Bloggers are recapping the results of last Tuesday's runoff elections. They're also previewing the upcoming contests in November, bidding adieu to some of their favorite people and discussing high-profile lawsuits. And then there's what was left over.
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April showers
Before the poll results came in, BurkaBlog examined the implications of each runoff race, particularly regarding the House Speakership. Here's his hindsight after the votes were cast. Texas Observer Blog's analysis can be found here.
Tex Parte Blog takes a close look at the Harris and Travis County District Attorney contests. And ABC13's Polticial Blog says Democrats are paying attention after the Houston-area runoffs. (Off the Kuff was paying attention, too — here's his take.) Both Travis County D.A. candidates were all smiles after the polls closed, says Chronic, the Austin Chronicle's blog. And KVUE's Political Junkie crunches the numbers.
Chronic says HD-52 GOP candidate Bryan Daniel "seemed to be running against the local party," which bodes well for the Dem in the general. Eye on Williamson concurs, "playing dirty against a local son, might hurt him in November."
In the Pink voted, then blogged about it. The runoff winners are vulnerable in November, proclaims Burnt Orange.
Speaker candidates have been giving to Parent PAC, says Postcards from the Lege, the Austin American-Statesman's blog, asking, how's that different from what Tom Craddick did?
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November Rain
IVR Polls says incumbent U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, is up 57-39 on challenger Michael Skelly, the same margin by which Sen. John Cornyn is leading challenger Rick Noriega (within the congressional district), according to Brains and Eggs. Texas Blue has an interview with Skelly here. Texas Kaos thinks Skelly is the bees' knees.
Texas Politics, the Houston Chronicle's blog, admits to reading Burnt Orange, and blogger Memoirs from a Young Conservative likes her some Cornyn.
Burnt Orange lends the forum to Democrat Glenn Melancon, who's taking on incumbent U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, and he posts a video of a speech he made in Collin County.
The liberal Lone Star Project is demanding that state Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, fork over $357,000 to make up for profits from a property deal tangled up with campaign funds, says PoliTex, adding that "Some news stories never die." Blue's got the letter from Lone Star. Burnt Orange says the ongoing to-do represents one more reason to vote for challengerWendy Davis.
Vaqueros & Wonkeros, the El Paso Times's blog, says El Paso Democrat Joe Moody is telling supporters that HD-78 is trending blue. In the general, he'll face the GOP's Dee Margo, who beat up on incumbent Pat Haggerty in the primary.
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Later, Alligator
PinkDome's hanging up the mouse for good. North Texas Liberal shed a tear. In the Pink reached for a glass of vino. The Texas Cloverleaf says he was a major influence. Capitol Crowd calls him "The sweetest guy with the cruelest blog." Kuff will miss his "keen sense of fashion." PoliTex, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's blog, reminisces about an off-color remark by Gov. Rick Perry relayed by the anonymous blogger. "He's like a laxative for websites. That's a compliment," says Political Junkie.
Chronic points out, on an *unrelated* note, KXAN suddenly has a new blog by some guy named Charlie Ray. (Grits for Breakfast makes the same observation.)
Texas Safety Forum says the CD-22 runoff was a referendum on Shelley Sekula Gibbs. Anti-Corruption Republican made a last-second plea on behalf of Sekula Gibbs, alleging, well, potential corruption on the part of Pete Olson. Half-Empty gives the feisty dermatologist a farewell video sendoff. Musings blogs in pink font all week in her memory.
Fox 7 reporter Mike Rosen pulled a Tony Snow and succumbed to the dark side. He'll be working for U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Austin. Political Junkie relays some parting shots from those who knew him. And one can find impromptu comments from some reporters below this entry by Postcards.
Political strategist Kelly Fero got axed by the Rosemary Lehmberg campaign last week (as reported by Political Junkie), but his Austin Political Report blog lives on! APR sticks it to "Austin's newspaper of record" (that'd be either the Statesman or the Chronicle), and erroneously alleges Aggieness on the part of Glen Maxey. ("I'm no Aggie," replies the Bearkat Maxey.) And In the Pink says the business with Fero is serious, seriously.
Solicitor General Ted Cruz is out — James C. "Jim" Ho is in, says Texas Parte. Meanwhile, Houstoned, the Houston Press's blog, says Texas Medical Board executive director Donald Patrick is calling it quits.
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Suiting Up
Texas Parte simplifies the legalese enshrouding three major cases going on right now. First, the lawsuit by a white student against The University of Texas at Austin appears identical to 1996's Hopwood v. Texas, which overturned UT law's race-based admission policy. (The door to affirmative action was cracked open again in 2003's Grutter v. Bollinger.) Second, eight minors (or representatives thereof) are suing over alleged beatings and suspensions of legal rights that occurred in a privately run immigration detention center in San Antonio. The blog also dissects the claim brought by lawyers for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (popularly known as the "polygamous sect").
Black Democrats of El Paso Pres. Don Williams has filed an official challenge to the El Paso delegation to the state Democratic convention, according to Newspaper Tree, via Burnt Orange. The ACLU says Beaumont public schools got some 'splaining to do in regard to after-school education sessions only mandatory for male African-American students. And muckraker is just begging to be sued by lawyer and state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.
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Dross
Legislative Director Dina Meyer is Capitol Crowd's Person of the Week.
Democratic delegate Tammie Hartgroves goes "On the Record" with Blue.
Texas Sparkle took a trip to the Beltway and took pictures of what U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, calls "the devil's city," according to Postcards.
Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams is turning 55, via Walker Report.
The South Texas Republicans newsletter is up, via Walker.
Photos from the Young Conservatives of Texas convention, from Walker. (Attendees don't look "energized," per se.)
Who's the top Texas Democrat now that Ronnie Earle's gone? asks PoliTex. (Cue cricket track.)
This edition of Out There was compiled and written by Patrick Brendel, who hails from Victoria but is spending the spring in the mid-Atlantic region. We cherry-pick the state's political blogs each week, looking for news, info, gossip, and new jokes. The opinions here belong (mostly) to the bloggers, and we're including their links so you can hunt them down if you wish. Our blogroll — the list of Texas blogs we watch — is on our links page, and if you know of a Texas political blog that ought to be on it, just shoot us a note. Please send comments, suggestions, gripes or retorts to Texas Weekly editor Ross Ramsey.
