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The 2022 elections have officially begun.

Comal and Guadalupe county candidates on Saturday began filing the necessary paperwork with Republican and Democratic county party chairs for offices in the March 1, 2022 primary elections.

Because most offices up for election in both counties are held by Republicans many of whom wont be opposed in either the primary or the Nov. 8 general election, expect little movement until the month-long filing period ends at 6 p.m. Dec. 13.

However, dozens of candidates for statewide offices declared their intent to run long before Saturday.

Democrats hopes to turn Texas blue next year were dashed by a colossal Republican blowout on Nov. 2. Neither of Texas two U.S. Senate seats is on the ballot in 2022, but 14 state offices are including the top two positions.

Despite being flush with cash and determination, Democratic candidates in statewide and local races were met by Republican voters stubbornly determined to not cede power.

Gov. Greg Abbott, facing re-election himself in 2022, wasted no time in taking to Twitter to talk about the Democrats and their failed efforts.

Groundhog Day here in Texas: Biggest red state stays red, Abbott tweeted. Texas Democrats have gone 26 years without winning a statewide race. That is the longest losing streak of its kind in America. Texans appear to like it that way!

All Democratic and Republican candidates must pay filing fees of $3,750 or submit petitions with 1,750 or more signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Thirty-two U.S. House seats and 151 state House seats are up for election, as well as half of the states 31 senate seats.

Thanks to redistricting by the 87th Texas Legislature, residents in New Braunfels will select one of four U.S. House races in the 15th, 21st, 28th and 35th districts. In addition, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state comptroller, agriculture commissioner and land commissioner are on the ballot in statewide races.

Abbott will face several in the Republican primary as he seeks his third term as governor. Former Texas GOP Chairman Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines are two of the most prominent primary foes.

On Monday morning, Beto ORourke announced he would be running for the Democratic nod in the governors race.

Democrats have banked on shifting demographics that are making the state younger and more diverse, particularly in the suburbs and major cities. They continue to believe those changes will eventually turn the tide in their favor.

But they have to overcome the tinge of the off-year elections.

U.S. House District 35

Leaving the 35th District is U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, who will instead run in the 37th District, a newly formed U.S. House district that encompasses much of Austin. For Doggett, 75, redistricting is a homecoming. He was originally elected to Congress in 1994 in the then-Austin-based 10th District, which once was represented by Lyndon Baines Johnson.

But Republicans in 2011 split Travis County, a Democratic haven, into six congressional districts and forced Doggett to move into the 35th, which stretches from East Austin to San Antonio.

The opportunity to once again represent the neighborhoods that I grew up in, that Ive lived in and worked in for most of my life in the city that is the only city that Ive ever called home that really is very appealing, Doggett recently told the American-Statesman. Living on I-35 is very unappealing.

The new 35th still runs from eastern Travis County to San Antonio along a narrow strip of Interstate 35. It includes 300,000 residents each in Bexar and Travis counties. In the middle are about 140,000 Hays County voters and 40,000 in Comal County. Its heavily Democratic, nearly 70% Black and Hispanic combined, but two GOP hopefuls are likely to file.

In New Braunfels, District 35 runs right through the eastern fringe of Comal County. It includes Hunter Road to the west then cuts southeast along the I-35 access and main lanes before it slants west along Morningside Drive and County Line Road to the east.

A lot of people who used to be in District 35 on the H-E-B side (of I-35) are now in District 21 but those on the Walmart side are still in 35, was how Comal County Elections Administrator Cynthia Jaqua described it.

Austin Democrats Claudia Zapata and David L. Anderson Jr. announced campaigns for the seat in June. State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, has filed campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Running is Austin City Council Member Greg Casar, who said hed resign the seat hes held since 2015. Not running is State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, who instead will seek reelection to the Texas House.

U.S. House District 21

Each primary year dozens of state and national candidates declare for positions months before filings begin and spend the months in between testing the fundraising waters through social media. Many of them disappear before filing fees come due.

But District 21 U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, might have some primary opposition this time around as Michael French is seeking the GOP nod against the incumbent. French says he is a member of New Braunfels Conservatives, the Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans, and GOP connections in Blanco, Travis, Hays and Comal counties.

