U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says he’s “not really happy” with the way Ken Paxton has run the Texas attorney general’s office
Cornyn said the allegations against Paxton “need to be investigated.” Full Story
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Alex Samuels is a political reporter for The Texas Tribune, where she helps with national campaign coverage, writes stories about the intersection of race and politics in Texas, and covers the hottest political news bubbling out of local communities. She is also one of the primary authors of The Blast, the Tribune’s subscription-only daily newsletter for political insiders. Alex was previously the Tribune’s community reporter, but she began her stint with the organization 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.
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![US Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and US Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speak to media following Texas Public Policy Foundation's annua…]()
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Carrollton mayoral candidate arrested on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining mail-in ballots
The candidate allegedly forged voting registration applications and had mail-in ballots sent to a post office box. It’s unclear how many actual ballots were involved in the scheme. Full Story
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![Mail-in ballot application.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott says bars can reopen next week at 50% capacity if counties opt in
“It is time to open them up,” Abbott said in a Facebook video announcing the move. “If we continue to contain COVID, then these openings, just like other businesses, should be able to expand in the near future.” Full Story
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![A bartender waits for customers at Buck Wild on West Sixth Street in downtown Austin as bars reopen on May 22, 2020.]()
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Biden campaign to spend $6 million on Texas campaign ads, more than any Democratic presidential nominee in decades
The Biden ad buy as comes as The Lincoln Project, the group led by former Republican strategists working to defeat Trump, launched a $1 million digital ad campaign in the state. Full Story
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![Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden spoke during a campaign stop in Dallas in March.]()
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Federal judge blocks Texas’ elimination of straight-ticket voting
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office has filed a motion to stop the judge’s order and will file an appeal of the district court’s ruling. Full Story
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![Voters, wearing masks and spread six feet apart, line up outside the Metropolitan Multiservice Center in Houston to vote in …]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Hillary Clinton says Democrats should frame fight for Supreme Court seat around health care
Speaking during The Texas Tribune Festival, Clinton said Democrats should play up the risks to health care access that could result from a more conservative high court overturning the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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![Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes questions at an event in Irving on Nov. 17, 2017.]()
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New voter registrations plummeted during the pandemic in Texas, where you can’t register online
Groups on both sides of the aisle say it's harder to register voters when you can't go door to door and big public events are canceled. Registration was down 24% in the first seven months of this year, compared with the same period in 2016. Full Story
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![MOVE Texas and the Spurs collaborated on a voter registration event at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Sept. 15, 2020.]()
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“My story does resonate”: Candace Valenzuela wants to flip a Republican seat and become the first Black Latina in Congress
Valenzuela is running for a North Texas seat long held by Republicans. But the shifting political winds in the suburbs are giving Democrats hope. Full Story
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![Candace Valenzuela, candidate for Texas' 24th Congressional District, outside her home in Dallas.]()
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Texas State University welcomed students back in person Monday. Campus was a ghost town.
Monday was the first day of in-person instruction at the San Marcos campus since the coronavirus pandemic raged across Texas, forcing school officials to reinvent the college experience in an attempt to keep students safe. Full Story
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![Students walk through an area known as “The Quad” on the first day of the fall semester at Texas State University in San Mar…]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blames the presence of Confederate monuments at the Texas Capitol on Democrats after being urged to remove them
Senate Democrats want the symbols taken down, but Patrick said that the party is not committed to a “sincere” or “serious conversation” about the future of the monuments. Full Story
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![The 1903 Confederate monument at the south entrance to the state Capitol grounds in 2019.]()
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As the Democratic National Convention begins, some Texas Democrats wish their state had a bigger role
Some party leaders have pushed for convention organizers to give more prominent slots to Texans in the convention lineup, eager to show it is a battleground in November. Full Story
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![The Travis County Democratic Party office in Austin.]()
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Democrats, local election leaders fear Donald Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting foreshadow voter suppression
Changes at the U.S. Postal Service have raised concerns about whether ballots will be delivered on time, but local officials and Democrats stress that mail-in voting remains a vital and safe way to cast a ballot. Full Story
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![A USPS delivery truck in Austin on April 21, 2020.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott says coronavirus hospitalizations, positive cases must decrease before he’ll allow bars to reopen in Texas
Abbott also applauded the Big 12 for allowing Texas college football to resume this fall. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott announced a strike force in charge of laying steps to re-open the Texas economy at a press conference in th…]()
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Texas Democrats see a winning formula in Kamala Harris. Will she bring suburban women and Black voters to the polls?
State Democrats see her as someone who can excite key voting groups but who won’t alienate more moderate voters. Full Story
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![Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Texas Southern University in Houston …]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Inside the Trump campaign’s effort — and struggle — to win over Black voters in Texas
The Trump campaign has held events across the country to chip away at his broad unpopularity with Black voters and flip the narrative that he is hostile to people of color. Full Story
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![Frederick Douglass Republicans Engagement Strategy creator KCarl Smith speaks at a Black Voices for Trump event, a nationwid…]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a mask skeptic, tests positive for coronavirus
Gohmert, 66, said in a televised interview that he wonders if he may have caught the virus from wearing his mask. Medical experts, however, overwhelmingly recommend masks as a means of preventing the virus. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, during a House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. in 2019.]()
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Conservative think tank leader says schools should reopen since most Texans dying from COVID-19 are elderly or Hispanic
In an interview, Vance Ginn said the intention of his Twitter thread was to outline the more thorough data provided by the state. He also said his tweet with a GIF was “woefully taken out of context out of bad faith.” Full Story
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![Dr. Vance Ginn, chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.]()
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85 babies under 1 year old in Nueces County have tested positive for COVID-19 since mid-March
Nueces County Medical Examiner Adel Shaker told The Texas Tribune last week that a baby boy, younger than 6 months old, tested positive for COVID-19 and died. Full Story
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![A lab at Methodist Dallas Medical Center prepares viral transport media for samples before collecting samples for COVID-19 i…]()
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Sarah Eckhardt and Eddie Rodriguez poised for a runoff in special Texas Senate election to replace Kirk Watson
The victor will serve the remainder of Watson’s term, which ends in 2022. Full Story
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![Former Travis Co. Judge Sarah Eckhardt and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin.]()
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Longtime Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. fends off primary challenge from his left
Lucio’s race against Sara Stapleton-Barrera was among the most competitive of the primary elections for the Texas Senate, where Republicans are expected to keep their majority after the general election. Full Story
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![Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, spoke during during a Senate State Affairs committee hearing on July 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune