The Midday Brief: March 1, 2010
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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Reeve Hamilton worked at the Tribune from 2009 to 2015, covering higher education and politics and hosting the Tribune's weekly podcast. His writing has also appeared in Texas Monthly and The Texas Observer. Born in Houston and raised in Massachusetts, he has a bachelor's degree in English from Vanderbilt University.
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
'Twas the day before the election, when all through the state/ The candidates were stirring, preparing for the big date/ The polls had been done by the pollsters with care/ But hopes remained that some wiggle room still would be there… Full Story
“I treat every campaign seriously,” he says. “Nobody’s gonna outwork me. Nobody can put in more hours and go more places and do more things than I do.” Full Story
Whether or not the outcome of tomorrow's gubernatorial primary is conclusive — whether or not we have a runoff six weeks hence — we can say this with certainty: One of the five main candidates on the ballot will be the next governor of Texas. And this: 40 hours from now, we'll know much more about the state's coming political landscape than we do today. While we bide our time and wait for results, we present these final snapshots of the campaigns as they wound down. Full Story
This is the final day of early voting — a period in which many more energized and engaged Texans cast ballots for their favorite candidates than their counterparts did in 2006. During the last two weeks, we've published fifteen installments in our Primary Color series, analyzing the marquee contested party primaries for Texas House and Senate seats, for Congressional seats, and for slots on the State Board of Education and the Texas Supreme Court. Today we present the last five of our stories. Brian Thevenot reports on the face-off between very different GOP insiders to take on state Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, in House District 52. Julian Aguilar looks at the ideological purity test in HD-43, where incumbent Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, has been called a "closet Republican" by her Democratic challenger. Reeve Hamilton explains how Democrats have to choose between an Agriculture Commissioner candidate with ranching experience and one who's the consummate promoter. Andrew Kreighbaum weighs in on the six-way free-for-all to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill in Place 3. And Ross Ramsey contemplates the potential karmic payback of state Rep. Chuck Hopson, of Jacksonville, who quit the Democratic party and filed for reelection as a Republican, only to find two GOP primary opponents lying in wait. Full Story
Will the Democrats choose the most serious guy in the race, a rancher with hands-on experience? Or the consummate promoter — someone who'll sell Texas goods to America and the world with gusto and bravado, the way he sells his cigars, salsa, music, and one-liners? Full Story
Country music legend Willie Nelson's voice in your radio ad: $5,000. Willie Nelson's friendship: Priceless. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
New numbers from Rasmussen have Gov. Rick Perry teetering on the brink of an outright victory with 48 percent. Full Story
The GOP gubernatorial candidates have already gone head to head to head in televised debates put on by KERA and BELO. But why settle for two debates, when you can have three? Full Story