Feb 27, 2022 | Campaign Finance, House Race Analyses, Senate Race Analyses, Statewide Race Analyses
We previously analyzed historical campaign finance data and election results since 2006 to see how open-seat candidates fared in open primary races based on their relative fundraising ranks. Unsurprisingly, we found a strong correlation between fundraising rank and...
Feb 23, 2022 | Campaign Finance, Senate Race Analyses
Frontrunners cemented their statuses through superior campaign finance results, according to the candidates’ 8-day-out reports. Seven candidates raised at least $150K. $464K – Pete Flores (R) in SD24 open (Likely R) $225K – Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) in...
Sep 20, 2020 | Senate Race Analyses
Just one of the now 17 state Senate districts on the ballot this year is competitive from a partisan perspective, and that’s largely because of the incumbent’s party. SD19 (Lean Democratic) sprawls across all or part of 17 counties from the east side of Bexar County...
Nov 5, 2018 | Federal Race Analyses, House Race Analyses, Political Climate, Senate Race Analyses
This is the second of two analyses that will attempt to prognosticate Tuesday’s general election. Here we focus on individual races. Our previous analysis examined the state’s political climate entering the election. Borrowing from Monty Python, “That’s no ordinary...
Sep 17, 2018 | Senate Race Analyses, Special Elections
Tomorrow is the special runoff election between Pleasanton retired game warden Pete Flores (R) and former Rep. and U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine). The winner will serve the remainder of former Sen. Carlos Uresti’s (D-San Antonio) unexpired term, which runs through...
Sep 10, 2018 | House Race Analyses, Political Climate, Senate Race Analyses
The general election is eight weeks away, and early voting begins six weeks from today. Traditionally, we have rated contested elections on a 5-star scale, which one star indicating a very low-interest race with no chance of flipping and five stars indicating a...
Jul 5, 2018 | Senate Race Analyses, Special Elections
Former Sen. Carlos Uresti’s (D-San Antonio) resignation following his conviction on felony corruption charges triggered a special election to fill his unexpired term. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) decided the district should not wait until November to have “effective...
Feb 11, 2018 | Campaign Finance, Senate Race Analyses
Phillip Huffines has raised twice as much as Angela Paxton in the Republican race to succeed Sen. Van Taylor (R-Plano), but the candidates have been their own biggest sources. Huffines loaned his campaign $2M on June 30, paid $1M of it back and later loaned himself...
Jan 24, 2018 | Campaign Finance, Senate Race Analyses
Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) out-raised his nearest primary rival nearly 5-to-1 during the last six months of 2017, and he has a nearly $1.6M advantage in cash on hand. Former Midland Mayor Mike Canon, who unsuccessfully challenged Seliger in 2014, was second in...
Jan 22, 2018 | Campaign Finance, Senate Race Analyses
Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) out-raised Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale) during the last six months of 2017, and he has a $155K advantage in cash on hand. Burkett slightly outspent Hall for the period. Overall, Hall has raised nearly $250K more than Burkett. Neither...
Jun 18, 2017 | Senate Race Analyses, Straight-ticket Voting
What a difference a single envelope can make. On January 23, 2013, Texas state senators chose envelopes, one-by-one, that determined their fate for a decade. Inside those envelopes were slips of paper numbered one through 31. An odd number gave senators a four-year...
May 20, 2016 | Senate Race Analyses
Updated May 21: We inadvertently included all of Taylor Co.’s voters in this analysis and have corrected it to acknowledge that a portion of Taylor Co. is outside of SD24. We regret the error. More people have voted early in the Republican runoff in Taylor Co....
