Free Republic

CNN's Gary Tuchman heads to King County, Texas, where President Obama won only five votes. Video at link.

APIn Ryan Lizza's story in this week's The New Yorker, Texas' newly-elected Republican Senator Ted Cruz worries about the changing electoral landscape --- and how it could get even less favorable for the GOP in coming years.  Cruz provides what must be a truly terrifying thought for the Republican Party:"In not too many years, Texas could switch from being all Republican to all Democrat," he said. "If that happens, no Republican will ever again win the White House. New York and California are for the foreseeable future unalterably Democrat. If Texas turns bright blue, the Electoral College math is simple. We...

It turns out the calls for a stronger Hispanic voice in the GOP — more urgent than ever after Barack Obama’s massive support among the demographic Tuesday — were heard loud and clear in North Texas. George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, has taken his first step toward running for office by filing an “appointment of a campaign treasurer” with the Texas Ethics Commission, according to The New Republic.

Who Is Bolat Bersebayev and Why Is He Monitoring Our Elections? The New American 02 November 2012 Who are Bolat Bersebayev of Kazakhstan, Elchin Musaeyev of Azerbaijan, and their OSCE teammates who are "monitoring" the U.S. elections? ... As reported previously by The New American, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot has warned the OSCE monitors that they will risk criminal prosecution if they interfere in the state’s election procedures. Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz has also warned OSCE that its monitors must obey Iowa election laws or face arrest (see here and here). Janez Lenarcic, the director of the...

Red alert, local Democrats: One week into early voting, Republicans are beating you in turnout. This analysis comes courtesy of fourth-day data from early voting sites across Bexar County, comparing turnout in 2008 to this year's numbers. Democrats, of course, swept elections in 2008, when Barack Obama won the presidency and, incidentally, beat John McCain in Bexar County by more than five percentage points. In predicting the political loyalties of voters at early voting sites, local geography plays a role, according to consultants. “Typically, Bexar County's North Side are the heaviest Republican-voting precincts,” says Christian Anderson, who runs campaigns for...

Texas in person early voting begins Oct. 22 and ends Nov. 2. Check with your County Registrar of Voters for early voting sites and hours of operation. In the 2008 General Election 39.42% of the registered voters or 5,351,660 votes were cast during the Early Voting period. Texas Secretary of State Elections and Voter Information 2012 November General Election Candidates Application for Ballot by Mail   To be eligible to vote by mail in Texas, you must: be 65 years or older; be disabled; be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting...

The Chronicle's backing of Barack Obama in 2008 broke a 44-year string of endorsing Republican candidates for president. Like so many others, we were captivated by the Illinois senator's soaring rhetoric and energized by his promise to move American politics beyond partisan gridlock and into an era of hope and change. It hasn't happened. Four years later, President Obama's deeds have failed to match his words, much less his specific vows to cut the national debt by half and bring the nation's unemployment rate to 6 percent. As Texans, it is a particular vexation that this president's attitude toward the...

Candidate Obama, an orator of great skill and cadence, might have overcome everything and put the U.S. on a brighter path. President Obama, unfortunately, fell short of the challenge. The wars have largely faded from headlines, but the economic struggles remain, along with an attendant worry about future federal spending, deficits and debt. Obama’s Democratic supporters would argue that no one could have succeeded in what he inherited, that the nation’s problems were far more severe than anyone could handle in four years. We respectfully disagree. On the central issue that will define his presidency — a stalled U.S. economy...

The Dallas Morning News announced this afternoon that they are endorsing candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. In an editorial piece, the newspaper calls Romney a "principled, pragmatic leader" and that the former Massachusetts governor as a man who has "shown an ability to lead" and "can get Washington working again." The article went on to chastise Obama for being "less leader than follower" with his inability to address the escalating national debt and continually blaming George W. Bush for "the mess he left behind."(continued)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is accusing President Barack Obama of engaging in spiritual warfare and is urging Christian voters to “send a message to Washington that our nation is about more than some secular laws and activist courts." According to the Austin American-Statesman, the Republican made the claim in a conference call with evangelicals Tuesday, in which he warned that the "spiritual warfare," as he put it, "may be growing stronger as President Obama and his cronies in Washington continue their effort to remove any trace of religion from American life." He added, "It falls on us [as] Christian warriors,...

