LOCAL/NEWS

03/03/2010

Cornyn: Perry 'unfair' in painting Hutchison as representing Washington
Cornyn also voiced hope that Hutchison stays in the Senate until her term expires in about 20 months.
High turnout clogs Collin polls
Politics blog: GOP incumbent: Hispanic surname caused loss
Photos: Election Day
Videos: Perry wins | Hutchison concedes

U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall bests 5 challengers in bid for 16th term
The North Texas congressional delegation held off challenges in Republican primaries, many beating back Tea Party opponents.

Tea Party activists coming up short in Texas Legislature races
For all the recent Tea Party talk, moderate Republicans were on their way toward carrying a number of closely watched contests for the Texas Legislature.

Johnson leads Hodge for Democrats' nod in Texas House District 100 race
Dallas lawyer Eric Johnson took a commanding lead over disgraced lawmaker Terri Hodge on Tuesday evening in the closely watched Democratic primary for the Texas House District 100 seat.

Incumbent Victor Carrillo loses rail panel race to David Porter
Accountant David Porter defeated incumbent Victor Carrillo on Tuesday for the Republican nomination for a seat on the three-member Texas Railroad Commission. Porter will face Democrat Jeff Weems, 51, a Houston lawyer, in the general election.

Election briefs
Election briefs

Gilbert beats Friedman to become Democrats' ag commissioner nominee
East Texas rancher Hank Gilbert roped in the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner Tuesday, beating author-musician Kinky Friedman in an unusually lively primary race.

Analysis: Hutchison failed to make compelling case for change

TOM FOX/DMN

Kay Bailey Hutchison concedes at Eddie Deen's Ranch in Dallas Tuesday night.

The senator had many reasons to believe she'd beat Rick Perry for governor. But the anti-Washington wave swept them all away. Late Tuesday, she lost her bid to force Perry into a runoff amid the whipsaw politics of the Tea Party movement.
For Hutchison, an 'abrupt end to dream'
Bill White, Rick Perry win Texas governor nominations
Editorial: Perry, White must hone messages for November

Chavez-Thompson wins Democratic lieutenant governor nomination over Earle
Former labor leader Linda Chavez-Thompson, buoyed by support from labor and Hispanic groups, defeated her two opponents Tuesday in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.

03/02/2010

Bill White, Rick Perry win Texas governor nominations

AP

Perry said he would unite a fractured Texas Republican Party in the November general election and stressed that Washington politics had no place in the Lone Star state.
Analysis: Hutchison failed to make case for change
For Hutchison, an 'abrupt end to dream'
Perry swears in recruits, goes for a run as votes are cast
Editorial: Perry, White must hone messages for November

Ratliff tops McLeroy in tight Texas ed board race
Mount Pleasant Republican Thomas Ratliff narrowly beat veteran State Board of Education member Don McLeroy in the GOP primary for the board seat that represents Collin County and much of Northeast Texas.

Texas Primary 2010: Winners and losers
A look at how the winners won and the losers lost – and what the results mean.

Rick Perry swears in military recruits, goes for a run as primary votes are cast
Perry capped a long slog for his party's blessing to stay put, to remain in the office he's been in for nine years, with quintessential Perry events Tuesday.

03/03/2010

For Hutchison, an 'abrupt end to dream'
Right to the end, virtually until the polls closed, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison kept a game face as her yearlong quest to oust a sitting governor came to a head.

03/02/2010

Texas' U.S. House members win in primary election
The anti-incumbent sentiment presumably aimed at Congress isn't costing any Texas congressional members their jobs -- for now.

Conservative Christian wins GOP nomination for District 5 State Board of Education seat
Ken Mercer defeated Austin attorney Tim Tuggey on Tuesday night and will face one of four Democrats vying for his District 5 seat in November.

03/01/2010

Texas governor hopefuls make final pitches before primary
The two Republicans, along with Democrat Bill White, wrapped up whirlwind days with trips to Dallas.

Can Republican gubernatorial candidates mend the rift by November?

03/02/2010

Medina supporter arrested for placing campaign sign on municipal property in Watauga
Watauga police said Christopher Howe, a 29-year-old Fort Worth resident, was arrested after he was repeatedly asked to remove a sign that was placed in violation of a city ordinance.

