Latest Contributions

• Our updated Texas 2020 Hotlist: The most competitive races in this year's primary

  by Ross Ramsey, Patrick Svitek and Chris Essig Updated: Feb. 26, 2020

  A couple of The Texas Tribune's political nerds highlight (their latest version of) the most interesting races up and down the 2020 primary ballot. Full Story 

• Three Texas school districts face state penalties after getting failing grades. Look up your campus' A-F grade here.

  by Aliyya Swaby, Mandi Cai and Chris Essig Updated: Aug. 15, 2019

  Houston ISD, the state's largest school district, is among those that could have its school board taken over by the state, due to consecutive low ratings of one of its schools. Full Story 

   Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune

• How a Supreme Court decision on the census citizenship question could affect representation in Texas

  by Alexa Ura, Chris Essig and Darla Cameron June 21, 2019

  The U.S. Supreme Court could soon alter the political future of Texas when it decides whether the Trump administration can ask about citizenship on the upcoming census. Full Story 

   Emily Albracht for The Texas Tribune

• Texas police can seize money and property with little transparency. So we got the data ourselves.

  by Jolie McCullough, Acacia Coronado and Chris Essig June 7, 2019

  A Texas Tribune study analyzed 560 cases from four Texas counties to shine a light on how the controversial practice of civil asset forfeiture is used by law enforcement. Full Story 

   Jacob Villanueva/The Texas Tribune

• Here’s how different proposals at the Texas Capitol could change property tax bills

  by Aliyya Swaby, Chris Essig and Shannon Najmabadi April 8, 2019

  How would lawmakers' proposals to provide property tax relief affect tax bills? It depends on where you live and what kind of home you own. Full Story 

   Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• Texas lawmakers eye a record-breaking rainy day fund withdrawal

  by Edgar Walters and Chris Essig March 21, 2019

  Proposals in the Texas House would spend $6.6 billion from the state’s savings account; the Senate would spend $4.4 billion. Full Story 

   Illustration by Todd Wiseman

• In Texas, property tax levies can be as individual as homeowners themselves

  by Chris Essig and Brandon Formby Feb. 22, 2019

  State lawmakers are trying to reform a complicated taxing system where everything from suburban growth to gentrification and a homeowner’s age influence how much Texans pay their local governments. Full Story 

   Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

• Texas officials call it "property tax relief" — but legislation won't lower tax bills or decrease budgets

  by Chris Essig, Ben Hasson and Brandon Formby Feb. 21, 2019

  The fight over property tax rates is really about state leaders telling local officials how much their revenues can grow before voters get to step in. Full Story 

• How do Texas governments calculate your property taxes? Here’s a primer.

  by Brandon Formby, Chris Essig and Ben Hasson Feb. 20, 2019

  Several government entities — from appraisal districts to city councils — play independent roles that collectively determine how much money Texas landowners owe local governments each year. Full Story 

• Texas’ savings account is poised to hit $15 billion. How much will lawmakers spend?

  by Edgar Walters and Chris Essig Feb. 8, 2019

  As lawmakers debate costly investments in property tax reduction and public schools, they're eyeing the state savings account for a sizable withdrawal. Full Story 

   Illustration by Todd Wiseman

• Most members of the Texas Legislature are white men — and so are the committee chairs

  by Alexa Ura and Chris Essig Jan. 24, 2019

  Four out of every five committee chairs this session are men, and 72 percent of chairs are white. Full Story 

   Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune.

• Texas State students were likely a key factor in flipping this conservative county to Democrats

  by Matt Zdun, Chris Essig and Darla Cameron Nov. 15, 2018

  Beto O'Rourke surged to a 15-point edge over Ted Cruz in Hays County during last week's election, even though the Central Texas county hadn't voted for a Democrat at the top of the ticket since 1992. Full Story 

   Mikala Compton for The Texas Tribune

• Are Texas suburbs slipping away from Republicans?

  by Alexa Ura, Chris Essig and Darla Cameron Nov. 7, 2018

  In Williamson, Hays, Collin and Fort Bend counties, Republicans saw their dominance falter on Tuesday. Full Story 

   Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune

• Gerrymandering backfired for Texas Republicans in Dallas County in 2018

  by Alexa Ura, Chris Essig and Darla Cameron Nov. 7, 2018

  Republicans hoped to keep a majority Texas House seats from Dallas County when they redrew district boundaries in 2011. Seven years later, they've only held onto two of 14. Full Story 

   Brandon Formby / The Texas Tribune

• Where Ted Cruz’s close victory over Beto O’Rourke stands among Texas' historical election results

  by Chris Essig, Ryan Murphy and Brandon Formby Nov. 7, 2018

  It was the closest a Democrat came to toppling a Republican incumbent U.S. senator since 1978. And while O'Rourke beat Cruz in some traditional GOP strongholds, it wasn't enough to overcome rural Texas counties and some suburbs that remain fiercely loyal to Cruz. Full Story 

   Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune

• Here's how Texas voted in every U.S. Senate election since 1961

  by Chris Essig Nov. 5, 2018

  U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz won re-election in 2018 against Democrat Beto O'Rourke by about 2.6 percentage points. Here's a look at the margins of victory for every U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1961. Full Story 

   Rodolfo Gonzalez: O'Rourke/Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Cruz

• More than 4,884,528 Texans voted early in the midterm election

  by Darla Cameron, Elbert Wang and Chris Essig Nov. 3, 2018

  Early voter turnout in the 2018 midterms surpassed turnout from the 2012 presidential election in the 30 Texas counties where most registered voters in the state — 78 percent — live. Full Story 

   Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune

• How to know if you’re spending too much on housing in Texas

  by Emily Yount Swelgin, Chris Essig, Brandon Formby and Naema Ahmed Oct. 5, 2018

  We analyzed housing data in hundreds of Texas ZIP codes to create a searchable tool so readers can see how affordable their neighborhood is. Full Story 

   Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune

• As Texas grows, an affordable housing crisis looms. Here are six things to know.

  by Brandon Formby, Darla Cameron and Chris Essig Oct. 5, 2018

  Demographics, income and location all play roles in the difficulties Texans face finding an affordable home in a neighborhood they like. Full Story 

   Brandon Formby

• The candidate list for Texas House speaker keeps growing. Here's who's already in.

  by Alex Samuels and Chris Essig Sept. 4, 2018

  Despite all the focus on November, many in Texas politics are keeping a close eye on January. That's when the 150-member Texas House will pick its new House speaker. Just last week, two more candidates entered the race. Full Story 

   Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune