State Sen. Royce West enters Democratic primary to challenge John Cornyn
West joins a crowded and unsettled Democratic field of candidates looking to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Full Story
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Alex Samuels
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Alex Samuels was a reporter for The Texas Tribune from 2017 to 2021. She helped with national campaign coverage, wrote stories about the intersection of race and politics in Texas, and covered the hottest political news bubbling out of local communities. She was also one of the primary authors of The Blast, the Tribune’s subscription-only daily newsletter for political insiders. Alex began at the Tribune as a fellow in 2016. She graduated in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. She originally is from Massachusetts and is the best pingpong player at the Tribune.
Past Contributions
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![State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, announces he's running for the U.S. Senate against John Cornyn, in Dallas on July 22, 2019.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Beto O’Rourke discloses that he’s descended from slave owners
“Something that we’ve been thinking about and talking about in town hall meetings and out on the campaign — the legacy of slavery in the United States — now has a much more personal connection,” O'Rourke wrote. Full Story
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![Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke addresses a crowd at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, July 7, 2019.]()
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This year, Texas passed a law legalizing hemp. It also has prosecutors dropping hundreds of marijuana cases.
The new law changed the definition of marijuana, and prosecutors and crime labs say they don't have the resources to test if a substance is legal hemp or marijuana. Full Story
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![Plants of marijuana names after Sen. Kevin Eltife who authored a bil in 2015l which would legalize oils containing cannabidiol found in marijuana known to treat epilepsy and other chronic medical conditions at Compassionate Cultivation, a home-grown medical cannabis company in Austin, Texas that serves patients throughout Texas on January 19, 2017]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
National media outlets told the story of David Briscoe surviving the Santa Fe shooting. He wasn’t there.
A man who claimed he was a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High during the 2018 shooting told a harrowing story of survival. But the school district says he never worked there. Full Story
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![People outside a middle school set up as a reunion point for parents and students in Santa Fe, Texas on Friday, March 18, 2018 after a gunman killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After debate skirmish, Castro, O’Rourke host dueling events in Austin
The two Democratic presidential candidates rallied supporters at events minutes apart Friday evening, with Castro seeking to lay claim to favorite-son status. Full Story
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![Presidential candidate and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro speaks to supporters at a rally in Austin on June 28, 2019. Fellow Texan and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, also a candidate for president, held a rally an hour earlier and less than a mile away.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmaker files bill to allow donations of diapers, other goods to migrant kids in Border Patrol facilities
A bill filed Friday by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, would allow Border Patrol to accept donations from those wanting to give to children at stations in Texas. Full Story
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![From left: Meagan O'Toole-Pitts, Mark Cortez, holding his son Oliver, Ashley Cortez and Austin Savage attempt to deliver diaper and toys to an immigrant detention center in Clint on June 24, 2019. The facility is currently housing an estimated 250 children.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Armando Martinez Photography -
“It’s like they’re frightened to talk to me”: Texas campaign workers of color face harassment, discrimination in the field
Many campaign workers of color in the state can recount harrowing experiences of block walking in predominantly white neighborhoods — a situation that could become increasingly common as some of those communities draw more competition in 2020. Full Story
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![Arash Farasat facilitated a meeting at Half Price Books on June 16, 2019 for United Professional Organizers, a group pushing to organize Texas campaign workers into a union. He and his fellow campaigners of color have experienced barriers on the job like harassment while canvassing, some even fearing for their safety and having the police called on them.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
People want to donate diapers and toys to children at Border Patrol facilities in Texas. They’re being turned away.
A Border Patrol official told a state lawmaker that the agency doesn't accept donations for facilities where children are reportedly being held in substandard conditions. Full Story
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![From left: Meagan O'Toole-Pitts, Ashley Cortez, Oliver Cortez and his father Mark Cortez attempt to drop-off diapers and toys for detained children at the immigration detention center in Clint on June 24, 2019.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Armando Martinez Photography -
On Juneteenth, Sheila Jackson Lee spearheads congressional hearing on reparations, calling them “long overdue”
The Houston Democrat's bill calls for a commission to “study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans,” and consider a national apology by the government. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks as the House Judiciary Committee meets on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2019.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott signs several school safety bills in wake of shooting at Santa Fe High
The bills would, among other things, strengthen mental health initiatives available to children, abolish the cap on how many school marshals can carry guns on public school campuses and allot money to school districts that can go toward “hardening” their campuses. Full Story
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![From left: State Sens. Jane Nelson, Larry Taylor and state Rep. Greg Bonnen look on as Gov. Greg Abbott talks about bills he's signed to improve school safety and provide greater mental health resources to students, in Austin on June 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune