Tag Archives: TexWatch2014

Houston Politics

Wait… How Many School Districts Are Suing Greg Abbott, Texas GOP??

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If you want to know the true meaning of sacrifice, ask a Texas teacher.  Even now as schools across the state barrel into a new academic year, teachers are pouring long hours into their craft, and feverishly preparing to devote their time, energy and talents to a new crop of young minds. You probably remember a teacher that really made a difference in your life… one that spent extra time with you after class to make sure you got a concept, or one that helped you to grow up by showing clear distinctions between right and wrong.  It’s nearly impossible to compensate a good educator for the precious gifts of knowledge, comprehension, development and understanding that they impart.

Unfortunately in 2011, none of those gifts mattered to Texas Republicans.  Set on actualizing their small-government and increasingly Tea Party-laden fetish, GOP legislators put forth one of the most draconian budgets ever seen in modern times.  The only person standing in their way was a lone Democrat.  Here’s the story from the Texas Tribune at the time..

A Democrat’s last stand may have just pushed the legislative session, set to end today, into overtime — which could start as soon as tomorrow.

In a make-or-break day for the state budget, with the finish line in sight, things broke down Sunday night when Sen.Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, filibustered for a little more than an hour, likely killing a school finance and revenue bill, the last remaining piece of the budget puzzle.

Davis, starting at 10:45 p.m. and looking to push debate on the bill past a midnight deadline, ran out the clock by reading aloud letters from constituents and the list of funding cuts to Texas’ 1,200 school districts.

In 2011, Wendy Davis fought with everything she had to save Texas schools. But after Governor Perry called a Special Session, the TEApublicans got their wish… decimating the state’s education budget with a $5.4 billion dollar cut.  As a result of those actions, Texas schools lost over 11,000 teachers in 2011 and 2012. So damaging were these cuts that Texas school districts decided to sue the state over them, and Attorney General Greg Abbott has fought our schools right to their tax money every step of the way since.

After all of that, it’s almost incomprehensible to think that Abbott not only has the audacity to run for Governor, but that he’s running for Governor on his education ideas?  As the Burnt Orange Report points out, it’s almost comical, especially when the GOP candidate can’t seem to remember which schools are suing him, and which are not.

But these cuts are nothing to laugh about.  Texas simply could not afford to lose so many educational resources in a rapidly-growing state.  All of our children have suffered at the hands of an irresponsible Republican-led legislature.  Rick Perry, Greg Abbott and the Texas GOP hurt all types of districts– wealthy and poor, Red County and Blue County, north and south– these cuts affected every community in the Lone Star State.

As Texans prepare to choose the state’s next Governor, let’s hope that they remember which candidate stands for our schools, and which one is trying to burn them down.

Texas Leftist has made a map of school districts that are currently involved in one of 4 active lawsuits against Attorney General Abbott and the state of Texas.  Keep in mind that this map only shows a little over half of the communities affected, but is enough to give a visual example of just how many schools across the state are standing against the GOP’s heinous 2011 budget.  Thanks to Bay Area Houston for compiling the written list, which has been alphabetized by letter for greater ease of data collection and reading.

schools suing abbott

Is your school district suing Greg Abbott and the Texas GOP?  Do you really want to vote for a Governor that would take money from our schools??

Abernathy ISD Abilene ISD Academy ISD Agua Dulce ISD Alamo Heights ISD Albany ISD Aldine ISD Aledo ISD Alice ISD Alief ISD Allen ISD Alpine ISD Amarillo ISD Anahuac ISD Andrews ISD Angleton ISD Anson ISD Anthony ISD Anton ISD Apple Springs ISD Aquilla ISD Aransas County ISD Aransas Pass ISD Archer City ISD Arlington ISD Athens ISD Atlanta ISD Aubrey ISD Austin ISD Avalon ISD Axtell ISD Azle ISD

Balmorhea ISD Banquete ISD Barbers Hill ISD Bartlett ISD Beaumont ISD Beckville ISD Beeville ISD Bellevue ISD Bells ISD Belton ISD Benjamin ISD Big Sandy ISD (Upshur) Blackwell Cons ISD Bland ISD Blanket ISD Blue Ridge ISD Bluff Dale ISD Blum ISD Boles ISD Bonham ISD Borden County ISD Bosqueville ISD Brackett ISD Brazosport ISD Bridge City ISD Brock ISD Brookesmith ISD Brownfield ISD Brownwood ISD Bruceville-Eddy ISD Bryan ISD Buena Vista IS DBullard ISD Buna ISDBurkburnett ISD Burkeville ISD Burleson ISD Burnet Cons ISD Bushland ISD Bynum ISD

Caddo Mills ISD Calallen ISD Calhoun County ISD Callisburg ISD Campbell ISD Canton ISD Canutillo ISD Canyon ISD Carrizo Springs Cons ISD Carroll ISD Carthage ISD Castleberry ISD Celina ISD Center ISD Centerville ISD (Trinity) Central ISD Channelview ISD Chapel Hill ISD (Smith) Cherokee ISD Childress ISD Chillicothe ISD Chilton ISD Chisum ISD Christoval ISD Clarendon ISD Clear Creek ISD Cleburne ISD Cleveland ISD Clint ISD Coldspring-Oakhurst Cons ISD Coleman ISD College Station ISD Colorado ISD Columbia-Brazoria ISD Commerce ISD Community ISD Connally ISD Coolidge ISD Cooper ISD Coppell ISD Corpus Christi ISD Corrigan-Camden ISD Corsicana ISD Cotton Center ISD Cotulla ISD Coupland ISD Covington ISD Crandall ISD Crane ISD Crosby ISD Crosbyton Cons ISD Crowell ISD Crystal City ISD Cuero ISD Culberson County-Allamore ISD Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Dallas ISD Damon ISD Danbury ISD Decatur ISD Deer Park ISD Dekalb ISD Denison ISD Denton ISD Denver City ISD Detroit ISD Devers ISD Devine ISD D’Hanis ISD Diboll ISD Dickinson ISD Dilley ISD Dodd City ISD Donna ISD Dublin ISD Dumas ISD Duncanville ISD

Eagle Mt-Saginaw ISD Eanes ISD Early ISD East Central ISD Ector County ISD Ector ISD Edgewood ISD (Bexar)Edgewood ISD (Van Zandt)Edinburg Cons ISD Edna ISD El Paso ISD Elgin ISD Ennis ISD Era ISDEtoile ISD Eula ISD Eustace ISD Evant ISD Everman ISD Excelsior ISD

Fabens ISD Falls City ISD Fannindel ISD Farmersville ISD Ferris ISD Flatonia ISD Floresville ISD Floydada ISD Forsan ISD Fort Bend ISD Fort Elliott Cons ISD Fort Worth ISD Frisco ISD Frost ISD Fruitvale ISD Ft Davis ISD Ft Hancock ISD Ft Stockton ISD

Gainesville ISD Galena Park ISD Galveston ISD Ganado ISD Gary ISD Gladewater ISD Glasscock ISD Glen Rose ISD Godley ISD Gonzales ISD Goodrich ISD Goose Creek Consolidated ISD Gorman ISD Grady ISD Graford ISD Granbury ISD Grandfalls-Royalty ISD Grandview ISD Grandview-Hopkins ISD Granger ISD Grape Creek ISD Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Greenville ISD Gregory-Portland ISD Groesbeck ISD Groom ISD Groveton ISD Gruver ISD Gunter ISD Guthrie CSD

Hale Center ISD Hamilton ISD Hamlin ISD Hardin ISD Hardin-Jefferson ISD Harlandale ISD Harleton ISD Harlingen Cons ISD Hart ISD Haskell Cons ISD Hawley ISD Hays Cons ISD Hearne ISD Hedley ISD Hemphill ISD Hempstead ISD Henrietta ISD Hereford ISD Hico ISD Hidalgo ISD High Island ISD Highland ISD Highland Park ISD (Dallas) Hillsboro ISD Hitchcock ISD Honey Grove ISD Houston ISD Howe ISD Hubbard ISD (Hill) Huckabay ISD Hudson ISD Huffman ISD Humble ISD Hunt ISD Huntington ISD Hutto ISD

Idalou ISD Ingram ISD Iola ISD Iraan-Sheffield ISD Italy ISD

Jacksboro ISD Jacksonville ISD Jasper ISD Jayton-Girard ISD Joaquin ISD Joshua ISD Jourdanton ISD Judson ISD

Karnes City ISD Katy ISD Kaufman ISD Keller ISD Kemp ISD Kenedy ISD Kennedale ISD Kerens ISD Kilgore ISD Kingsville ISD Kirbyville Cons ISD Klein ISD Knippa ISD Knox City-O’Brien ISD Kopperl ISD Krum ISD

La Feria ISD La Marque ISD La Porte ISD La Pryor ISD La Vega ISD La Vernia ISD La Villa ISD Lake Dallas ISD Lake Travis ISD Lake Worth ISD Lamar Cons ISD Lampasas ISD Lasara ISD Latexo ISD Leggett ISD Leonard ISD Levelland ISD Leveretts Chapel ISD Lewisville ISD Liberty ISD Lindale ISD Little Cypress-Mauriceville Cons ISD Little Elm ISD Littlefield ISD Livingston ISD Lockney ISD Lometa ISD Longview ISD Loop ISD Lorena ISD Los Fresnos Cons ISD Louise ISD Lovejoy ISD Lubbock ISD Lueders-Avoca ISD Lufkin ISD Lyford Cons ISD Lytle ISD

Mabank ISD Madisonville Cons ISD Malakoff ISD Mansfield ISD Marfa ISD Martins Mill ISD Mathis ISD Maud ISD McAllen ISD McCamey ISD McDade ISD McKinney ISD McLeod ISD Meadow ISD Mercedes ISD Mesquite ISD Miami ISD Midland ISD Milano ISD Miles ISD Milford ISD Miller Grove ISD Millsap ISD Mineola ISD Mineral Wells ISD Monahans-Wickett Pyote ISD Morton ISD Motley County ISD Mount Pleasant ISD Muenster ISD Muleshoe ISD Mumford ISD Munday Cons ISD

Nacogdoches ISD Navarro ISD Navasota ISD Needville ISD New Boston ISD New Caney ISD New Diana ISD New Home ISD Newcastle ISD Newton ISD Nixon-Smiley Cons ISD North East ISD North Forest ISD North Lamar ISD Northside ISD (Bexar) Northside ISD (Wilbarger) Northwest ISD Novice ISD Nueces Canyon Cons ISD Nursery ISD

Odem-Edroy ISD Oglesby ISD Olfen ISD Olney ISD Olton ISD Onalaska ISD Ore City ISD Paducah ISD

Palacios ISD Palestine ISD Palmer ISD Palo Pinto ISD Pampa ISD Panther Creek Cons ISD Paradise ISD Paris ISD Pasadena ISD Patton Springs ISD Pearland ISD Peaster ISD Penelope ISD Perrin-Whitt Cons ISD Petersburg ISD Petrolia ISD Pettus ISD Pflugerville ISD Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD Pilot Point ISD Plains ISD Plano ISD Pleasant Grove ISD Point Isabel ISD Ponder ISD Poolville ISD Port Aransas ISD Post ISD Poteet ISD Poth ISD Prairie Valley ISD Prairiland ISD Presidio ISD Priddy ISD Princeton ISD Pringle-Morse Cons ISD Prosper ISD

Quanah ISD Queen City ISD Quinlan ISD

Rains ISD Ralls ISD Ramirez CSD Rankin ISD Reagan County ISD Refugio ISD Ricardo ISD Rice ISD Richardson ISD Rio Hondo ISD Rising Star ISD River Road ISD Robert Lee ISD Robinson ISD Robstown ISD Rockdale ISD Rocksprings ISD Rockwall ISD Rogers ISD Roosevelt ISD Ropes ISD Rosebud-Lott ISD Rotan ISD Round Rock ISD Roxton ISD Royal ISD Royse City ISD Rule ISD Rusk ISD

S and S Cons IS D Sabine ISD Sam Rayburn ISD San Angelo ISD San Antonio ISD San Augustine ISD San Benito Cons ISD San Elizario ISD San Perlita ISD San Saba ISD San Vicente ISD Sanford-Fritch ISD Santa Anna ISD Santa Fe ISD Santa Rosa ISD Santo ISD Savoy ISD Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD Schulenburg ISD Scurry-Rosser ISD Seguin ISD Seminole ISD Seymour IS D Shallowater ISD Shamrock ISD Sharyland ISD Sheldon ISD Sidney ISD Silsbee ISD Simms ISD Sinton ISD Skidmore-Tynan ISD Slaton ISD Smithville ISD Smyer ISD Snook ISD Socorro ISD Somerville ISD Sonora ISD South San Antonio ISD Southland ISD Southside ISD Southwest ISD Splendora ISD Spring Branch ISD Spring Hill ISD Spring ISD Springlake-Earth ISD Springtown ISD Spur ISD Spurger ISD Stafford MSD Stamford ISD Stanton ISD Star ISD Stephenville ISD Sterling City ISD Stockdale ISD Sudan ISD Sundown ISD Sunnyvale ISD Sunray ISD Sweeny ISD Sweetwater ISD

Taft ISD Tahoka ISD Tatum ISD Taylor ISD Temple ISD Terlingua CSD Terrell County ISD Texas City ISD Texline ISD Thorndale ISD Thrall ISD Three Rivers ISD Timpson ISD Tioga ISD Tolar ISD Tornillo ISD Trent ISD Trenton ISD Trinity ISD Troy ISD Tulia ISD Tyler ISD

Union Grove ISD United ISD

Valentine ISD TexasValley View ISD (Cooke) Van ISD Venus ISD Veribest ISD Vernon ISD Vidor ISD

Waco ISD Warren ISD Waskom ISD Water Valley ISD Weatherford ISD Wells ISD West Hardin County Cons ISD West Orange-Cove Cons ISD West Oso ISD West Sabine ISD Westphalia ISD Westwood ISD Wharton ISD White Oak ISD Whiteface Cons ISD Whitesboro ISD Whitewright ISD Whitharral ISD Whitney ISD Wichita Falls ISD Wimberley ISD Windthorst ISD Wink-Loving ISD Winnsboro ISD Winona ISD Woden ISD Woodsboro ISD Woodson ISD Woodville ISD Wortham ISD

Ysleta ISD

Zavalla ISD Zephyr ISD

 

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Equality, Houston, Houston Politics, Texas Politics

Why A HERO Referendum Could Be Good for Houston And Texas

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After years of planning, a slew of phone calls, repeated trips to City Hall, organizer trainings, exhaustive blog posts and countless closed-door meetings with Council Members, citizens finally found a voice when the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was passed on May 28th.  The new law instituted an historic new level of protections for all Houstonians, and for many was a cause for celebration.

But today, after being dealt what in their view was an affront to their values, the opposition to HERO struck back, turning in 50,000 petition signatures to City Hall (pending verification by City Secretary Anna Russell).  If at least 17,000 of them are verified as residents of the city, then the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance will be placed on the November ballot, and could even be voted down.  Supporters of HERO will have to work even harder to thwart the litany of lies, and convince voters to keep this critical law on the books.

The referendum is going to be hard work, but it could actually end up being very good, not only for Houston Progressives, but for Progressive causes across Texas.  Here are the reasons why.

For starters, Houston is ready for the referendum.  Long before a non-discrimination bill came before Council, supporting organizations have been preparing for the possibility of a city-wide vote.  The campaign to defend the ordinance is well under way, and has already engaged a broad coalition of organizations and elected officials.  You can learn more about the Equal Rights Committee at the Equal Rights Houston website.

Secondly, as a city-specific referendum, the math is on HERO’s side.  The opposition is asking voters to repeal a law that their elected representatives passed.  In general, that’s tough to do.  But that vote also occurs only in the city of Houston… the same electorate that sent Mayor Parker to office three times in a row.  In every past election, similar argument’s about Parker’s “evil LGBT agenda” have been waged against her, and they have never won.  After seeing Houstonians through a recession, and 4 years of record job growth and prosperity that other cities in the nation only dream of, are Houston voters really going to get enraged enough to vote this down?

As Houstonians like the talented Christopher Busby prove, Equal Rights should NOT be a Democratic or a Republican issue.  Sad though it is, the fight for HERO has become politicized, with most of the opposition’s coalition being Republican (again, not all but most).  Because of this, a referendum will likely serve as a motivator for Democrats to vote in Houston and Harris County.  It could even stand to boost turnout for Democratic candidates.  Again as mentioned in the above, this is specifically the city of Houston, whose electorate has already proven that they vote on the Progressive side.  This assumption could be wrong, but barring some smoking gun to move the issue, it’s not likely.  Giving Houston’s Democrats another big reason to get out the vote is sure to have statewide implications.

