Republican State Senator Says GOP Redistricting Maps Discriminate

[#TexasPolitics365]

 

State Sen. Kel Seliger (R - swore in federal court that he believes his GOP colleagues violated federal voting laws when redrawing a state Senate seat in North Texas.

Seliger’s sworn statement was submitted as part of a lawsuit seeking to throw out the new boundaries for Senate District 10, the Fort Worth seat represented by Democratic state Sen. Beverly Powell. 

Democrats and civil rights groups argue that the changes were calculated to discriminate against voters of color, shifting Black and Latino Texans across several districts to dilute their political impact.

Republicans counter that many of the maps do indeed favor Republicans, but are not designed to discriminate against people of color or minorities.

Seliger is not seeking re-election to his seat in 2022, He has held the seat since 2004.

(Full story HERE.)
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GOP Candidates Reject Endorsement By Pro-Amnesty Group

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Pete Flores, running in Texas Senate District 24, Mayes Middleton, a Senate District 11 candidate and Rep. Tan Parker, in Senate District 12, have publicly rejected endorsements from the political arm of The LIBRE Initiative.

They took issue with LIBRE’s support for a pathway to citizenship, amnesty, for illegal immigrants.

“I did not solicit the endorsement. I do not want the endorsement. I will not accept the endorsement. I reject it,” Flores said in a statement issued Monday. The other candidates made similar statements.

(Full story HERE.)
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House Candidate Alleges School Accommodates "Furry" Behavior

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Texas school district has responded to claims by a GOP hopeful that some school cafeterias are catering to furries, a group of people largely known for dressing up in animal costumes. 

The claim was made by Michelle Evans, a Republican running for office in House District 136, which includes Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Austin.

“Cafeteria tables are being lowered in certain @RoundRockISD middle and high schools to allow ‘furries’ to more easily eat without utensils or their hands (ie, like a dog eats from a bowl),” she said in her Jan. 23 tweet, which was widely mocked 

Evans did not provide any evidence to back up her remark. In a statement to MySanAntonio.com, Evans said she would put the outlet in touch with students and parents, but none verified her claim.

(Full story HERE.)
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Houston League of Women Voters Gets 10,000 Voter Registration Forms

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The Texas Secretary of State's office provided the Houston chapter of the League of Women Voters of Texas 10,000 voter registration forms over the weekend that they had requested. 

 
After initially being promised only 50 voter registration forms and eventually receiving 1,000 forms last week, the League sent a letter Friday to Texas Secretary of State John Scott threatening to sue if the state did not provide the needed registration forms to the League and other voter registration organizations ahead of the March 1 primary.

(Full story HERE.)
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Texas Joins Four States Alleging Google illegally Tracks Citizens

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined four other bipartisan attorneys general in suing Google for allegedly tracking users’ location data without their consent.

Texas filed its own lawsuit, filed Monday, alleging Google misled Texas users by continually tracking their location, even after users attempted to disable that feature.

(Full story HERE.)
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Abbott Proposes Parental Bill Of Rights

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has proposed a “Parental Bill of Rights” to protect families from the increasingly partisan education system.

The bill says that it will “amend the Texas Constitution to make clear that parents are the primary decision-makers in all matters involving their children.”

Abbott, who is seeking reelection this year, has come under some criticism from those on the Right in the Republican Party for not speaking out about high-profile cases like the one in the Round Rock school district, in which two parents were arrested at a school board meeting for seeking to be in the same room as board members. 

Both were kept overnight in jail, and have raised considerable sums for their defense. The incident has garnered national attention.

(Full story HERE.)
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True Texas Project Leader: West Is Not Pro-Life

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The CEO of the True Texas project, a conservative group formerly known as the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party, says she opposes Allen West's campaign for governor because he is "not pro-life."

On Julie White McCarty's personal Facebook page Sunday night, she made the case against West, who has come out against abortion, but with exceptions for rape and incest.

"Allen West is not pro-life," she said.  "I am #anyonebutabbott, and if it ends up Allen West, I will be 1000% for West.  But before the Primary voting starts, this is our chance to put forth the very best option.  To me the top issue is *always* being pro-life.  I firmly believe God cannot bless a state or nation that allows unborn babies to be killed... for ANY reason.  So if a candidate is not pro-life, well, that's a major problem."

