Dave Mann has joined the staff of Texas Monthly as senior editor. A longtime fixture at the Texas Observer, Mann joined that publication in 2003 and was made editor in 2011.

Alan Gray has left the Licensed Beverage Distributors after 22 years there, the last six as executive director. He has since hung out his own shingle, Alan Gray Advocacy and Consulting, which he said is a general lobbying operation.

Ken Paxton, the GOP nominee for attorney general, was endorsed by the political arm of the Texas Farm Bureau.

The political arm of the Texas Medical Association endorsed GOP comptroller candidate Glenn Hegar and Wayne Faircloth, the GOP nominee for the Galveston-based HD-23. The district is considered one of the House's few swing districts.

Libby Willis, the Democratic candidate in Tarrant County-based SD-10, was endorsed by the Texas Parent PAC, which backs public education-oriented legislative candidates. SD-10 is considered the one swing district in the Senate.

Former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby endorsed fellow Democrat Leticia Van de Putte, who is running for his old job.

Disclosure: Texas Monthly, the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Farm Bureau are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. The Hobby Family Foundation is a major donor to the Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.