Finally, the opposition is built on lies and misconceptions about the law.  The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance isn’t a mystery anymore. It’s a real law, and is available on the city’s website for any and all to read.   Even for the people that are confused, they can go to the link above and actually read the ordinance.  The Mayor said it best in today’s press conference…

“It is illegal today, it will be illegal tomorrow, it will be legal after HERO for a man to go into a woman’s bathroom.”

Like the childhood legend of monsters under the bed, fear dissipates when mom or dad flips the light on.  HERO has been brought to light, and there’s NOTHING scary about it.

There’s still a possibility that the petitions could be invalidated, but for now, it’s time to plan as though the referendum is going on.  HERO needs some heroes again, and I strongly suspect that they are on the way.

 

 

Uncategorized

Texoblogosphere: week of February 3rd

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The Texas Progressive Alliance still has a dozen or so Republican responses to the SOTU it needs to get through as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff takes a look at campaign finance reports for Harris County legislative and countywide candidates.

Horwitz at Texpatriate laments the loss of Algebra II as a High school graduation requirement.

In light of some of the more ridiculous back-and-forth between Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott and their campaigns — not to mention James O’Keefe and his clandestine, altered video — PDiddie at Brains and Eggs asks: “Is it insensitive to say that Abbott is ‘running’ for governor?”

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants you to scream in horror over the Republican war on women. All Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor are FOR keeping a brain dead woman with a severely abnormal fetus on life support against her family’s wishes.

This week, McBlogger has some advice for the Davis Campaign, the press and all the Democratic activists who are eager for a win this year.

Neil at All People Have Value wrote about the slate of Green Party candidates running in Texas in 2014. All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Nonsequiteuse scoffs at the notion that Texas may turn into California.

Texas Redistricting updates us on the proposed fixes to the Voting Rights Act and other election law news.

John Coby names Randy Weber the frontrunner to replace Steve Stockman as the craziest Congressman from Southeast Texas.

Texas Clean Air Matters reports on the longrunning legal battle between Texas and the EPA over clean air regulations.

The Lunch Tray alerts us to potential changes to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Randy Bear examines the reasoning behind various LGBT groups’ non-endorsement of Wendy Davis in the Democratic primary for Governor.

Greg Wythe has the data to analyze the actual impact of Texas’ voter ID law in Harris County.

BOR asks why the Texas Medical Association supports candidates who oppose their own stated positions, and gets a non-responsive answer from them.

Uncategorized

TexWatch 2014: Voting Issues Already??

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If you pay attention to the mainstream news, you may think that Texas’ first “test run” of the new Voter ID law is going quite well in the 2013 elections. Early voting procedures have been “largely successful” … at least that’s the line that many in the GOP are trying to spin. Of course many reasonable Texans probably don’t define success has having to sign an affidavit or use a provisional ballot that might be thrown out. But here’s something to keep in mind… even with the extra prohibitions, most voters showing up in 2013 are the ones most committed and most able to vote. They are by and large the people that will have their photo ID, and will go through the trouble of signing an affidavit. They are the people that will even ask for a Provisional Ballot if they don’t have photo ID. In short, 2013 is such a light election turnout that you’re not going to see the same issues that will occur in 2014’s national election. The huge number of voters that have been annoyed… nearly 1 in 4 Texans that early voted had to sign an affidavit… were so determined to cast their ballot that they did whatever it takes. In a state where so few people vote to begin, this just won’t be the case in a higher turnout election. Many people are going to give up entirely.

Just today, I spoke to Dr. Martha Serpas, Professor of English at the University of Houston. She is a resident of the Eastwood neighborhood, and went to go vote at Ripley House. When she went to the polling location, she told the election workers that she did not have a photo ID, and asked to vote by Provisional Ballot. According to the new law, this is the procedure… no photo ID means that you are to be allowed to vote by Provisional Ballot. But in Professor Serpas’ case, they denied her request for the Provisional Ballot, and told her she could not vote without a proper photo ID. She was clearly frustrated by the experience, and told me about it directly.

