Harvey Hilderbran withdrew from the May 27 GOP runoff election for comptroller, leaving Glenn Hegar, who won 49.99 percent of the vote, his party's nominee for the statewide office. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst chose not to withdraw from the GOP lite guv runoff contest against Dan Patrick despite his disappointing second-place finish and calls from other Republicans to give up the contest.
The first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Texas gubernatorial race showed GOP nominee Greg Abbott with a 12-point lead among likely voters over Democratic nominee Wendy Davis. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll of registered voters last month found Abbott with an 11-point advantage over Davis. Meanwhile, the two exchanged barbs on the campaign trail this week over ethics and fair pay for women.
The University of Texas System contracted with a national executive search firm, Wheless Partners, to help with the search for a new chancellor. UT-Austin President Bill Powers indicated he would be okay with Kyle Janek as chancellor should he be chosen by the board of regents. It's been widely reported that Janek, currently the HHS executive commissioner, is Gov. Rick Perry's favored candidate to replace Francisco Cigarroa, who is stepping down to resume his surgical career.
A collection of business trade groups launched the Main Street Growth & Opportunity Coalition, which is aimed at pushing for federal action on tax reform and immigration reform. Leaders of the effort in Texas include Bill Hammond of the Texas Association of Business and Tony Bennett of the Texas Association of Manufacturers.
After more than two decades as the president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Juliet García decided not to apply for the presidency of the institution that her school will soon become: the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
Disclosure: At the time of publication, the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Association of Business were corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. (See the full list of Tribune donors below $1,000 here.)