TAMPA, Fla. — The Texas delegation at the Republican National Convention is, for the most part, backing the candidacy of Mitt Romney. But that doesn't mean everyone here is enthusiastic about the former Massachusetts governor. Romney, who is expected to accept the nomination tonight, was not the first choice for many members of the Texas delegation, several delegates said this week. Gov. Rick Perry, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum each sent their backers to Romney after they dropped out of the race. And like good party soldiers, the converted supporters see Team Romney...

Michael Quinn Sullivan, leader of the conservative activist group Empower Texans, agreed that Texas voters were pushing out Republican moderates, like state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, who lost to tea party leader Donna Campbell. He said lawmakers allied with [RINO] Texas House Speaker Joe Straus continued to lose key races."It's a very bad night for Joe Straus, losing two big committee chairs (Miller and Hopson)," he said, adding that five Straus chairs have now lost in the GOP primary. "The state Senate has become a lot more conservative after this cycle, and especially with this runoff." Gov. Rick Perry tried to...

Election '12: Once again, the GOP establishment has been shocked by the resilience of the Tea Party movement. Ted Cruz's Senate nomination in Texas shows that ideas trump fundraising this fateful election year. The Tea Party is deservedly celebrating a stirring win by former Texas solicitor general Cruz in a runoff that determined which Republican vies for the seat of retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in November. Massively outspent by establishment-backed opponent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Cruz finished with nearly 57% of the vote. But another factor is at play, which also explains Richard Mourdock's recent primary defeat of Senator-for-life...

Ate tonight at the Chick-Fil-A at roughly the corner of FM1960 and North Eldridge in Cypress, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

AUSTIN — Ted Cruz, the top appellate lawyer turned tea party favorite, shocked the political establishment Tuesday, grabbing the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate and virtually guaranteeing that he’ll be Texas’ first Hispanic senator. Cruz handily defeated Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a Republican runoff for the seat of U.S.

The anointed Texas political establishment contender, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, was leading in the GOP runoff race to capture the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. He had a who’s who list of solid republican mainstream backers. Most state and national election experts had already inked Dewhurst into the senatorial win column. Yet, in the conservative voter trenches of Texas, the real who ’s who that truly counted was the voters and a Tea Party movement that would not say die or give up. In their corner was the former Alaskan...

"The victory of Ted Cruz in the Texas Republican Senate runoff primary means that the torch is being passed to a new generation of principled small government constitutional conservatives and that the 'let's make a deal' Republican Party of old will soon go the way of the Dodo bird. "Ted's nomination sent a strong signal that a new conservative Republican Party is being born and, by 2016, principled conservatives will replace most leaders in Congress and the Party at the national, state, and local levels. GOP leaders should 'ask not for whom the bell tolls -- it tolls for thee.'...

WASHINGTON - Ted Cruz's stunning come-from-behind victory over David Dewhurst in Tuesday's Republican Senate runoff sends an unmistakable message to the political establishment in Washington that the next U.S. Senate, like the Republican-controlled House, is going to be more conservative and less willing to compromise with President Barack Obama or even a possible President Mitt Romney. "This is going to reverberate around the Capitol in Washington and around the country," said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. "If you can do this in Texas, you can do it anywhere. This is a hell of a wake-up call for the establishment." The decisive...

only a tweet report at present

Tea party-backed Ted Cruz has defeated Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. FILE - In this June 22, 2012 file photo, Texas Senate Candidates Ted Cruz, left, and Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst , right, are seen after their televised debate in Dallas, Texas. Democrats have their thumbs heavily on Republican scales in Senate primaries in Missouri and Wisconsin this summer, hoping to tip the balance and improve their own chances of maintaining a majority in November. The idea isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. The former state solicitor general won the runoff...