Granted, this is one isolated case, but it begs a question. Now that it is Election Day, how many people are going to vote at Ripley House, and being turned away because their election workers aren’t following the parameters of the law? Keep in mind that just 12 months ago, Texans were not required to have a photo ID… they could come and cast their vote by showing any legal document with their name and address. That includes things like a utility bill, student ID, marriage certificate or other documents. Even with all of the recent press surrounding the new law, most people still have no clue about the changes. In an inner city neighborhood, many residents do not drive, and don’t even own a car. No driving means they have little if any use for a Driver’s license. If these people show up to vote today, they are being caught off guard. And if they show up to vote at places like Ripley House, they are being turned away, and not even offered a Provisional Ballot.

If you’re in Texas, have you heard of any similar stories at your polling place? If so, please share them in the comments. As we approach the 2014 elections, these occurrences need to be documented in every way possible.

CRITICAL UPDATE on this story…

After speaking with Dr. Serpas, I learned some additional information that must be included. She went to vote at the above location on Election Day, but she told me that she normally votes early. This is an important point, because on Election Day, you are only allowed to vote at your designated precinct. When she showed up on Election Day at Ripley House, it was the wrong location for her to be able to cast her vote. So the poll workers would’ve been correct in denying her a Provisional Ballot at that location, and should have instead directed her to the proper polling site.

However, Dr. Serpas says, that they never even checked what her proper polling location should’ve been. She simply says that they asked her for photo ID. When she said she didn’t have one with her and asked for a Provisional Ballot, they turned her away without verifying her information. It would be one thing to deny ballot because it’s the wrong location, but if you’re not going to check, then the error still lies with the Election Officials.

Houston Politics

TexWatch 2014: Poll Shows Davis Inching Closer to Abbott

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As the Houston municipal elections draw to a close, it’s time to focus once again on statewide election developments. Save for serious breaking news, I’ve decided to do a new blog series to keep up with regular election news called TexWatch 2014.

For the first such update, we start with the big news in the Governor’s race. In a poll released by the Texas Tribune today, the race for Governor shows Democrat Wendy Davis inching closer to the Republican frontrunner Greg Abbott. The poll shows Abbott in the lead with 40 percent of to Davis’ 34 percent in a head-to-head matchup, with 25 percent undecided. When Libertarian candidate Kathie Glass was thrown in the mix, Abbott held at 40 percent, Davis inches up to 35 percent, and 20 percent remain in the undecided camp. Clearly this shows that Democrat Davis is still behind, but not nearly as much as she could be. It’s a big sign of encouragement for Texas Democrats as well, because it shows that when presented with a viable candidate, Democratic support is out there in the state. Keep in mind that in 2010, what some could call one the most right-leaning years of the century, under-funded Democrat Bill White still managed 42 percent of the vote in a light turnout election. This was in a blood-red year, and before the existence of groups like Battleground Texas.

Another important difference?? Wendy Davis has more time. Even with the passing of her father delaying an original announcement date, Davis is already solidly in the race a full two months before Bill White, whom announced his candidacy for Governor in December of 2009. Davis of course started out with better name ID than White, thanks to massive national exposure from her Filibuster of HB2. She’s also entered the game with a much improved Democratic funding apparatus. Given the 2 month advantage, Davis has the ability to far outpace Bill White in the fundraising arena. And again, with light turnout, White was able to garner 42 percent of the vote to Perry’s 55 percent.

Geography matters a whole lot in this too. Unlike White, who was from an already blue Harris County, Davis is from the last “urban Republican stronghold” Tarrant County. It currently holds the distinction of being the largest red county in the state of Texas. Only Tarrant and Nueces County remain as urban areas where Republicans won. Being Davis’ home and the epicenter of her campaign, she’s got a fantastic shot at winning Tarrant County, and would be expected to at least hold all of the urban counties that White claimed in 2010, and will probably win by greater percentages in each area. The urban counties are how Davis can go from the 42 percent baseline up to a 46 or 47 percent, putting her within striking distance of a win. But the only way for it to happen is through near historic turnout. Where Harris County netted a 16,000 gain for White in 2010, the net of Democratic voters has got to push near 100,000 for Davis. The good news though is this can get done by simply registering enough voters in low turnout areas. In 2008, over 700,000 registered voters in Harris County did not vote. If Democrats can focus on these and other urban centers, Davis really has a shot at being Texas’ next Governor.

Fellow Bloggers Texpatriate and Brains and Eggs have more.