Slater: Verdict in Bob Perry case was a message about court system
AUSTIN — When a jury ruled against Houston homebuilder Bob Perry this week in the long legal battle with a retirement-age Mansfield couple with a defective house, it was more than a judgment.

03/01/2010

Friedman, Gilbert assail proposed Texas cuts in food aid
In their last dash for votes Monday, the Democrats running for Texas agriculture commissioner blasted proposed food aid cuts, saying they would hurt the people who need them most – the disabled and the elderly.

Secretary of State won't forecast Tuesday turnout for Texas primary
Hope Andrade's office said Monday that recent surges in early voting haven't necessarily coincided with huge increases in turnout.
Voter Guide: Compare candidates
Find your Tuesday polling location
DMN Editorial Board recommendations
Election stories recap
Blog: Politics

GOP Sen. Bob Deuell rejects 'liberal' label hurled by primary rival Sharon Russell
AUSTIN – Sen. Bob Deuell, chairman of the chamber's Republican Caucus and one of the more conservative members of the Senate, never expected to be attacked as liberal in his re-election bid this year.

02/28/2010

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign is more text than talk

STEWART F. HOUSE/Special Contributor

Perry is using traditional campaign techniques, but he has turned to social media networks to promote voter turnout.
Hutchison says she can unite Republicans
Twitter election chatter
50 things to know about candidates
Voter guide
Polling locations
Blog: Politics

03/01/2010

Texas elections issue watch: Voter ID
Where the major candidates for governor stand on whether the state should require voters to show photo identification to cast a ballot:

Hutchison says she can unite Republicans
PLANO – With only two days left to change the course of the Republican primary for governor, Kay Bailey Hutchison argued Sunday that the party's other candidates would fare better with her at the top of the ticket than with Rick Perry leading the way.

02/28/2010

Elections will tell us just how potent Tea Party's brew is
In just over a year, the Tea Party movement has spawned campaigns in Texas for governor, the Legislature and Congress. Election returns Tuesday will help gauge how potent that force has become.

Bill White calls for accuracy in census in Dallas
Democratic candidate for governor Bill White urged a complete census count of Texans on Saturday, using the pitch to take a poke at Gov. Rick Perry.

What caused Washington to be a campaign issue in Texas governor's race?
AUSTIN – Rep. Brandon Creighton had an idea, but he needed help.

DISD educator challenges incumbent in ed board's Dallas-Collin-Rockwall district
Longtime State Board of Education member Geraldine Miller of Dallas faces opposition in the Republican primary from a veteran educator in the Dallas school district.

George W. Bush joins Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison at church benefit but stays neutral
Gov. Rick Perry courted anti-abortion voters Sunday night at a huge church benefit dinner that featured former President George W. Bush. Perry’s rival, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, attended but did not speak.

Hutchison predicts runoff; Perry talks about 'sensible approach' to gun laws
Kay Bailey Hutchison predicted a runoff in the Republican race for governor, telling voters Saturday that "we're going to start all over" and win.

Republicans vying for Texas governor finish with the familiar in TV ads
AUSTIN – TV viewers will see familiar images, not a fresh infusion of new ads with varying messages, in the final three days of campaigning for the Republican primary for governor.

02/27/2010

Why is D.C. an issue in governor's race?
Rick Perry's and Kay Bailey Hutchison's reactions to the anti-Washington feeling that exploded in the Republican Party define the battle that culminates in Tuesday's primary.
Compare the candidates
50 things to know about the candidates
Issues Watch: See where the candidates stand
Polling locations
Blog: Politics

Perry brags about grassroots fundraising, but most money on record day came from a wealthy few
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry bragged this week about making fundraising history in a Texas governor's race by bringing in $1.3 million in one day from grassroots support.

Hutchison says she's staying in Senate for now to fight health care overhaul
AUSTIN – Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Friday that she is prepared to stay in the Senate for as long as eight more months if Congress is still debating health care reform.

