The Ouija Board

Uncertainties over the presidential race, Hurricane Ike’s after-effects, and the rapidly changing economic news have political people on both sides of the aisle looking at bloated lists of hot races in the Texas House.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told her colleagues in the Senate that she won’t be seeking reelection to her Senate leadership job, and on a little (but not much) more private level, she’s telling colleagues she’ll soon form an “exploratory” committee to start raising money and gathering intelligence in anticipation of a 2010 run for governor.

The state’s politicians are forced to regroup four weeks before voting begins.

They say good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.

If your campaign plan depends on something that has never happened before, you’re a long shot.

The law limiting speech and political contributions in races for Speaker of the Texas House is, in part, unconstitutional, according to a federal judge in Austin.

Kyle Janek isn’t in a political race this year, but his money will be. The Houston Republican resigned from the state Senate in mid-term and the special election to replace him is underway.

In seven of the state’s 31 Senate districts, more people voted in this year’s Democratic primary than voted in the 2006 general election.

Texas Democrats have been recruiting Libertarian candidates into state races for years. The conventional view is that a Libertarian takes more from a Republican than from a Democrat. In a close race, that can make all the difference.