The True Texas Project as an organization remains neutral in the race, except for its opposition to incumbent Gov. Abbott, for example, recently hosting an event with West in Amarillo.

McCarty posted a link to a video from the group Abolish Abortion that she said "explains why it is not ok to agree to abortion even in the case of rape."

Abolish Abortion seeks to abolish all forms of abortion in Texas, without exceptions.

"Abortion is a non-negotiable with me," McCarty. "In the Primary, the two pro-life choices are Don Huffines and Chad Prather."

On his campaign website, Allen West says he is pro-life, and, as governor, will sign pro-life legislation "without any exceptions, if it comes to my desk for signature."

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Pro-Trump Congressional Candidate Blames 2016 Anti-Trump Post On Joke By Son

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A Republican congressional candidate in a closely watched race running in the mold of former President Donald Trump is blaming an anti-Trump Facebook post from 2016 on a prank by his son.

Ed Cabrera, among seven Republicans running for the 28th Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, is a businessman and rancher from the Rio Grande Valley, and is running as a Trump-like candidate.

But a February 2016 post, which showed Cabrera posing outside the Mexican consulate in New York City, includes the caption, "Better to be a Mexican, than to be a citizen of a country that elects Trump as President. Don't pay for the wall, arriba Mejico!"

(Full story HERE.)
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Huffines Won't Fire "White Nationalist" Staffer

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines says he will not fire a campaign staffer identified by a left-leaning think tank as a "white nationalist."

The staffer, Jake Lloyd Colglazier, has previously done fieldwork for the campaign, Huffines said, adding that he will not take any action against Colglazier, who said on his YouTube channel in 2020 that he wants to “restore historical American culture” by “maintaining a supermajority of the original stock of the United States."

(Full story HERE.)
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AG Candidate Bush Warns GOP Voters: Don't Nominate "Indicted Felon" Paxton

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Attorney General candidate George P. Bush, says AG Ken Paxton's an "indicted felon" who will lose against a Democrat if he's the Republican nominee.

Bush made the comments in Round Rock, during a Meet and Greet as part of his statewide "Texas First" tour. Nearly 60 people gathered at the Alcove Cantina to hear his remarks.

In addition to calling Paxton an "indicted felon," Bush said the AG's office "has run amok under Ken Paxton s watch. Ken Paxton will lose this race if he's the nominee."

Bush said he would "take the fight to liberal District Attorneys" like those in Austin and Houston, and pursue a Texas First policy, which includes finishing the border wall 

AG Ken Paxton has been indicted, and is under investigation, but not convicted of any crime. He is leading in the polls against Bush, Judge Eva Guzman, and Rep. Louis Gohmert.

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Crenshaw Seems To Question Reality Of Jesus During Podcast

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A March, 2020 podcast is coming back to haunt congressman Dan Crenshaw because of a question a young woman asked about it during a recent fundraiser.

During the podcast with John Gretton “Jocko” Willink, a fellow former Navy SEAL and officer, Crenshaw was asked about philosophy and fiction and began discussing hero archetypes in stories.

“The important thing is that we have societal hero archetypes that we look up to. Jesus is a hero archetype. Superman is a hero archetype. Real characters, too, I could name a thousand. Rosa Parks, Ronald Reagan…” he said. 

A young woman (seriously identified as a 10 year old or an 18 year old on Twitter) asked Crenshaw about the quote during a fundraiser, according to a widely distributed video on Twitter. She added after quoting what he said, "I can't wrap my head around this."

Crenshaw answered, "Well, I'll help you. Put a period after Jesus and don't question my faith." He went on to say that in no part of that quote did he say that Jesus wasn't real.

(Full story HERE.)
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Appeals Court Rebuffs Challenge To Heartbeat Law

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A Federal appeals court panel Monday rebuffed Texas abortion clinics’ plea to send what remains of their challenge against the state’s abortion ban back to the lower court that previously blocked the law, instead directing the case to the Texas Supreme Court for further interpretation.

The move prolongs the litigation over the anti-abortion statute, which has led to a dramatic reduction in the number of abortions performed in the state since it took effect in September.

