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March 17, 2025      4:21 PM

With the party at a crossroads, Texas Democrats prepare to choose a new chair

Long knives are coming for Kendall Scudder, seen by many as the clear frontrunner. After one of the party’s worst electoral setbacks in a decade, establishment Texas Democrats look to bolster party finances while grassroots activists want a “fighter” to “start mobilizing people where they’re at”

Editor’s note: Some of the SDEC members quoted in this story were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely about the race and give you a sense of the internal deliberations – SB

For the first time in more than a decade, there’s a wide open race for Chair of the Texas Democratic Party. And it’s about to come to a head.

After suffering one of the party’s worst recent electoral setbacks in 2024 and the subsequent announcement that longtime Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa would step aside, party leaders find themselves at a crossroads heading into a vote for someone new to take the reins. Next week’s vote by the State Democratic Executive Committee is “the most important election for Democrats leading up to ‘26 and ‘28 in Texas," said one party insider. “Democrats have to get it right."

There are 8 candidates officially in the running but only three of them are seen as serious contenders. The SDEC plans to use ranked choice voting – something new in this process – on March 28 to select the chair.

As is always the case, an effective chairman of a political party needs to be a workhorse interested in building party infrastructure to support candidates, not necessarily a show horse primarily concerned with firing up the base. But when it comes to getting the job in the first place the show pony usually has a leg up.

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By Scott Braddock

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March 17, 2025      4:04 PM

Houston area midwife arrested in first criminal case under Texas abortion ban

Reporter Taylor Goldenstein at the Houston Chronicle has the newsflash:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday announced the arrest of a Houston-area midwife for allegedly performing illegal abortions and practicing medicine illegally, marking the first criminal case to be filed under the state’s abortion ban.

Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, is accused of illegally operating a network of clinics in the Northwest Houston area, according to a statement from Paxton’s office.

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March 16, 2025      11:20 AM

Gordon Johnson passed away

We got word of his passing this morning. He was a Texas Capitol veteran and longtime political director to then-Speaker Joe Straus. He was also an incredible mentor and friend. Arrangements are pending. Prayers for his family - HK and SB

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March 14, 2025      4:47 PM

With the blessing of Patrick, Sen. Hughes files priority legislation to clarify exceptions for legal abortions in Texas

Hughes says the “Life of the Mother Act,” a priority of Lt. Gov. Patrick, is aimed at clarifying the medical exceptions for abortions in Texas without lifting the state’s sweeping ban

Following an intense debate over the interim about which medical emergencies allow doctors in Texas to perform legal abortions, Sen. Bryan Hughes late Friday filed legislation that he said was aimed at clarifying the rules for medical providers in those situations.

Rep. Charlie Geren, R- Fort Worth, will carry the bill in the Texas House with the support of veteran Democrats like Rep. Donna Howard and others. That'll be HB 44.

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By Scott Braddock

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March 13, 2025      11:41 AM

Braddock: Raising the steaks for this legislative session

Yes, the headline is stupid but so is the “controversy.” Meantime, Speaker Burrows brings excellent taste to the discussion

Update: It turns out Patrick fibbed a little – surprising, I know – about Bob’s adding this to their menu – SB

Despite the fact that his crew typically rolls at Capital Grille, where the food is better in my opinion than Bob’s Steak and Chop House but the restaurant is less cigar friendly, Little Gov. Dan Patrick is giving a boost to the chewier option for steak in this town.

Patrick’s new side mission, you may have noticed while doom scrolling, is to rebrand the New York Strip steak as the Texas Strip. It’s an idea that’s already sparked a $1 million lawsuit and follows Daddy Trump’s rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, which Google quickly changed on its maps. As Patrick has pushed the idea, Bob’s steakhouse put it on their menu this week in Austin. But it turns out that Patrick was exaggerating – the menu addition was just a customization for a private event.

But Speaker Dustin Burrows had a different and honestly better idea – that is, if you want your steak to have actual flavor and not just rhetorical flair.

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By Scott Braddock

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March 13, 2025      11:39 AM

Jennifer Fleck elected Travis County GOP Chair

Fleck was chosen by the party's executive committee after former Chair Mackowiak stepped down

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March 13, 2025      10:47 AM

Patrick unveils second round of Senate priorities for this session

Here they are.

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March 11, 2025      4:40 PM

In Texas House school voucher hearing Democrats try to put the GOP on defense

Led in the hearing by Representatives Talarico and Hinojosa, Democrats press Chair Buckley on specifics; meantime Speaker Burrows appears with Gov. Abbott who’s promoting the Democrats’ pick for speaker as his voucher champion

Despite what it sounds like, Sen. Bernie Sanders is not in the John W. Reagan Room 140 today.

But Democrats on the House Public Education Committee sounded somewhat like the fiery Democrat as they called Chairman Brad Buckley’s House Bill 3, the school voucher bill, a scam, a giveaway to billionaires and millionaires and could cause the potential financial ruin of school districts.

Seizing on this messaging, they also forced their Republican colleagues to go on the defense for the ultra-rich who, as was hotly debated, may or may not send their children to public schools.

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By James Russell

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March 11, 2025      8:14 AM

Fiscal note for Texas House voucher plan projects cost of the program to grow as high as $5 billion within five years

You can read it here.

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