard covers the Abbott campaign.
One Abbott supporter in Edinburg, former state representative Aaron Peña, is a Democrat-turned-Republican with strong ties to the valley. He says his fellow Hispanic Texans may vote Democratic, but they are traditionalists on cultural issues, including abortion. Davis may be popular with the liberal set in Austin, but she doesn’t offer much to Peña’s constituents, he says.
Also this:
Davis herself doesn’t appear to be making much effort to court the Valley vote, or any vote for that matter. She’s noticeably inconspicuous on the trail, and even friendly media have a hard time finding her.
Davis gives a speech in Midland to sparse attendance. “Davis showed up to an almost empty room but despite the crickets, she told me she felt comfortable.” Ouch!
How Davis benefited from her law firm doing government bond work while she was a state senator.
At least she’s changed her logo from the sinking ship, even if the new logo looks a little familiar…
“Two Dewhurst aides quit amid campaign feuding about tactics.” This is not exactly the sign of a well-oiled campaign machine…
Paul Burka even goes so far as to say that Dewhurst is toast: “The reality is that Dewhurst has been politically dead since the night of the Wendy Davis filibuster, and he has no hope to retain his office. Unless something very strange happens, Dan Patrick is a lock to be the state’s next lieutenant governor.” I’d say he’s been politically dead since losing to Ted Cruz in 2012…
Rick Casey not only thinks Dan Patrick will win, he thinks “Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will be more powerful than Gov. Greg Abbott.” Agree on the first, disagree on the second, mainly because Greg Abbott is a lot more formidable than Dewhurst. It’s an interesting piece, despite making (I believe) some subtly wrong assumptions about Tea Party politics.
State of play piece by Ross Ramsey.
Movement conservatives in Texas — a label that includes fiscal and social conservatives, Tea Partyers and the religious right — seem to be forming up behind Dan Patrick, a state senator running for lieutenant governor; Ken Paxton, a state senator running for attorney general; and Wayne Christian, a former state representative running for railroad commissioner. Each finished ahead of the establishment candidate in his race — in Patrick’s case, the incumbent lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst.
Ramsey also notes money switching to conservative challengers. Plus this: “Every Republican senator has probably given some private thought to state Sen. John Carona’s loss to Donald Huffines, and that kind of private thinking often leads to changed voting patterns.”
Dan Patrick endorsed by Buc-ees. If they throw in free fudge, this race is so over…
Mike Huckabee endorses Ken Paxton. That probably means more to Huckabee than Paxton…
14 Texas state house republicans ask Dan Branch to withdraw.
Democratic Agricultural Commissioner candidate Kinky Friedman calls marijuana farms the future of Texas.
Tags:2014 Attorney General's Race, 2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, 2014 Lt. Governor's Race, Dan Branch, Dan Patrick, David Dewhurst, Elections, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Kinky Friedman, marijuana, Midland, Mike Huckabee, Paul Burka, Republicans, Rick Casey, Ross Ramsey, Texas, Wendy Davis
Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas | 2 Comments »
