The Evening Brief: Nov. 7, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

•   Canseco Alleges Voter Fraud in CD-23: "In the aftermath of a close and costly campaign for Congressional District 23, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Francisco 'Quico' Canseco has alleged voter fraud and is not conceding to his Democratic challenger, state Rep. Pete Gallego. Gallego finished 9,222 votes ahead of Canseco early Wednesday morning. 'The race is not over, and it won't be until all votes are properly and legally counted,' Canseco said in a statement the morning after the election."

•   Powers: Prop 1 Passage Huge Step for UT, Texas Health Care: "University of Texas officials lauded the passage of a tax increase to help fund a medical school in Austin and laid out aggressive plans to have medical students in place as soon as 2015."

Culled:

•   Gov. Perry: President Obama has ‘a chance to start over’ (Houston Chronicle): "Gov. Rick Perry’s statement on President Obama’s re-election: 'The American people have given President Obama a chance to start over. He can take steps this time to govern responsibly. He can work with, not against, Republicans in Congress and governors around the nation. He can put an end to his reckless disregard for our rule of law and spare our nation another long, painful and expensive four years for American families, taxpayers and employers.'"

•   Grassroots conservative leaders back Hughes (Austin American-Statesman): "Several people who identified themselves as grassroots conservative leaders threw their support Wednesday to state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who is challenging Speaker Joe Straus to run the Texas House. Cathie Adams, former Texas GOP Chairman and president of Texas Eagle Forum, was the most recognizable name on the list that included Republican county officials and tea party-affiliated activists."

•   GOP Moderates Lost When They Nominated Romney (The New Yorker): "The moderates' best chance would have been to give the right wing the full run of the place for the cycle. Rick Perry was the man to do it — the only conservative with the standing and war chest to enter the race. … If Perry had won the nomination and run the kind of hard-core anti-government campaign right-wing activists craved, the moderates would be getting a real hearing from the party faithful this morning."

•   DSCC chair talks about GOP losses, says "Cornyn wasn’t in this alone" (The Dallas Morning News): "Sen. Patty Murray, who serves as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s chairwoman, praised the performance of Democratic incumbents as well as the record number of women who will be in the U.S. Senate in January. … 'John Cornyn wasn’t in this alone,' she said. 'I don’t see this as a John Cornyn problem. I see this as a Republican Party problem.'"