Creighton Out, Miller In, Merritt Mulling;
Comptroller Race Heats Up;
Branch Promises Voter Fraud Task Force
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Good (late) afternoon from New Orleans.
I’ve been constantly on the go since 7am and thus an earlier email was unfortunately impossible.
Here’s the (short) brief:
FIELD SHIFTS IN AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER RACE
DMN’s Christy Hoppe reports on the shifting field for Agriculture Commissioner, with State Rep. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) dropping down to run for SD-4, and former State Rep. Sid Miller (R-Stephenville) getting in. Quorum Report says former State Rep. Tommy Merritt (R-Longview) is “likely” to get in. SREC member and former Republican Party of Texas executive director Eric Opiela and Uvalde Mayor J. Allen Carnes are previously announced candidates.
COMPTROLLER RACE HEATS UP: HILDERBRAN RELEASES TX TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS; HEGAR ENDORSED BY EMPOWER TEXANSTFR
Two developments to report:
1) Texas Comptroller candidate and House Ways and Means chairman Harvey Hilderbran (R-Kerrville) released his Texas Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights early today, with an exclusive report from AP’s Chris Tomlinson. Press release here. Full details here. Hilderbran appeared on KFYO 790am Lubbock with Chad Hasty this morning to discuss the plan.
2) Empower Texans, which is led by conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, endorsed Texas Comptroller candidate and State Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) yesterday. Their full endorsement is here.
**Disclaimer: I am advising Hilderbran.
BRANCH PROMISES VOTER FRAUD TASK FORCE
AP reports:
State Rep. Dan Branch says that as attorney general he’ll create a special voter fraud task force.
Branch is one of three top Republicans vying to replace Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is running for governor.
Branch promised in a Thursday statement to appoint a special prosecutor on voter fraud and monitor groups seeking to “subvert ballot integrity.”
He also pledged to vigorously defend Texas’ 2011 voter ID law against the Obama administration’s legal challenges.
Cheered by conservative groups, it mandates that voters show government-issued picture identification at the polls. The law only took effect Aug. 1, though, amid years of court battles.
Opponents say there are almost no documented cases of voter impersonation, claiming the law is simply meant to make it harder for poor Texans to vote.
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#txlege
– Pam Willeford responds to Jeff Sandefer’s op ed on UT.
– Speaker Joe Straus (R-TX) makes the case for the water fund in an SAEN op ed (behind paywall).
2013 / 2014 / 2016:
– The gubernatorial campaign of State Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) is disavowing a robocall that is using her name.
– U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) has $383k for his rematch with Domingo Garcia.
– Chron columnist Rick Casey weighs in (behind paywall) on the financial possibilities for Democrat Wendy Davis’ gubernatorial bid.
Other stories of interest:
– U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) met today with a group of Texas Democratic members of Congress.
– A scheduled visit this Monday from President Obama to Dallas for fundraising has been moved to Nov. 6, due to the shutdown.
– Nolan Ryan is leaving his upper management role with the Texas Rangers.
Lighter clicks:
– This week’s edition of “Laugh hysterically at the Cleveland Browns organization.”
– Will Ferrell announces the Dodgers lineup.
Your Daily Source of Inspiration:
– When Michael Morton co-authors an op ed, the right thing to do is stop what you are doing and read it.
