Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo, a seven-year incumbent with a background in the industry he regulates, got trounced in the GOP primary on Tuesday by an unknown, David Porter, who spent little money on the race. He’s not the only one who thinks his Hispanic surname cost him his job.
State Government
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Posted inState Government
Starting Over
The real gift to Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday wasn’t the win over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina in the GOP primary, which was foretold in the polls. It was the quick win. A runoff would have gobbled six weeks and something like $10 million and might have left the winner bruised on the way into a battle with Democrat Bill White, who easily bested six others in his party’s primary. So how does November look from here?
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State Government
Once More, With Feeling
One candidate lost on Tuesday by 11 votes out of more than 10,000 cast. Others lost by fewer than 200 votes. Anyone up for a recount?
Posted inState Government
Surprise!
Not every race turned out the way political insiders — or the candidates themselves — anticipated. Here are a dozen primary races that defied conventional wisdom, stunned the incumbents and shocked the longshots.
Posted inState Government
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 18
It’s the post-primary edition of our weekly skirmish. Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben look ahead to Perry v. White, bid farewell to KBH and Farouk and list their biggest surprises of the election night that was.
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Public Education
TribBlog: Restraints Bill Passes U.S. House
The U.S. House has passed the Keeping All Students Safe Act, a measure designed to protect students from abusive restraints in school settings.
Posted inState Government
2010: Home Field Disadvantage
Among the major gubernatorial hopefuls Tuesday night, only incumbent Rick Perry and former Houston mayor Bill White were able to win the counties where they claim residence.
Posted inState Government
HuTube: A Day Without Crowd-Surfing is Like…
Leave it to Farouk Shami to bid a festive farewell to his campaign.
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Demographics
Carrillo: Hispanic Surname Caused Election Loss
“Early polling showed that the typical GOP primary voter has very little info about the position of Railroad Commissioner, what we do, or who my opponent or I were. Given the choice between “Porter” and “Carrillo” — unfortunately, the Hispanic-surname was a serious setback from which I could never recover.”
Posted inState Government
2010: Cornyn Wants Kay to Stay
When U.S. Sen. John Cornyn gets the chance to talk with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison about last night’s GOP gubernatorial primary loss, he will ask her to reconsider her repeated campaign promise to step down.