Scott Sturm, a paramedic from New Braunfels, announced for a House seat in northeast Texas in 2018 but dropped out prior to the deadline. Hes seeking the Democratic nomination in the district, as is Coy Branscum from San Marcos.

Im not getting any younger and though Ive enjoyed working in public service in EMS for the past 20 years I yearn to make a bigger impact, an even more positive impact on this world before I leave it, Sturms campaign website said. I dont have children, yet, but I want to fight and make sure that not only is there a world for them but that its better off than when I got here.

Branscum, from Dripping Springs, is asking for donations and volunteers to share our campaign with anyone who wants to make history, helping to elect the first open gay man to represent Texas in Congress.

Now Ive got a new request. To officially get on the ballot, Ill need to pay a $3,500 filing fee. This is a great example of how the wealthy gate-keep politics to keep average Americans from having a voice in government. If 140 people donate $25, well hit our goal EASY.

Others running include Republican Robert Lowry from San Antonio, and four other Democrats, including Michael Smitty Smith from Blanco.

Guadalupe County

In Guadalupe County, which contains portions of the city of New Braunfels, a new addition is the 28th District, a nine-county district that runs from San Antonio in the north to Laredo and Rio Grande City on the U.S.-Mexico border, covering part or all of Bexar, Guadalupe, Atascosa, McMullen, Webb, Duval, Zapata, Jim Hogg, and Starr counties.

Locally, D28s north boundary borders District 35 along I-35 in central New Braunfels then cuts east and south of Interstate 10 in central Guadalupe County. It parallels I-10 into east San Antonio then winds southwest of District 35 toward the international border.

Henry Cuellar, D-San Antonio, has represented the district since 2005. He is facing two primary challengers from the Democratic progressive wing, and in the general would face one of five now seeking the GOP nomination.

There will also be a change in the 15th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, will seek reelection in the 34th Congressional District rather than his current 15th, which includes Seguin and the eastern part of Guadalupe County. The district is nicknamed the fajita strip because of its length and narrowness, but perhaps also because of the great Tex-Mex cuisine throughout the district.

Gonzalez has the blessing of the incumbent, retiring U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville.

In 2020 he won reelection by a surprisingly close margin against GOP challenger Monica De La Cruz-Hernandez, who is favored to win the Republican nod over Mauro Garza, a former congressional candidate from the San Antonio area with a home in McAllen, Ryan Krause of New Braunfels, De La Cruzs opponent in the 2020 GOP primary runoff, and two others.

Texas House

and Senate

Texas Senate District 25 now includes most of Comal, Hays and Kendall counties, north San Antonio and northwest Bexar County.

Ten years ago, an upstart named Donna Campbell defeated longtime GOP incumbent senator Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio in the 2012 GOP primary, winning a two-year term. In 2014 she beat former San Antonio city council member Elisa Chan, and Mike Novak, a former Bexar She brushed back primary and general election challenges in 2018 but now appears to have no opposition in a district redrawn more conservative.

District 24 Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, was drawn out of her district and into Campbells after she announced for land commissioner. Democrat Jinny Suh sought the Democratic nod in District 25 but now is also running for land commissioner.

After nearly six years in the Texas House of Representatives, Fredericksburg State Rep. Kyle Biedermann won the District 73 seat in 2016, defeating three-term New Braunfels incumbent Doug Miller in the GOP primary and captured the seat without Democratic opposition in the November general election.

Biedermann announced he would not seek reelection in District 73. His decision came after the first draft of the redistricting map, which separated Gillespie and Kendall counties from Comal County and added the rural portion of Hays County.

Biedermann, 62, who owns the ACE hardware store in Fredericksburg, is now in District 19, but declined a run against former Austin City Council Member Ellen Troxclair and Austin police officer Justin Berry.

Justin Calhoun, a 32-year-old social worker from New Braunfels, announced for the D73 Democratic nomination leaving the three Republicans to duke it out in the primary.

Carrie Issac of Dripping Springs brings a big war chest against two former New Braunfels elected officials, Barron Casteel and George Green. Green, former District 1 council member, announced in September; Casteel, who was New Braunfels mayor from 2014-20 announced after Biedermann departed the race in October.

Biedermann won the District 73 seat in 2016 by defeating three-term New Braunfels incumbent Doug Miller in the GOP primary sans Democratic opposition that November. Miller was asked to support Issac, but is backing Casteel.