Congratulations to Ted Cruz! This is a victory both for Ted and for the grassroots Tea Party movement. This primary race has always been about the kind of leadership we need in D.C. Our goal is not just about changing the majority in the Senate. It is about the kind of leadership we want. Ted Cruz represents the kind of strong conservative leadership we want in D.C. Go-along to get-along career politicians who hew the path of least resistance are no longer acceptable at a time when our country is drowning in debt and our children's futures are at stake....

Former state solicitor general Ted Cruz, a tea party-aligned conservative once regarded as a long-shot candidate, has won the Republican runoff in Texas, where he will be the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate in the November election. The Associated Press has called the race for Cruz over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Cruz will be a heavy favorite over Democratic nominee Paul Sadler, who also won a runoff on Tuesday. Cruz, an emerging conservative star whose father emigrated to the United States from Cuba, has drawn comparisons to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and has been lauded by national conservative political...

HOUSTON — Ted Cruz, an insurgent backed by the Tea Party, defeated the candidate favored by Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday in a runoff election for the Republican Senate nomination that revealed a wide rift in Texas between the party establishment and restless, anti-incumbent activists on the right. With the come-from-behind victory, he is heavily favored to win the Senate seat being vacated in November by Kay Bailey Hutchison and appears likely to become a star of the national conservative movement. Mr. Cruz, 41, is the latest conservative rebel to bring down an established party leader, tapping into simmering anger...

Tea party-backed Ted Cruz has defeated Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

Texas Primary Runoff Election Race Results - Latest Update: 07/31/2012 07:43pm U.S. Senate (R) Texas Precincts Reporting: 245 out of 1064 precincts 23% Candidate Votes Vote % Winner Ted Cruz 270,146 53% David Dewhurst 234,927 47% * indicates incumbent candidate(s)

Polls close at 7PM Central.

Saw this tweet from Michael Berry on Monday: @MichaelBerrysho Reports abound that desperate Dewhurst has a robocall out that says "this is Sarah Palin & I'm supporting Dewhurst" LIAR! Palin supports Cruz

This listing has all the Republican races today http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/july31_162_state.htm

Glenn Beck's 'Restoring' Love Rally Proves The Tea Party Isn't Dead Elena Schneider Jul. 30, 2012, 10:12 PM Conservative, doom-and-gloom Tea Party icon Glenn Beck says he is on a new mission. A mission for love. More than one year after his Fox News departure, Beck — accompanied by a gospel choir, an orchestra, an exact replica of the Liberty Bell — made his comeback official this weekend, delivering a history lesson, a religious message, a spoken word performance and a musical and digital presentation to a 65,000-plus audience in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. The "Restoring Love" event...

Texas' intensely watched Republican U.S. Senate runoff tonight will be a stunner no matter how it turns out. Political newcomer Ted Cruz could defeat Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a well-known and well-funded GOP officeholder, and provide tea party activists across the country another high-profile victory. An outside poll released late Sunday indicated that Cruz had a solid 10-point lead over Dewhurst. But Dewhurst, who has the support of Gov. Rick Perry and other top Texas political leaders, could still snatch a victory from the tea party. He has poured $19 million of his own personal fortune into the race, and...

Come November, I hope Democrat Paul Sadler will be the new junior U.S. Senator of Texas. Sadler is a self-proclaimed Progressive with a proven track record behind his liberal Democrat label. But, despite my hopes, recent Texas electoral history and the state’s political climate suggest the November election will not send Sadler to Washington, D.C. So, Progressive Democrats should participate in tomorrow’s Republican Primary Runoff between former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. For Progressive Democrats, David Dewhurst is the best option.

