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December 29, 2025 5:19 PM
Yes, there is still some hangover from the impeachment of AG Paxton who blamed TLR for his “persecution” while some GOP candidates elected in Abbott’s scorched earth campaign for school vouchers are now opposed by TLR. Meantime, Speaker Burrows seems to have made peace, for the most part, with the Tim Dunn political operation by punishing the Democrats who elected him
The end of
the holiday season just happens to coincide with the fundraising deadline for
legislative candidates in Texas. So, some of you in the lobby just trying to
enjoy your Christmas vacations are getting calls from Texas House
members looking for those last-minute checks. Many of you have reported – and we’ve
seen – light attendance at fundraisers from Texas-OU weekend in
Dallas to receptions at the Austin Club.
The sales
pitch from Republican candidates is a little different this time around for a variety
of reasons. So, it’s probably helpful to at least float a preliminary list of
the Texas House GOP primaries we’ll start covering in-depth in January and think
aloud about the dynamics driving the campaigns already underway across Texas.
This election
cycle isn’t expected to be anything like 2024 when “everyone in the House seems
to have a primary of some note,” as one campaign veteran put it that year. True,
at that time the governor was ending the careers of longtime conservative
legislators in pursuit of school vouchers on behalf of his Pennsylvania sugar
daddy Jeff Yass. And Attorney General Ken Paxton was similarly barnstorming
the state on a retribution tour after the impeachment he blamed largely on Texans
for Lawsuit Reform. TLR has always publicly denied having any role in
that process, it should be noted.
Now that
school vouchers have passed into law, Gov. Greg Abbott’s operation is
shifting back to focusing mostly on the general election when he’ll target a
few Democrats and seek to shore up Republicans up and down the ballot with this
$100 million war chest. Outside of endorsements, don’t look for Abbott to do
any heavy lifting in primaries to defend incumbents.
Also, seemingly gone
are the days of widespread anti-House Speaker “Empower Texans”-style
campaigns run by the political operation funded primarily by Midland billionaire
Tim Dunn for about 15 years.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright December 29, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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December 29, 2025 5:15 PM
"Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Monday, the 5th of January, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. A funeral service is to be conducted at ten o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, the 6th of January, at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue in Houston" The funeral home can assist with discounted hotel rooms: 713-789-3005
The full
obituary for John Pitts can
be found here.
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Copyright December 29, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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December 26, 2025 9:05 AM
On the Cardle and Woolley Show in Austin, Quorum Report Editor Scott Braddock talked about the way President Trump inserted himself into legislative business in Austin in 2025 in unprecedented fashion. Listen below
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Copyright December 26, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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December 25, 2025 3:30 PM
It’s the kind of objection that GOP opponents raised for years; now Abbott and Hancock look to change the rules after the fact with the help of the man Hancock voted to remove from office
After GOP
critics of school voucher programs for years warned that Madrassas – and other
schools that scare some conservatives – would be eligible to receive taxpayer
dollars under every iteration of such a system, Texas Republicans this year bent
to pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott to go ahead and approve it with no
guardrails for that.
It’s the
kind of objection that was often raised by then-Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo,
on the floor of the Texas Senate back during sessions when the proposal
would ultimately fail in the Texas House.
That opposition
angered Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who demoted the once powerful Senate
Higher Education Committee Chairman over it. But it didn’t matter at
the time to Gov. Abbott. He didn’t care about this, of course, until more than
$10 million flowed into his campaign account from school voucher supporter Jeff
Yass from Pennsylvania.
Now, after
the fact and amid anti-Muslim and anti-Chinese fervor in GOP primaries, Acting
Comptroller Kelly Hancock is asking Attorney General Ken Paxton whether
the state can legally exclude certain Islamic and Chinese-linked private schools
from the $1 billion initial program expected to ballon in cost in the coming
years.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright December 25, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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December 25, 2025 1:40 PM
Visitation will Dec 28 at 4:00 p.m. at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home in Austin; burial will be 10:00 a.m. Dec 29 at the Texas State Cemetery
The obit
for him is here.
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Copyright December 25, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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December 23, 2025 2:32 PM
We're told he passed away today surrounded by family. We'll share funeral arrangements when they are finalized
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Copyright December 23, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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