I had to tell Carrie that District 73 is a Comal County seat, Miller said. We need to have a Comal County represented and I believe Barron Casteel is the right person for the job.

The last day to register to vote is Monday, Jan. 31; the early voting period begins Monday, Feb. 14 through Friday, Feb. 25. For election information and updated candidate filings, visit the elections link at the Texas Secretary of States website, http://www.sos.state.tx.us.

Read more from the original source:
Republicans aim to keep their firm hold on Texas - Herald Zeitung

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy outside the White House.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Donald Trump said Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy could've "fought harder" for Republicans.

"Now they don't have anything," he told the ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl in an interview.

While Trump remains in contact with McCarthy, he has shunned McConnell from his orbit.

Throughout President Donald Trump's last weeks in office, he fought to overturn his reelection loss, baselessly seeking to cast doubt on its legitimacy.

Trump, however, has reserved harsh judgment not only for President Joe Biden and the Democrats who control Congress but also key Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom Trump has lambasted for months, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who hopes to ascend to the speakership after the 2022 midterm elections.

During an interview with ABC News' chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl, Trump said the two men didn't do enough to keep Republicans in control of the White House, despite the former president's clear election loss.

"If McConnell and McCarthy fought harder, OK, you could have a Republican president right now, and now they don't have anything," Trump said during the conversation in an audio clip from March released in advance of Karl's forthcoming book, "Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show."

Despite the criticism, McCarthy has kept a presence in the Trumpworld orbit, beginning with a trip to the former president's residence at Mar-a-Lago just weeks after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 to try to stop the presidential vote's certification.

Earlier this year, the GOP leader also walked back one of his most direct critiques of Trump.

As the House was voting to impeach Trump on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" soon after the riot, McCarthy said "the president bears responsibility" for the siege.

On January 21, McCarthy then pivoted and said Trump did not initiate the insurrection.

Story continues

"I don't believe he provoked it if you listen to what he said at the rally," McCarthy said at the time, referring to a rally Trump held near the Capitol before the violence broke out.

During an interview that aired January 24, he went on to say "everybody across this country has some responsibility" for the attack.

McCarthy has since been publicly committed to the former president's political efforts for 2022 and beyond.

McConnell, who also blasted Trump's January 6-related conduct, has not spoken with the former president in months though he has said he'd support Trump if Trump were to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

Trump has been making calls to advocate McConnell's ouster as the Senate Republican leader, but so far he hasn't had much success, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Read the original article on Business Insider

See more here:
Trump says Republicans could've kept the White House if Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy had 'fought harder' - Yahoo News

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are calling for the testimony of dozens of Biden administration officials over how the chaotic U.S. pullout from Afghanistan unfolded.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenBiden raises human rights with China's Xi during four hour meeting Biden, Xi hold 'candid' discussion amid high tensions Republicans call for dozens of Biden officials to testify on Afghanistan MORE sent Monday, GOP lawmakers requested at least 34 officials sit for transcribed interviews to address unanswered questions about the planning or lack thereof that preceded the drawdown and evacuation."

Top officials the House GOP lawmakers are intent on hearing from includeDeputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon; John Bass, former Ambassador to Afghanistan and lead of evacuation efforts at Hamid Karzai International Airport; and Ross Wilson, Charg dAffaires of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

The Republican letter is critical of answers and statements so far provided by Biden administration officials in hearings and briefings with Congress, and said the purpose of transcribed testimonies is to establish a more detailed record.

It said briefings so far "by State Department officials have been cursory exercises that mystify as much as they illuminate, with relevant actors often declining to answer questions directly, deferring to other colleagues or agencies, or claiming not to have relevant information at their immediate disposal and then offering to 'follow up' with answers that never seem to arrive."

Blinken testified before the committee in September about the U.S. withdrawal, and the committee has held at least two other hearings on Afghanistan, one with expert witnesses that are non-government officials, and the other a closed-door hearing.

Republicans identified more than a dozen issues related to the U.S. pullout that they want to talk to administration officials about, including how the administration prepared for the exit at the end of August, and how it reacted to the lightning takeover of the country by the Taliban.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed outrageat the handling of the administrations withdrawal from Afghanistan.

