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July 15, 2025 6:28 PM
Trump’s blanket endorsements of voucher supporters is having the intended effect so far, meantime Commissioner Miller gets a run for his money and Abbott is sitting on a mountain of cash
Three
takeaways from the July semiannual campaign finance reports are this: the
self-funding candidates are the last to file, the lines in top tier races have largely
already been drawn, and this primary cycle may overall could be a snooze fest
down ballot. That, of course, could change if Republicans go through with
redrawing congressional districts to make them more competitive creating a magnet
for national money from both parties.
More on
all that as we shift into the special session next
week. For now, let’s break down the reports we’ve seen from candidates so far:
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By James Russell
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Copyright July 15, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 15, 2025 5:19 PM
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Copyright July 15, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 15, 2025 5:16 PM
During a call with Republican members from Texas, Trump said the seats would be Cuellar's CD28, Vicente Gonzalez's CD34, Julie Johnsons's CD32, one in the Houston area, and another potentially anchored in Austin. That's according to DC-based Punchbowl News
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Copyright July 15, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 15, 2025 9:41 AM
Quorum Report has learned that Jeffries, former AG Eric Holder, and DNC Chair Martin were listed as speakers to the caucus this week, encouraging state lawmakers not to help the GOP redraw Congressional districts in Trump’s bid to avoid another impeachment
With less
than a week to go before a special session is set to start next Monday in Austin,
Texas House Democrats are coming under increased pressure from national leaders
in their party to prevent Republican leadership from redrawing congressional
districts.
The urgency
was underscored by a meeting of the Democratic Caucus in which US House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others were slated to speak to
legislators about what’s at stake and to strategize about the situation.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright July 15, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 14, 2025 5:42 PM
Taxpayer funded lobbying in the crosshairs while major legislation on THC and disaster response have yet to emerge
Nearly 100
bills spread across a range of issues were filed today ahead of the special
session beginning July 21, including hot button items on Gov. Greg Abbott’s
call: Property taxes, banning access to abortion medication and banning
taxpayer funded lobbying were among the issues most popular among Republicans.
Local
and Consent Calendars
Chair Jared Patterson and Reps. Nate Schatzline, Bricoe Cain, Steve Toth and Ellen
Troxclair filed similar bills targeting the abortion medication access.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By James Russell
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Copyright July 14, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 14, 2025 3:08 PM
Disaster victims should not be held hostage to vacuous political ideologues choosing war with cities and counties rather than collaboration with them. The outcome is there for all to see.
“Any
mayor, county judge that was dumb ass enough to come meet with me, I told them
with great clarity, my goal is for this to be the worst session in the history
of the Legislature for cities and counties” – Then-Speaker Dennis Bonnen
to Michael Quinn Sullivan,
Citing that now infamous quote is not
intended to offend the former speaker. Instead, it perfectly encapsulates the
zeitgeist of the past decade of Republican legislative leadership towards
cities and counties. State preemption of local control hit a high-water mark with
now-Speaker Dustin Burrows so-called Death Star bill and
has been followed by any number of efforts to expand those preemptions and
undermine local officials’ to prepare and to react.
These images are seared into our collective memory: Homes
submerged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the deadly cold and dark
of Winter Storm Uri, and just this month, the tragic flash floods
that devastated communities in the Texas Hill Country. For
Texans, natural disasters aren't a matter of "if," but
"when."
While the Texas Department of Emergency
Management response to the flooding In Kerr County was
robust, the harsh truth is local communities bear the brunt of these
increasingly frequent and severe events. Recent legislative actions have
demonstrably hampered their ability to adequately prepare and respond,
ultimately putting lives and property at greater risk.
This isn't merely an abstract debate about fiscal
policy. It is a tangible threat to every Texan.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Harvey Kronberg
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Copyright July 14, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 14, 2025 5:20 AM
Scoop from Axios: Cornyn beats Paxton by $1 million in Q2 Texas Senate fundraising
Axios got the details:
The
four-term senator raised $3.9 million during the second quarter of 2025 and has
$8.5 million in cash on hand, his campaign is set to
announce on Monday. A pro-Cornyn super PAC previously announced raising roughly
$11 million. It has not released a cash-on-hand figure.
Paxton's
campaign raised $2.9 million, while a pro-Paxton super PAC took in $1.85
million, Neither have reported how much they have in the bank.
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Copyright July 14, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 12, 2025 1:11 PM
Under increased MAGA pressure to dismiss AG Bondi over Epstein files, a potential plan could come together to make Paxton AG, changing dynamics in Texas Senate race
From the
item in Mediaite by Sarah Rumpf:
It’s
well known that “John Cornyn refuses to let a scumbag like Ken Paxton sit in
Sam Houston’s Senate seat,” the source said, but Paxton wasn’t content to just
remain as the Texas AG.
So how
to get Paxton out of the way?
The
solution, according to the source, was for Trump to get rid of Bondi, Paxton to
drop out of the Senate race, Trump to nominate Paxton for AG, Cornyn to
announce he was retiring, and Hunt to announce he was running for Senate — in a
now-open seat, not challenging an incumbent.
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Copyright July 12, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 11, 2025 4:29 PM
Toth's launch party's slated for next week in Montgomery County
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Copyright July 11, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 11, 2025 12:44 PM
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Copyright July 11, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 11, 2025 11:43 AM
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Copyright July 11, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 11, 2025 9:09 AM
My involvement in the Texas Take podcast has come to a close but new things are on the horizon here at QR. Thanks to all of you for reading and listening over the years
“Welcome
to the show,” Mr. Kronberg said with a smile many years ago when I had just
started as a contract writer for Quorum Report during the 2013
session. A battle over cracking down on payday lenders had just gone sideways
on then-Sen. John Carona and the debate – back when those were allowed
in the Senate – had been entertaining to say the least.
It was during those early years that I first started my working relationships with so many of you and I learned just how special and important the community in and around the Texas Capitol truly is.
A few
years later in 2015, Harvey promoted me to Editor of this publication. Hard to
believe it’s been a decade, right?
Somewhere in
all of it, the bosses at the Houston Chronicle asked if I would
partner with them to create a Texas politics podcast. At first, I thought I was
simply going to help them get it started and then the Chronicle folks would
take it over. But instead, I led the Texas Take podcast to become
the number one politics podcast in this state over the course of the last
decade alongside my work here at QR. I appreciate that so many QR readers have
also enjoyed the show each week. Funny how our little show took on a life of its own, but something's changed.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright July 11, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 11, 2025 7:59 AM
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Copyright July 11, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 10, 2025 12:40 PM
Story first reported by KUT's Lauren McGaughy
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Copyright July 10, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 9, 2025 3:49 PM
Flooding issues, redistricting, banning taxpayer “funded lobbying,” and more
The
list is here via the Office of the Governor.
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Copyright July 09, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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July 9, 2025 2:58 PM
This item
appeared in the conservative publication The
Daily Caller:
Democratic
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett is the preferred candidate among Texas Democratic
voters to run for Senate in 2026, according to recent polling.
Crockett
leads a hypothetical primary field with 35% of likely Democratic voters,
followed by former Democratic Texas Rep. Colin Allred at 20%, former
Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Joaquin Castro tied at 13%. Just
18% of voters said they were undecided about their preferred nominee to
challenge Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is seeking his fifth Senate
term.
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Copyright July 09, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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