Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report - Mobile

DAILY BUZZ	CALENDAR
R & D	FREE SIGNUP
NEWS CLIPS	LOGIN
PRESS RELEASES	LOGOUT
SEARCH	FULL SITE
	SUBSCRIPTIONS

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.

The rest of the story, subscribers only

By Scott Braddock

Return to Top of Page

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.

Return to Top of Page

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

Return to Top of Page