2010 didn’t turn out like it looked a year ago. Unexpected people showed up. The political environment bloomed red instead of blue. The Tea was strong. And big shots turned into paper tigers. Here are some of the political personalities who mattered.
2010 elections
Posted inState Government
TribBlog: Hartnett Rides Again
State Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, will handle the legal details of the election contest between state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Republican Dan Neil, who is challenging the results of the election he lost in November.
Posted inState Government
The Weekly TribCast: 2010 in Review
Merry TribCasts! We revisit some of our favorite funny moments and post-election skirmishes in our audio look back at the year that was.
Posted in
State Government
Down for the Recount
After a recount affirming his loss to state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, former University of Texas lineman Dan Neil has asked that the Texas House settle the election’s outcome. What happens now?
Posted inState Government
D is for Democratic
Texas may be reddening, but Dallas County’s turning a darker shade of blue. While the GOP picked up hotly contested Dallas-area state House seats in November, the county voted for challenger Bill White over incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry by a margin of 12 percentage points. Straight-ticket voters also helped Democratic District Attorney Craig Watkins cling to his office in a squeaker and gave the County Commissioners Court its first Democratic majority in nearly 30 years.
Posted in
State Government
2010: Re-recount
Republican Dan Neil will take his battle for a Travis County seat in the Legislature to the full House to decide.
Posted inState Government
Cellar Dwellers
Texas Democrats have become a political version of the Baltimore Orioles. If Ann Richards were alive, she and Earl Weaver would be comparing notes — in salty language — on what went wrong with their old teams.
Posted inState Government
2010: Big Solomon Concedes
Politico is reporting tonight that U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, has finally conceded his 2010 race to his Republican challenger, Blake Farenthold, who finished nearly 800 votes ahead on Election Day.
Posted in
Demographics
Hosed in Waco
It was a bad Election Night for residents of the largest city in McLennan County. After years of regional dominance, their congressional seat belongs to Bryan, halfway to Houston; their state senate seat is 86 miles away in Granbury; and one of their House seats has moved three counties east, to Centerville.
Posted inState Government
On the Records: How White Fared at Home
A few days ago, we noted the geographic similarities in the statewide performance of Democrats Bill White and Barack Obama in their respective (and losing) Texas campaigns. The same patterns held true in Harris County, where the former Houston mayor narrowly defeated incumbent Gov. Rick Perry, according to precinct-by-precinct maps.
