A poll released Tuesday shows the Texas governor’s race in a virtual dead heat. Conducted by the GOP firm Hill Research Consultants, it has Rick Perry leading Bill White 42 percent to 41 percent, with 14 percent undecided. Other polls this summer, however, have shown the governor with a much larger lead. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
Politics
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Politics
2010: A Dead Heat?
And now for something completely different: Rick Perry and Bill White are virtually tied in the race for governor, according to a poll done for Texas Watch by Republican pollster Hill Research Consultants.
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Politics
The Bellwether
As U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, goes, so go the Democrats? In a hyper-partisan year, with control of the U.S. House up for grabs, all eyes are on Congressional District 17, the most Republican district in America held by a Democrat. Pundits think Edwards may finally get beat: Were he to survive, a D.C. analyst says, it would be “one of the greatest Houdini acts ever seen in Texas politics.” But the 10-term incumbent has seen awful political environments before. “The Washington Generals have a better record against Harlem Globetrotters than the [National Republican Congressional Committee] does in predicting my defeat,” he says.
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Politics
The Sting of the Killer Bees
The rules of the Texas Senate are designed to create an orderly process that respects the rights of individual members. They have lasted this long because they do the job well and consider the need for compromise in the legislative operation. Trampling the rights of the minority is never a good idea — and yet it has happened over and over again. An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics.
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Politics
2010: Rasmussen: Perry 49, White 41
Republican Gov. Rick Perry maintains an 8-point lead over Democratic challenger Bill White, according to the latest statewide poll by Rasmussen Reports.
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Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Galbraith on grass, federal money and efforts to prevent another dust bowl, Ergenbright on school suspensions and who gets punished; Aguilar’s interview with Alan Bersin, whose job is to keep the U.S./Mexico border secure, M. Smith on why it would be harder than you think to ditch the 14th Amendment, Adler and me on whether controversy is politically contagious, Ramshaw on the flap over funding for the state’s institutions for the disabled (it’s not about the money), my meditation on the state’s fiscal woes (including a $1.3 billion deficit in the current budget), Philpott on proposed cuts to the state’s food stamp program, Grissom on the push by Hidalgo County officials for a special election that might not be legal; Hamilton on the seven Texas universities that are making a play for Tier One status and Stiles on the mid-year cash-on-hand numbers reported by campaigns and political action committees: The best of our best from August 16 to 23, 2010.
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Politics
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 41
Ben, Ross, Evan and Matt talk about President Obama’s visit to Texas and who didn’t want to be seen with him, the battle over strings attached to federal education money, Bill White’s donor-appointees and the legal and political definitions of residency.
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Economy
Every Doggett Has His Day
The U.S. House has passed a bill on Tuesday that is expected to send about $800 million to bolster the state’s education budget. But thanks to an amendment added by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, the funding comes with Texas-specific strings attached. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report.
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Demographics
TribBlog: Border Residents Feel Safe, Poll Finds
A large majority of the residents of Texas cities on the U.S.-Mexico border feel relatively safe despite harsh rhetoric from lawmakers and a consistent media portrayal of their communities as war zones, according to a poll released today.