While the administration evacuated more than 124,000 people from the country, the two weeks of evacuation efforts were defined by tragedy, with thousands of desperate Afghans swarming Kabuls international airport, Afghans falling to their deaths from airplanes taking flight and a terrorist attack killing dozens of Afghans outside the airport gates, along with 13 American service members.

Democrats have argued that multiple administrations, Republican and Democrat, are responsible for the U.S. failure in Afghanistan. They also have echoedBiden officials in saying that former President TrumpDonald TrumpHouse Freedom Caucus elects Rep. Scott Perry as new chairman Meadows 'between a rock and a hard space' with Trump, Jan. 6 panel On The Money Biden caps off infrastructure week MOREs agreement with the Taliban to put a hard deadline on withdrawing U.S. forces contributed to the problems.

Republicans have singled out Biden for criticism, and have made it clear the issue will be part of their midterm strategy.

GOP lawmakers also want to press officials on the number of Americans that may have been left behind in Afghanistan, and what the future of U.S. policy towards Afghanistan looks like. The lawmakers also want a recounting of the months and weeks leading up to the decision to start evacuations, and what communication and coordination was undertaken when evacuations began.

Originally posted here:
Republicans call for dozens of Biden officials to testify on Afghanistan | TheHill - The Hill

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A Texas Democrat switched his affiliation to the Republican Party over the party's left-leaning embrace of defunding the police policies and "chaos" on the southern border.

State Rep. Ryan Guillen announced in a Monday press conference that he would seek reelection to his south Texas seat as a Republican, saying the Democratic Party's far-left values are no longer in line with his own.

Specifically, Guillen cited his now-former partys backing of defunding the police and the compounding crisis at the southern border under President Biden.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY BORDER PATROL ENCOUNTER NEARLY 2,000 MIGRANTS IN 24 HOURS, HUNDREDS GET PAST AGENTS

Mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents watch Haitian immigrants on the bank of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas on Sept. 20, 2021 as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. (John Moore/Getty Images)

"Friends, something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C., are not our values, not the values of most Texans," Guillen said.

"The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas," he continued.

The former Democrat had won his seat by nearly 17 points in the 2020 election and has served in the Texas House for almost two decades. Guillen's switch is a win for Republicans as the party pushes to gain traction along the historically blue border.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan joined Guillen at his announcement in Floresville.

Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, R-Orange, presides as they House prepares to debate voting bill SB1, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

"John Lujans upset victory earlier this month in a district with a majority Hispanic population already proved that Texans are fed up with the failures of Democratic leadership and Ryan Guillens party switch makes that fact all the more clear," Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) president Dee Duncan said in a Monday statement.

"Todays Democrat leaders are so focused on appeasing their fringe-left base by putting teachers unions ahead of parents, pushing socialist tax and spending schemes, and fighting for open border policies, that even elected officials in their own party cannot support their radical agenda anymore," Duncan continued.

Duncan said the Republicans "welcome" Guillen to the party "with open arms and look forward to working with him" as he works with his new GOP colleagues "to deliver solutions for the people of his district."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announces the reopening of more Texas businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic at a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Monday, May 18, 2020. (Lynda M. Gonzalez-Pool/Getty Images)

The Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa went after Guillen for the switch, attacking the newly minted Republican for "prioritizing holding onto his job rather than standing up for Texans."

"Were disappointed to see him selling his soul and selling out South Texans, but were excited to clear the field for a real Democrat to run one we can count on to show up for our families and put Texans first," Hinojosa said. "Texas Democrats will keep standing up for our values and fighting to fix the biggest problems facing Texas families whether its fixing our disaster-prone power grid, getting more people healthcare, or making sure working Texans have a real chance to get ahead."

"Thats clearly not a priority for Rep. Guillen," he added. "Dont let the door hit you on the way out."

The ongoing border crisis has been a thorn in the Biden administrations side a thorn that Biden and Vice President Harris, who was tapped earlier this year to oversee the border crisis, have largely ignored since taking office.

Harris quipped earlier this year that she had not been to Europe when reminded by NBC's Lester Holt that she had not been to the southern border yet.

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Harris traveled to France last week, where she was panned for putting on a French accent while touring a laboratory in Paris. She had previously traveled to El Paso, Texas a city along the border but not near the Rio Grande Valley, the epicenter of the crisis to assess the border situation.

The effects of the border crisis may also boost the already growing Hispanic vote moving toward the Republican Party.

