James Talarico ran up the score in the Panhandle, while rural Texans living along the Louisiana border stayed home.
Alex Ford
Alex Ford is a designer/developer on the data visual team based in Austin. Previously, she was an interactive designer at NBC News Digital and NBC Local. A Baltimore native, she is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas-Austin.
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2026 Texas Elections
Surge in voter turnout in urban, border counties carried Texas blue wave
Meanwhile, rural counties saw the smallest growth in turnout.
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2026 Texas Elections
After supporting Trump in 2024, Texas border counties fueled Democrats’ big night
Counties along the U.S.-Mexico border saw the largest surge in voter turnout compared to any other region in the state.
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Data Centers in Texas
Despite tough talk from Abbott and Paxton, Texas penalties for data center violations are light
Texas officials are promising tougher enforcement on data centers, but the existing law may offer limited leverage over the industry that has largely failed to report its water use.
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Texas affordability crisis
How Texas candidates plan to lower the cost of gas, groceries and housing
From groceries to childcare, Texans are spending more to live here. Here’s how much costs have risen, why it’s happening and what candidates are proposing to fix it.
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Immigration
Migrants who planted roots in Texas are being swept up in the immigration crackdown. Here are five of their stories.
Some detained Texans were pursuing pathways to stay here legally. None had criminal convictions.
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Immigration
A surge of ICE arrests and the shooting of a Venezuelan man strike fear into Austin neighborhoods
People who work near the site where ICE shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez say the agency’s presence in the area has been constant amid President Trump’s mass deportation push.
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Graphics and data reporting
What to know about possible border barriers in Big Bend
The Trump administration has said the remote West Texas region needs measures to stop illegal immigration. But a bipartisan group of elected officials is pushing to halt that plan, especially in the national park.
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Screwworm in Texas
Where is screwworm in Texas? Track cases here.
The New World screwworm poses a multibillion-dollar threat to the state’s cattle industry. We’re keeping track of where these cases are reported.
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Data Centers in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas water agency to penalize data centers that don’t report their water usage
Last year, less than 30% of data centers responded to a state-mandated water usage survey conducted by the Texas Water Development Board.