(Full story HERE.)
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White Asks Ag Commissioner Miller To Suspend Campaign

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State Rep. James White isn’t holding back in his bid to become the state’s 13th agriculture commissioner. White has relentlessly attacked incumbent Commissioner Sid Miller’s record and ethics controversies since announcing his run last summer.  

“I’m asking the Commissioner to suspend his campaign,” White said on Inside Texas Politics.

(Full story HERE.)
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Abbott To Sue Biden Administration Over Nat'l Guard Vax Mandate

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter Tuesday announcing his intention to sue the federal government over its unconstitutional vaccine mandate for the Texas National Guard.

Abbott reminded everyone in his chain of command not to punish any member of the Texas National Guard for choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

(Full story HERE.)
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Gohmert Says Paxton Lied To Trump To Get Endorsement

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Conservative Congressman Louie Gohmert says he called Donald Trump last summer when he heard the former President was thinking about endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“I suggested that he hold up. I said, ‘I’m even thinking about it if there’s not a better alternative’,” said U.S. Rep. Gohmert.

After the former President endorsed Paxton last July, Gohmert said he didn’t contact Mr. Trump again. But Trump called him.

“He called me and he said, ‘I was told that you were definitely not running before I endorsed.’ Well, I didn’t tell him that. So, it became clear it took a lie, a lie to President Trump that Gohmert’s definitely not running in order to get the endorsement and further re-enforces this Attorney General will do anything and say anything to get what he wants."

(Full story HERE.)
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AG Paxton Ordered By Dem. DA To Hand Over Jan. 6-Related Emails, Texts

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The Travis County district attorney's office in Austin informed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Thursday that he had violated the state's open record laws by refusing to release any of his communications from around last Jan. 6, when Paxton was in Washington, D.C., and appeared at the rally that preceded the Capitol siege. 

Democrat District Attorney José Garza gave Paxton four days to "cure this violation" by turning over the documents or face a lawsuit. 

(Full story HERE.)
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Abbott Gets Border Patrol Endorsement

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has recurved the endorsement of  the national Border Patrol Council.

The Council announced their endorsement for Abbott Monday at the press conference, citing his efforts on the border.

Saturday, the governor made an appearance at the Hispanic Leadership Summit to officially announce his re-election campaign.

Abbott tweeted his thanks for the endorsement Monday.

"Texas will continue to work in collaboration with the men and women of the Border Patrol to make sure we do all we can to fulfill our commitment to America to keep our border secure.

Thank you, National Border Patrol Council, for the endorsement & for joining me in Edinburg today."

(Full story HERE.)
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Shelley Luther Wants Chinese Students Banned From Texas Universities

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Shelley Luther, a Republican candidate for Texas House and hairdresser who became a hero of the anti-lockdown movement during the coronavirus pandemic, recently said in a since-deleted tweet that Chinese students should not be allowed to attend Texas colleges.

“Chinese students should be BANNED from attending all Texas universities,” Luther said in the Wednesday tweet. “No more Communists!”

In a follow-up tweet that is still online, Luther said the state's taxpayers "should not be subsidizing the next generation of CCP leaders."

(Full story HERE.)
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Ag Commissioner Candidates Trade Barbs Over Arrested Consultant

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Sparks flew at a forum in a church in Gainesville as a candidate for agriculture commissioner confronted the incumbent's knowledge of his consultant's arrest.  

Agriculture commissioner candidate James White has confronted incumbent Commissioner Sid Miller over Miller's consultant, who is facing charges over his attempt to charge fees for marijuana licences.

Miller has no involvement in the scheme, and had not been charged.

In a video shown on White's Facebook page, white can be heard accusing Miller of lying about the consultant, Todd Smith. 

In a press release on his website, White cited a May, 2021 Texas Tribune article, which said Smith "ultimately took $55,000 as part of the scheme, an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Texas Tribune says. Smith and others involved in the scheme are alleged in the warrant to have solicited a total of $150,000 to guarantee a license, including a $25,000 upfront cost for a survey that they said was required to get a license in Texas."

Miller said during the forum that a court date had not been set for Smith and that he has not been charged, but White said that wasn't true, producing a document showing in March 1st court date for Smith.