02/26/2010

Documents show relatively few donors loaded Gov. Rick Perry's campaign 'Money Cannon'
Reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission show that only 43 donors provided the first $1 million, and the total $1.28 million was netted from just 123 givers.
Link: Texas Ethics Commission
Find your Tuesday polling location
Voter Guide: Compare candidates, build your ballot
Issues Watch: See where governor candidates stand
Blog: Trail Blazers

Trail Mix

Democrat Farouk Shami confident as he casts ballot
THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Democrat Farouk Shami voted early Thursday and said he was "100 percent confident" he'd win his party's nomination for governor. The 67-year-old hair-care business founder voted at a community center in the north Houston suburb where he lives.

02/25/2010

With Hodge still on ballot, mail votes could be key in House Democratic primary
The District 100 race features Dallas lawyer Eric Johnson, who is running against a band of activists and politicos pushing voters to choose disgraced state Rep. Terri Hodge.

Campaigning in the Valley, Democrat Bill White blasts Rick Perry's record
Bill White dashed through seven cities in the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday, trying to lock down votes for Tuesday's Democratic primary but already looking ahead to a fall contest against incumbent Gov. Rick Perry.

Obama picks Beaumont judge to be U.S. attorney for Collin, Denton, East Texas
The selection of John B. Stevens Jr. gives hope that a political impasse over judicial nominees in Texas may have been broken.

Roll of dice decides deadlocked Sealy city council race
Texas election law calls for lots to be cast if a runoff election is tied. Dice were used in Sealy, with the winner rolling the highest number.

Agriculture commissioner candidate Hank Gilbert would make people think Texas when they eat beef
It's not so much a question of what's for dinner as where it came from.

Kinky Friedman bringing animal welfare concerns into agriculture commissioner's race
Friedman wants to use his Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch in Medina as a prototype for state-run facilities across Texas.

Keith Olbermann turns down invitation to Saturday's Dallas Tea Party anniversary rally
At least one invited guest will not be coming to Saturday's Dallas Tea Party anniversary rally.

02/24/2010

Perry, Hutchison spar before crowd in Houston

Houston Chronicle

Republican gubernatorial candidates Kay Bailey Hutchison (left), Rick Perry and Debra Medina traded barbs Wednesday night at a Republican Party event in Houston.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison shared a stage with Gov. Rick Perry and made the case that Republicans should think twice before putting him on the ticket again.
Minuteman Project founder endorses Perry
Voter Guide: Compare candidates
Blog: Politics

02/25/2010

Hodge tells backers to stop pushing her candidacy for Texas House
State Rep. Terri Hodge asked supporters Wednesday to stop pushing her candidacy in the District 100 race for the Texas House.

Hutchison, Perry spend more than $14 million in advertising
AUSTIN – Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry poured more than $14 million into television and radio advertising in the last month as they escalated spending in their GOP primary showdown.

02/24/2010

State District Judge Mark Stoltz faces accusation ahead of primary
State District Judge Mark Stoltz, facing a re-election fight in Tuesday's Democratic primary, was accused of not telling "the whole truth" by another judge while testifying about whether or not he knew the victim of a man on trial for a string of purse snatchings in Stoltz's court.

Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist endorses Rick Perry for Texas governor

COURTNEY PERRY/DMN

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (left) accepts the endorsement of Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist Wednesday at the Crescent Hotel in Dallas.

"I had to come 1,200 miles to find a governor who believes in a simple principle called the rule of law," Gilchrist said Wednesday at the Crescent Hotel in Dallas.
Blog: Trail Blazers
Early voting sites for March 2 primary
Issues Watch: Where the Texas gubernatorial candidates stand
Voter Guide: Compare candidates, build your ballot

Politics blog: Disgraced legislator Terri Hodge urges residents not to vote for her
State Rep. Terri Hodge issued a statement today asking District 100 residents not to vote for her on March 2.

02/23/2010

Poll: More than half of Hispanics identify as conservative

AP File

Gov. Rick Perry draws support in the same poll, but some experts remain skeptical that more than a smattering of Hispanics will cast GOP ballots in next week's primary.
Voter Guide: See races, compare candidates
Blog: Trail Blazers
Find your early voting location

Hutchison says she is the true conservative in Texas governor race
Four more years of the incumbent, she says, will mean more taxes and more out-of-control spending.

