Politics

Republican Governor Rick Perry easily defeated Democratic challenger Bill White last night. With 8,447 of 8,461 precincts reporting, Perry carried 55.03 percent of the vote to White's 42.21 percent.  It puts Perry in the historic position to become the first Texas governor ever to serve three full terms in office.

White did win the Travis County vote. The former-Houston mayor carried 59.8 percent of the vote in Austin, while Perry nabbed just 36.8 percent.

Frank Santos is a political and public relations strategist based in Austin, Texas. He spoke to KUT News by telephone to give his take on the role of Latinos on the 2010 midterm election. 

KUT News: What are you reading from these results?

Some well-known Central Texas Democrats lost their seats tonight.  In the U.S. House race for District 17, Chet Edwards lost to Republican Bill Flores, a first-time office seeker.  Edwards was a nearly 20 year veteran of the Congress and chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. 

Closer to home, Patrick Rose, a Hays Country Democrat first elected in 2002, lost to Republican Jason Isaacs. Matt Stiles of the Texas Tribune says both Democrats just ran out of luck.

With tonight's passage of the $90 million transportation bond, the city of Austin can expect to see new construction projects around the city. Hill Abell is a cycling enthusiast and owner of Bicycle Sport Shop. He told Gretch Sanders that approving Proposition 1 is a step towards a more sustainable future for Austinites.

Democratic State House incumbent Donna Howard is currently in a neck-and-neck race with her Republican challenger Dan Neil.  With 10 of 39 pecincts reporting, Howard is leading in District 48 by one percentage point. She gave her reaction to KUT News at the Democratic watch party underway at the Driskill Hotel.

KUT News: Your reaction to the results so far?

Here are election results on important Central Texas races.
Here is a list of Texas races the AP has already called.
Here are photos from some of the watch parties.

More coverage:

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has delivered his victory speech already at the Republican night watch party in Buda. With 2,844 of 8,461 precincts reporting, Dewhurst led his Democratic challenger Linda Chavez-Thompson 64 percent to 33 percent. 

From the Dewhurst campaign:

Lt. Governor Dewhurst Wins Re-Election

 

AUSTIN, TX– Tonight, Republican David Dewhurst released the following statement after winning re-election to a third term as Texas Lt. Governor:

Governor Rick Perry was declared a winner around 8:30.  And his opponent Bill White delivered his concession speech around 9.  But Governor Perry is still a no-show in Buda.  The initial plan was for the governor to deliver his victory speech around 10 p.m. after a parade of other GOP winners had their turn in the spotlight.  And no one seems to think there's any reason to change the plan.

Governor Perry's book, "Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington," has it's own place of honor among the party goers at tonight's state GOP party.  

The book doesn't come out until November 15th but it's one sale tonight for those wanting to get a jump on everyone.

Governor Perry is set to head out on a book tour after the election.

As the National Republicans continue to watch for a national tsunami (an overused descriptor, I'll limit its use tonight.),  Texas Republicans are ready for a pretty rockin' party as well out at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch near Creedmoor.  

Vote Rescue is a non-partisan group urging Travis County to eschew eSlate voting machines in favor of old fashioned, hand-counted, paper ballots. Their main gripe is that the eSlate machines tabulate votes electronically, out of the view of the public eye.

"They are not accurate because the count is done secretly inside of the machine, so there is no way to know if they are [fair]," Vote Rescue's Karen Renick told us last month.

If all goes according to plan, the biggest news stories won't be written until after the polls close at 7 o'clock tonight. But here's some of what's being reported across Texas right now.

Texas Monthly columnist Paul Burka has numbers from a Republican consultant suggesting double digit losses for House Democrats.  Nothing shocking to hear that from a GOP operative, but the post is making the rounds today and is worth a glance. 

Voting started at 7 a.m. today in Travis County.   The County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, who oversees elections, said there were a couple of problems early with some precincts.

Polls across Texas close at 7 p.m. today.  Travis County voters can find their polling place here, and check out sample ballots here. If you're outside Travis County, check out your Central Texas county's website below or call them for info on polling locations.  

A new report says revenue projections for the current budget are $2 billion less than Texas Comptroller Susan Combs forecasted last year.

In case you're new to the eSlate voting machines used in Travis County and other parts of Texas, here's an instructional video courtesy of San Mateo County in California. The only big difference is that we don't have the paper backup that they do. 

As Austinites head to the polls tomorrow, political campaigns around the county are already handicapping the election, based on turnout for early voting.  KUT News spoke with Democratic political consultant Mark Littlefield to learn about his analysis of early voting trends in Travis County.

Texas is staring down the barrel of a budget shortfall that could reach $25 billion or higher. It's a staggering figure, considering that California was practically brought to its knees over a $20 billion budget deficit. That was in a state that spends twice as much as Texas.

The Rally to Restore Sanity will is not only happening in the nation’s capital this Saturday, but it's also going down in Austin. The uncharacteristic move to rally behind political moderatism will happen at the State Capitol.

The Travis County Clerk says she's looking to hire dozens of people for Election Day.

“We have a critical need for about 100 election workers,” Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said in a media release. “We’ve recruited quite a few precinct judges who are new to the process, and they need help finding clerks to work with them.”

It's a secret trick of the news business. Nothing interesting to report during an election campaign? Commission a poll! Congratulations, you just bought yourself a front page story.

Polls can have news value: they help voters understand trends and feel the direction of political winds, but not all polls are created equally, even if the media tends to report on them as if they were.

The "Texas Political Parlor" reviews the 2010 campaign ahead of Tuesday's election.

It seems hard to believe that the 2010 election campaign is nearly over. Not long ago, the campaign trail laid before us, untrodden and (mostly) untussled. Now we’ve ridden the trail, and the end is in sight.

When a newspaper endorses a candidate, does anybody care? It's a question that arises frequently in newsrooms around election time.

Some conservative Republican lawmakers are getting set to harness the force of the national Tea Party movement in the Texas Legislature.   State senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) has announced the creation of the Tea Party caucus in the Texas Legislature.  Senator Patrick announced the creation in an Thursday morning e-mail, saying the group will support its members when they need help pushing legislation that reflects the Tea Party's core values...and, "challenge them when they stray."