Jay Root
is a native of Liberty. He never knew any reporters growing up, and he has never taken a journalism class in his life. But somehow he got hooked on the news business. It all started when Root walked into the offices of The Daily Texan, his college newspaper, during his last year at the University of Texas in 1987. He couldn't resist the draw: it was the biggest collection of misfits ever assembled. After graduating, he took a job at a Houston chemical company and soon realized it wasn't for him. Root applied for an unpaid internship at the Houston Post in 1990, and it turned into a full-time job that same year. He has been a reporter ever since. Root has covered natural disasters, live music and Texas politics — not necessarily in that order. He was Austin bureau chief of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for a dozen years, most of them good. He also covered politics and the Legislature for The Associated Press before joining the staff of the Tribune.Root is the author of “Oops! A Diary From The 2012 Campaign Trail,” an insider’s account of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s dramatic collapse in the 2012 presidential race. The book was released in September, 2012.
jroot@texastribune.org
512-716-8643
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Ted Cruz has extended the GOP U.S. Senate race with David Dewhurst, one of the state's most powerful elected leaders. Cruz's campaign aides said they did that by focusing on building relationships with Tea Party activists.
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Austin, TX. June 15, 2010. Perry spokesman Mark Miner flanked by Bill White supporters.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is adding some firepower to his communications team. Mark Miner, once Gov. Rick Perry’s most recognizable spokesman, is joining Dewhurst's campaign for U.S. Senate this week.
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U.S. Senate candidate David Dewhurst gestures during a final day speech to delegates June 9, 2012 at the Republican Convention
David Dewhurst again criticized U.S. Senate runoff rival Ted Cruz’s involvement in a patent case — pitting a Chinese company against a U.S. inventor — saying Monday that “this is a terrific insight into the character of Mr. Cruz.”
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U.S. Senate candidate David Dewhurst gestures during a final day speech to delegates June 9, 2012 at the Republican Convention
Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst both addressed the Texas GOP convention Saturday, but the two Senate candidates offered a study in contrast. Cruz got a rock star reception. Dewhurst got booed after targeting his opponent.
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House Speaker Joe Straus holds a press briefing at the Omni Hotel, Fort Worth on June 8, 2012.
At the state GOP convention, House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday he was confident he would keep his job for the next session. And he indicated that Republicans could hurt themselves if they focus only on demanding ideological purity.
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Trial lawyers, the most reliable and generous source of cash for Texas Democrats, generally sit out Republican primaries. But this year the are pouring huge sums into key Senate races, hoping to elect Republicans who are more friendly to their agenda than the establishment-preferred GOP candidates.
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Mike Zapp of Burleson, TX holds an "Oust Straus" sticker at the Tea Party booth at the state Repulblican Convention on June 7, 2012.
House Speaker Joe Straus, booed at the Republican state convention two years ago, is bracing for another chilly reception from the GOP faithful on Friday.
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graphic by: Todd Wiseman / Bob Daemmrich / Steve Moakley
Texas Democrats gather in Houston on Thursday for yet another state party convention being held amid long odds of any kind of statewide victory.
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Mitt Romney speaking to a crowd of supporters in Des Moines on Jan. 2, 2012, the eve of the Iowa caucuses.
Mitt Romney travels to the Lone Star State this week to collect money for his presidential campaign and tout his economic proposals.
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photo illustration by: Todd Spoth / Michael Stravato
Like it did in Indiana in the defeat of Sen. Dick Lugar, the Club for Growth plans to raise millions to boost former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz in his runoff against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
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Ted Cruz and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, right, at a U.S. Senate candidate debate on Jan. 12, 2012.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, both GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate, will vie in one of multiple runoffs that Texas voters will decide in July.
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photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman
Voters in HD-146 could be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu. They truly have been here before. Two years ago. Four years ago. Six years ago. Their ballots always seem to carry the same two names: Borris Miles vs. Al Edwards.
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photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman / Jay Root
Houston trial lawyer Steve Mostyn, Texas' largest single contributor to Democrats in 2010, is pouring money into a GOP primary race, targeting state Senate hopeful Larry Taylor.
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photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera / Bob Daemmrich
A legal opinion on the use of state incentive money prompted a new round of sparring Friday between Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Comptroller Susan Combs, who could face off in a 2014 race for lieutenant governor.
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