FORT WORTH — For much of the past year, things looked bad for the tea party. Polls showed little new interest from voters, and its favorite presidential contenders flopped in the face of Mitt Romney, who was denounced within the movement. But the final days of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas suggest that the tea party may be reshaping itself into a political operation with long-term viability. On Tuesday, GOP voters will choose between former state solicitor general Ted Cruz, who has benefited from intense tea party support, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, an establishment Republican and protege of...

CBS, which devoted four on-air segments between May 30 and June 1, 2012 to the "hundreds of Catholics" who rallied in support of dissenting nuns, ignored the tens of thousands who came from all over the U.S. to see conservative talk show host Glenn Beck speak on Saturday. In fact, all of the Big Three networks have yet to cover Beck's "Restoring Love" event in Dallas on their morning and evening newscasts. CBS's Dallas affiliate reported that "more than 65,000 people filled Cowboys Stadium" for Beck's event. On Monday, Chris Ariens of MediaBistro's TVNewser blog noted that the gathering was...

Eighteen months ago, Ted Cruz was a starry-eyed Texas Republican with long-shot hopes of becoming a United States senator. On Tuesday, the former state solicitor general looks headed to an unlikely runoff victory over Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, win that would defy the power of the state’s GOP establishment. ((snip)) So how did Cruz stay competitive and even climb into what looks like the driver’s seat? He leveraged national acclaim from conservatives like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and George Will into strong local tea party support, winning an impressive 34 percent of the primary vote and forcing a runoff against...

A Public Policy Polling poll released Sunday evening reports Ted Cruz has a 52 percent to 42 percent advantage over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on the eve of Tuesday’s Texas GOP Senate runoff. From PPP’s analysis: Cruz's victory is driven by 4 things: the Tea Party, the enthusiasm of his supporters, a generational divide within the Texas Republican ranks, and the lack of regard the party base currently holds for Rick Perry. Cruz is ahead by a whooping 75-22 margin with Tea Party voters, more than making up for a 56-39 deficit to Dewhurst with voters who don't consider themselves...

PublicPolicyPolling � @ppppolls Cruz is up 55-40 with those who already voted so Dewhurst really needs a huge election day turnout to have any chance Also...FYI.... 31% of Texas runoff voters more likely to support a Palin endorsed candidate to only 16% for one backed by Perry

(SNIPETS...best parts IMHO) The two most recent public polls have shown Cruz ahead. And a Dewhurst ally with knowledge of an internal survey separate from the campaigns told POLITICO his preferred candidate was trailing by high single digits heading into the weekend. “I think [Dewhurst’s] done,” said the Republican who shared the information in exchange for anonymity. “It’s Nebraska, Indiana. You just smell it. He’s toast.” ”There’s an intangible feeling out there that he’s got the momentum,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee said of Cruz. The two appeared together at a FreedomWorks convention in Dallas Thursday night. “He’s a genius …...

HOUSTON — Ted Cruz is on the cusp of a win in the Texas Republican Senate runoff that would shatter conventional campaign wisdom and elevate him as one of the brightest stars of the tea party generation. Even some of his aides concede privately they never thought it could happen. Yet in the closing days of this dead-of-summer contest in a sprawling superstate, Cruz’s flinty campaign had all the trappings of a celebration, with the 41-year-old constitutional lawyer being feted by the country’s most prominent conservatives, including Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and Sens. Jim DeMint and Rand Paul. “We’re on...

Massive crowd at Restoring Love in Dallas. This at Cowboys Stadium

Last time Rick Santorum tweeted about eating at Chick-fil-A, vile progressives suggested he had a gay, incestuous relationship with his own children. Today Santorum thumbed his nose at the hateful Left by stopping at Chick-fil-A on his way to a Ted Cruz rally. Predictably, the oh-so-tolerant Left couldn’t wait to insinuate that Rick Santorum is a vocal supporter of Chick-fil-A because he’s secretly gay. How original. As always, leave it to Left to use “gay” as a slur...

