Benita Veliz, a San Antonio 27-year-old whose parents brought her into the country on a short-term tourist visa nearly two decades years ago, became the first undocumented person to address a national convention on Wednesday night.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards took on a cause célèbre of this week’s Democratic National Convention — women’s reproductive health — in her Wednesday night speech.

This morning, less than 12 hours after his keynote speech to the Democratic National Convention, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro went on MSNBC's Morning Joe to talk about "the clear choice that this country has" in November.

National party conventions are often devoid of drama and real news. But that doesn’t mean nothing valuable can be gleaned from them. Last week in Tampa, time spent with the Texas Republican delegation revealed some clear themes.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro on Tuesday night gave a Democratic National Convention keynote that reiterated Barack Obama’s 2008 message of hope, from the promise of recent immigrants to the dreams of Americans reaching for the middle class. 

Complete with childhood pictures and an interview with his mother, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro stars in a new web video released by the Obama campaign ahead of his Tuesday night keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention.  

For this week's nonscientific survey of government and political insiders, we asked about the presidential race, how it plays in the next race for governor, the lieutenant governor's electoral status, and whether odds for school vouchers have improved.

Two of Texas’ top Democratic women — Houston Mayor Annise Parker and longtime state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio — revved up an early morning crowd of state delegates on Tuesday, painting Texas Republicans as on the fringe.

Texans have become accustomed to the nosebleed seats at the Democratic National Convention. But this year, even the most cynical Texas Democrats sense a shift toward relevance. 

At the Republican National Convention, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, talks about a potential school voucher program. "You shouldn't be locked into a poor-performing school because that's where you happen to live," he said.

On Tuesday, the Republican National Convention made it official, nominating Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan for the GOP's presidential ticket. As the convention winds down, delegates are setting their sights on the general election.

U.S. Senate hopeful Ted Cruz appealed directly to Hispanics and portrayed his smashing primary victory as part of a “great awakening” of American voters during a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention.

The story through the primaries and runoffs? It's over for most of the races — only a few remain competitive. Turnover, as you would expect in the election after a redistricting, is high.

If it weren't for Ted Cruz, Texas wouldn't have much prominence at the Republican National Convention next week. Former presidential candidates Rick Perry and Ron Paul don't have speaking roles at the convention.

One year ago today, Gov. Rick Perry made national waves by jumping into the GOP race for the presidency, a bid that ended five months (and a few infamous debate debacles) later. Revisit our interactive timeline of the highs and lows of his run for the White House.  

The general election ballot has more than 240 races, listed here by type and district, with candidates, the political temperature of each district, what looks competitive — and what doesn't. 

With the primaries and the runoffs out of the way, it's time to look ahead to the general election. There will be a full ballot in November, of course, but only a relative handful of races remain competive in a state where redistricting made most congressional and legislative districts uncompetitive in the general election.

Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst are set to be back for another legislative session in January, in spite of their plans and ambitions.