02/24/2010

Texas politics briefs
AUSTIN – Hit with accusations of spreading "cronyism" throughout state government, Gov. Rick Perry is hitting back, arguing that the law firm where Kay Bailey Hutchison used to work with her husband, Ray, was found by a federal civil jury to have defrauded investors in a 1990s-era private prison deal.

Issues Watch: The Border
Where the major candidates for governor stand on placing Texas Guard troops on the border with Mexico:

02/23/2010

Texans turning out in big numbers for primaries
AUSTIN – Texans are turning out in big numbers in this year's primaries, buoyed by a high-profile race for governor with candidates crisscrossing the state and spending millions on TV.

02/22/2010

Social conservative faces tough battle for state ed board seat
The battle will largely be determined by GOP primary voters in 4 races, including for a seat that represents parts of Collin County and East Texas.
Texans turning out in big numbers for primaries
Voter guide: Compare candidates

Outside money pours into Texas House race in Irving
The race for Texas House District 105 is drawing a lot of green as Republicans fight to keep Irving red and Democrats try to turn it blue.

Bill White refers to GOP rivals for governor as 'forces of darkness'
Former Houston Mayor Bill White on Saturday called on Dallas County Democrats to rally around his candidacy for Texas governor in order to stop the Republican "forces of darkness."

02/20/2010

GOP rivals for Texas governor vie for votes

DMN Staff

By bus, car and plane, three Republican candidates cut swaths through the state, on the path – each hopes – to becoming the next Texas governor. Here's a look at their journeys.
Photos: Kay Bailey Hutchison | Debra Medina | Rick Perry
Video: On the campaign trail
Blog: Politics
50 facts about each candidate
Early voting locations
More election news
Link: Compare candidates

Pilot's decision to crash plane reflects despair of many in U.S., Medina says
AUSTIN – Republican Debra Medina said Friday that the decision of a man fighting the IRS to crash his airplane into a building in Austin reflects "the hopelessness many in our society feel."

02/19/2010

Calls still urge voters to support disgraced Rep. Terri Hodge's defunct campaign
Residents of Texas House District 100 have received automated telephone calls this week urging them to vote for disgraced state Rep. Terri Hodge.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he intends to win GOP primary outright
But he says that if he's forced into a runoff with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison after the March 2 primary, "it's not the end of the world."

Trail Blazers blog: Robo calls pushing felon Terri Hodge in Texas House District 100 race
If the election went to Hodge, who can no longer hold a public office after pleading guilty on a federal tax evasion charge, the district's precinct chairs would pick a Democratic nominee to run in November's general election

02/18/2010

GOP rivals for State House District 65 tangle over budget, immigration issues at forum
Budget-balancing and immigration issues are fueling the campaign in State House District 65, where longtime incumbent Burt Solomons faces a challenge from former congressional candidate Mike Murphy.

Politics blog: Dick Armey calls Obama a self-righteous ideologue at CPAC
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the former congressman said Obama is 'the most incompetent president perhaps in our lifetime.'
More politics news

More of Shami's campaign staffers quit, citing 'strategic differences'
AUSTIN – Houston businessman Farouk Shami's bid to be governor saw another day of turmoil Wednesday, with yet another shuffling of campaign staff.

Texas governor Perry won't say if he'd seek 4th term
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that he wouldn't address yet whether the four-year term he's seeking would be his last as governor.

Democratic lieutenant governor primary has no clear favorite
The three candidates agree on most issues and on their top priority: beating GOP incumbent David Dewhurst.
Blog: Trail Blazers
Voter Guide: Compare candidates
Complete elections coverage

02/19/2010

50 things you need to know about the candidates for Texas governor
Politicians are people, too. The five leading candidates for Texas governor come from different places and have led rich but distinct lives. Few voters get to meet the candidates in person, so we compiled 50 things you need to know about each as you decide who gets your vote.

50 things you need to know about Kay Bailey Hutchison

50 things you need to know about Debra Medina

50 things you need to know about Rick Perry

50 things you need to know about Farouk Shami

50 things you need to know about Bill White

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