(Full story HERE
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Danny Harrison Is Taking On Abbott As An "Independent Republican"

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Danny Harrison is running as what he describes an "Independent-Minded" Republican in the GOP gubernatorial  Primary on March 1.

Harrison, a Dallas area businessman who own Harrison Landscape and Design, has repeatedly criticized incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott about his handling of the COVID-19 crisis in Texas. He supports legalized gambling and the sale of marijuana both as means to raise tax revenue. Both sources wood replace property taxes, says Harrison.

(Full story HERE
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Gov. Candidate West Attacks Abbott Over Treatment Of Border Troops

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West has attacked Gov. Greg Abbott's approach to securing the border and his treatment of national guard troops.

In a press conference Wednesday, West said Abbott was exaggerating the number of troops at the border for political reasons. West asserted that 6,600 had been deployed, and said Abbott refers always to "10,000 troops." 

West a former lieutenant colonel in the US Army, drew on his experience to say he would treat the soldiers better, in part, by offering them incentives such as property tax breaks.

"This is a state mission," said West, in a press release posted on his website. "Therefore, the state can determine the compensation package for service on the border such as in-state educational benefits, pay incentives, retirement, tax breaks (suspend property tax assessments), and newly created state level border awards (medals). None of this is being done at a creative level."

(Full story HERE.)
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Rise In Austin Sex Crimes Blamed On Police Department Cuts

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47-year-old man who failed to register in the sex offender database was arrested in Austin last week after police officers caught him in the middle of a sexual act with an autistic teenager, and one expert says the city’s move to defund police has put it at the mercy of such criminals.

According to 13-year Austin police officer Justin Berry, the incident is directly related to Austin’s decision to strip funding from the police in 2020, which he says pulled resources from units that monitor and pursue convicted sex offenders. 

"When the city of Austin defunded us by a third of our budget they also cut 150 officer positions," Berry, who is running to represent Texas’s 19th House District, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

(Full story HERE.)
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Sen. Ted Cruz Calls Jan. 6 Capitol Event A "Violent Terrorist Attack"

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz is taking a beating from both Republicans after condemning the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection by supporters of former Pres. Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol.

In comments made Wednesday, Cruz said this year marked “the solemn anniversary of a violent terrorist attack on the Capitol…”

Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson ripped Cruz for his comments.

"It wasn’t a violent terrorist attack. So why are you telling us that it was, Ted Cruz?” Fox News commentator Carlson said Wednesday night, adding that cruise and other Republicans were "repeating the talking points of US Attorney General Merrick Garland."

"What the hell is going on here? You're making us think that maybe the Republican Party is as worthless as we suspected it was."

Cruz appeared on Carlson's show Thursday night to apologize for what he called "sloppy" wording.

"“The way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy and it was frankly dumb,” Cruz told Carlson

(Full story HERE.)
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Paxton, Abbott, Patrick, Bush Among Pols Getting Pfizer PAC Donations

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Pfizer Inc PAC, a Federal political action committee, has given tens of thousands of dollars to Republican incumbents, according to a donor watchdog group.

Pfizer, one of three companies producing vaccines for worldwide distribution, often in nations with vaccine mandates, has donated to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Attorney General candidate George P. Bush in past election cycles.

Paxton received $7,500 in 2018 from the PAC. Abbott and Patrick both received $5,000 from the PAC in 2020, according to Transparency USA, a nonprofit organization providing donor data on statewide candidates for 10 states around the country. 

In 2018, the PAC gave $15,000 to the Texas House Leadership Fund, which supports the election of Republican state house candidates.

Data for the 2022 election cycle has not yet been posted to the site.

All of these candidates have publicly  opposed vaccine mandates.

(Full story HERE.)
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AG Paxton Appeals Court Ruling Saying AG Can't Prosecute Election Violations

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has appealed a recent court decision prohibiting his office from prosecuting election cases.

"The Texas Attorney General has had the authority to prosecute certain election law violations for 70 years," the motion filed Sunday said. 

"The Court's decision misinterprets constitutional text, breaks with Supreme Court precedent, [and] is inconsistent with its own precedent..."

(Full story HERE
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