Texas senators cut their expenses by just 1 percent from August 2010 to 2011 — a total of $101,000. That’s not much compared to more than $1 million they saved in 2010. Use our interactive to find details on senators' 2011 spending. 

Monday's the day candidates can begin filing for office, and after a flurry of legal activity over the holidays, they now know what districts they're seeking to represent. Probably.

Federal judges proposed new political maps for the state late Thursday and hope to have new congressional and legislative maps in place for Texas on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

A panel of federal judges in San Antonio proposed new redistricting maps for the Texas Senate and the Texas House late Thursday, asking for comments by noon on Friday. They're trying to finish maps before candidates start filing on November 28 — a date set by the court.

Next year's congressional and legislative elections in Texas will probably be conducted using political maps drawn by federal judges instead of those drawn by lawmakers.

Railroad Commission Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones will end her campaign for the U.S. Senate to run instead for the Texas Senate against incumbent Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio.

Aaronson interactively asks if stimulus funds created jobs in Texas, Aguilar on new voter registrar rules that could decrease voter turnout, Galbraith on a UT professor's debunking of climate change "myths," Grissom on an epic clash of El Paso political titans, Hamilton on the right's new higher ed guru, Murphy maps household data from the 2010 Census, Ramsey on a coming rules fight in the Texas Senate, Root and M. Smith on Rick Perry's performance at the New Hampshire debate and M. Smith talks public ed cuts with the state's Superintendent of the Year: The best of our best content from October 10-14, 2011.

The easiest way to win an election is to have the votes. The next easiest way is to change the rules of the election. Some political folks, inside and outside the Texas Senate, are looking at the rules.

The redrawing of political district lines — which ideally happens just once a decade after a federal census — could create a series of crazy election cycles for Texas voters and candidates. It happened in the 1990s, and it could happen again now.

A looming special election in Bryan, and movement in Fort Worth and El Paso top the list of political moves this week.

The possibility of five or more new Republican senators in 2013 opens a tactical door for conservatives who'd like to gain control of the Legislature.

State campaign news, candidate announcements, retirements and rumors from the past week.

State Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, won't seek another term in the Texas Legislature, he said Monday, and he encouraged Victor Vandergriff to get into the race. UPDATE: Vandergriff says he's in.

Rep. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, will run for Steve Ogden's Senate seat. Ogden isn't running, and Williamson County has become the 300-pound gorilla of that district in terms of population. Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, won't run.

General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections.

The Texas Senate's chief budget writer — Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan — won't seek re-election, he announced this morning.

After two decades in the Texas Senate, Plano Republican Florence Shapiro said this afternoon that she won't seek re-election. State Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, starts as a strong replacement candidate.

Lots of things affect election outcomes. Candidates. Money. Issues. Surprises. But some of the results are wired into district maps, through redistricting. Here's our charting of the political atmosphere — Republican or Democratic — in each of the House, Senate and congressional districts drawn by the Legislature this year.