Houston Keene is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find him on Twitter at @HoustonKeene.

Read more:
Texas Dem switches to Republican Party over defunding the police, 'chaos' on the border - Fox News

In politics, a week is a lifetime.

Just one week ago, the big stories were Republican Glenn Youngkin winning the Virginia gubernatorial election and Democrats spinning out in their trademark disarray. Among other problems, the party seemed out of touch with suburban moms and dads. On top of that, progressives were hindering Democrats from passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill that might havejust by demonstrating competence and momentumthrown Virginia Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe a lifeline.

Days later, Democrats, with the help of 13 Republicans, finally did pass an infrastructure bill. Then, rather than building on the promise of normal Republicanism (as represented by Youngkin), Republicans reminded everyone who they really were.

They did this with white nationalist-adjacent Rep. Paul Gosars bizarre and disturbing anime video (which depicts him killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). They did this with Sen. Ted Cruzs attack on Big Bird. And they did this with threats aimed at the 13 House Republicans who broke ranks and voted for the infrastructure bill. (After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to them as traitors and posted their names and phone numbers, Rep. Fred Upton received death threats.)

The threats against these 13 Republicans are obviously beyond the pale, even if Im sympathetic to conservatives who feel frustrated with their actions (National Review called bailing out Dems political malpractice). But just as you might criticize the 13 Republicans for disobeying the maxim Never interfere with an enemy in the process of destroying himself, their critics are making the same mistake. Democrats, as recently as a week ago, were in the process of committing political suicide. Cruz, Gosar, and Greene effectively looked at the mess Democrats were in and said, Hold my beer!

Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg has made the observation that neither party wants to be a majority party. Instead, both major political parties seem hell-bent on achieving minority status. This assessment rings true, but it deserves an asterisk: You cant really blame the party leaders or the party apparatus for most of the problems. Social media and other innovations have made it much harder for leaders to maintain message discipline. Most of the crazy things attributed to both partiesthings that may rightly turn off normal Americansare the result of freelancing.

Now, in my opinion, this is a distinction without much of a difference. When prominent progressive writers, athletes, academics, celebs, or Squad members on the left say or do something radical or extreme, it matterseven though it is not officially sanctioned by the DNC. Likewise, when former president Donald Trump (who wants to punish the 13 Republicans), Tucker Carlson, or Marjorie Taylor Greene say or do something controversial, that speaks to the character of the GOP.

The interesting thing is that these actors in both parties cannot leave well enough alone. This is true both in terms of silly things and in terms of substantive policy decisions. Six months ago, Joe Biden was riding high. Then, he decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, and all hell broke loose. In the intervening months, he has maybe had one or two good news cycles. Maybe. And the really crazy thing is that the withdrawal was largely a disaster of his choosing. All he had to do was nothing.

Likewise, Republicans couldnt revel in the Virginia victory for a few days without changing the narrative.

Whatever the motivation, crazy has consequencesthe worst get on top.

Again, the desire to meddle is the perfectly rational result of perverse incentives. There is money and attention and TV segments and Twitter buzz to be had for the politician willing to say or do outrageous things. So some of this is calculated and performative. Some of the craziness, though, is sincere. And some of this is simply the result of failed or unwise assumptions about what the public wants.

Whatever the motivation, crazy has consequencesthe worst get on top.

Just as it attracts abnormal candidates (see Herschel Walker and Sean Parnell), the far right deters serious people from seeking office. Such was the case this week when New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced he would not run for the U.S. Senate next year. This is a big deal, since Democrats currently hold a tenuous 50-50 majority. But as Esquires Charles Pierce speculated, Sununus disinclination to join his partys current congressional caucus might very well be a measure of how little he wants to join in as the Republicans in the House drive the Republicans in the Senate closer to establishing a unicameral monkeyhouse instead of a national legislature.

It has become fashionable to blame the public for our lousy politicians. And theres some truth in that. But just because pols respond to the intensity of the worst among us does not mean that the majority of Americans are not good and decent people who just want normal political leaders.

Glenn Youngkin demonstrated that there is pent-up demand for a return to normalcy. What remains to be seen is whether anyone in politics is paying attentionand whether either party really wants to win.

See the article here:
Republicans Return to Their Happy Place: Full-On Crazy - The Daily Beast