Sarah Palin is getting back on the campaign trail. She’ll hit the road this Friday at an evening rally for Ted Cruz, Texas candidate for the U.S. Senate, at the Woodlands, north of Houston, his campaign and a Palin friend confirmed for ABC News. 6:00 pm CST Town Green Park... 2099 Lake Robbins Drive... The Woodlands, TX 77380

Comptroller Susan Combs on Thursday added her name to the long list of Texas elected officials who are backing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in his bid for the U.S. Senate. Dewhurst has been “relentless and focused on conservative principles,” said Combs, who credited the lieutenant governor for putting Texas in a strong economic position. “Fighting for principle is not always easy and it is not always visible,” Combs said at an Austin news conference. “I will tell you that actions speak a lot louder than words.” The low-key news conference at Run-Tex on Riverside Drive stands in stark contrast to...

Texas US Senate Debate on Texas FOX StationsTed Cruz vs. David DewhurstLIVE STREAM

Could Texas once again become the Republic of Texas? Without question, the Nov. 6 election will be a do-or-die, make-or-break, Rubicon-crossing event. If the presidential election goes one way, we get a “do-over.” We’ll be given the opportunity to take the first step on a long, arduous journey back to our political and economic roots. If it goes the other way, federalism and balance of power will continue to be edged out by an overreaching federal government and an imperial presidency. Socialism will have an unbreakable hold on the economy, and a centralized government, rather than a free market, will...

From the Dallas Morning News (no link) Dewhurst accepted a debate at the last minute with Cruz at a Tea Party event. There is strong evidence that Dewhurst's constant harping on China connections and negative ads are hurting Dewhurst, and that he has lost the conservatives in Texas. It has gotten so bad that the jokes are along the line of " Ted Cruz supports theChinese. He was seen at a Panda drive-through". Not one ad by Dewhurst giving a positive reason to vote for him.

SAN ANTONIO — Greeting a crowd of donors with “Hello San Antone,” President Obama revved up Democrats in the traditionally red state by telling them he sees shades of purple in Texas that might ultimately turn blue down the line. “The next four months, you guys won’t see them, because, you know, you’re not considered one of the battleground states, although that’s going to be changing soon In the next four months,” Obama said of negative ads at a fundraising luncheon at a downtown convention center here. “There is going to be more money spent than we’ve ever seen before,...

"For the first time in their long campaign slog, independent polls are showing the so-called movement candidate, tea party favorite Ted Cruz, leading the GOP establishment favorite, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. They are trying to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Senate and face off once again in the July 31 runoff election. “If less than a million people vote and Cruz wins, he’s likely to have coattails,” said Mustafa Tameez, a Houston political consultant. “He’ll pull in a lot of the movement candidates.” Cruz has insisted all along that his supporters have the enthusiasm, and a new survey...

What else is he hiding? Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst’s Senate campaign might have just crossed a line it should not have crossed. Who else would be behind the Lt. Governor’s taxpayer funded website for his Lieutenant Governor’s Office suddenly deleting the transcript of a speech proving David Dewhurst has been lying about his position on illegal aliens? The speech is . . . well . . . it is gone. Poof. Again, the website is taxpayer funded and the document suddenly no longer there directly contradicted Dewhurst’s present statements on immigration in the Senate campaign. Now, David Dewhurst adamantly...

. . . a recent internal poll conducted for the Cruz for Senate campaign shows Ted leading Dewhurst 49-40. Ted is leading Dewhurst among nearly every sub-group. Importantly, Ted is dominating self-identified “Tea Party” and “Very Conservative” voters. Among the 50% of likely runoff voters who are Tea Party aligned, Ted leads 72-22. Among the 60% who are very conservative, Ted leads 58-33.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was booed at the state GOP convention Thursday when he mentioned his support for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s candidacy for Senate...Dewhurst is facing former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz in a run-off election for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Cruz has largely drawn support from more conservative elements of the party.