Cheating ruins victory, creating questions about what might have happened. It's true in sports, and it's true in politics, too.

Even the Texas lawmakers who want to change the way the state selects judges are wary of taking that power away from voters. The politics are more difficult, in some ways, than the proposed policy changes.

For a long time, the party primary elections in Texas have been more competitive than the general elections in November. Not anymore.

The governor's decision to opt out of the federal refugee resettlement program marks a shift in the state's Republican establishment over the last two decades.

The Texas attorney general got a political gift in the form of a friendly request for his opinion: a chance to take a swipe at a political nemesis.

For four years, local and state governments in Texas were allowed to keep a lot of public business hidden. New laws make more of that information public. But what did they get away with in the meantime?

It's possible for a political candidate to win by losing — to rise in prominence as a result of a losing campaign for office. Beto O'Rourke tried and failed to do that. But keep an eye on Julián Castro, whose profile rose as his presidential bid fell apart.

Candidates and campaigns start the year at full speed, sprinting their way to primary election voting that begins in less than two months. It's the start of what should be a momentous and turbulent presidential election year.

Election results from 2018 and prospects for the 2020 election led by President Donald Trump’s reelection bid provided a steady and strong undertow for political and policy conversations in Texas. And they still do.

The immigration and humanitarian crisis continues at the Texas-Mexico border, where things have persistently been made worse by harsh government policies.

Shootings in El Paso and Odessa prompted fresh questions and conversations about gun violence in Texas, even among some of the state’s elected Second Amendment advocates.

Texas lawmakers, convinced that 2018’s voters were telling them to get some serious work done, steered (mostly) away from social and cultural issues to concentrate on “meat and potatoes” items voters demanded, starting with schools and property taxes.

Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen went from his January election to hero of the legislative session to historical footnote in less than a year. Several of the year's columns analyzed the politics of a speaker quickly losing the trust of the House that elevated him in the first place.

Big election campaigns take years to mount. So some politicians aren't thinking about the 2020 elections. They're dreaming and planning for 2022.

Political endorsements don't mean a lot, unless they bring in a lot of money or support — or attention to a particular candidate in a pack of unknowns.

Some elections are local; some are about state issues. The 2020 election in Texas is probably not going to be either of those things — national issues and personalities are leading the parade.

The proliferation of mass shootings has opened up the debate about gun laws among politicians in Texas, and about whether new restrictions are needed. But not among all Texas politicians.

In what promises to be a tumultuous and competitive election year, races for the Texas House are going to be a lot more interesting than those for the Texas Senate.

Political plans aren't necessarily clever or novel, as a recently leaked memo from the Texas GOP illustrates. But they do provide some insight into what worries the plotters.

When state Rep. Rick Miller said two of his opponents were running because they're Asian, the real news was in the result, not in the gaffe. Top Texas Republicans reacted, publicly and quickly.