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• What's the Real Storyline With GOP Senate Runoff?

  By Ross Ramsey July 31, 2012

  This GOP primary runoff isn’t about the Tea Party’s principles, Ross Ramsey writes, but it definitely borrows from that movement’s rebellious nature. To steal someone else’s line: It's the disestablishment, stupid. Full Story 

• TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

  By Ross Ramsey July 28, 2012

  Hamilton (and Watkins of the Bryan-College Station Eagle) on outsourcing worries at Texas A&M, Murphy and Foxhall on how far people would go to meet voter ID requirements, Philpott on the close of a very tough race for Texas Senate, M. Smith on a decision that will cost public schools $300 million, Tan on state funding of HPV vaccinations, Aaronson on health insurance rebates, Aguilar on “restorative justice” on the border and Batheja on Ted Cruz's service in the courts and David Dewhurst's service in the military: The best of our best content from July 23 to 27, 2012. Full Story 

• Once a Sprint but Now a Slog, Election Nears End

  By Ross Ramsey July 27, 2012

  With 37 runoff races on the ballot Tuesday, a political primary season that was originally supposed to wrap up in May is finally coming to an end. Full Story 

• A Legal Client, and a Suicide, in New Super PAC Ad

  By Ross Ramsey July 23, 2012

  An ad by a pro-David Dewhurst Super PAC features a Pennsylvania mother as it again hits Ted Cruz over his connection to the developer in the "kids for cash" scandal. Full Story 

• Dewhurst Ad: Obama Doesn't Understand Business

  By Ross Ramsey July 23, 2012

  There's no mention of his opponent in the latest ad from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Instead, he touts his business credentials and says, "I don’t think President Obama understands business" or "the potential of the private sector." Full Story 

• Runoff Rundown

  By Ross Ramsey July 20, 2012

  In years when both parties had statewide primary runoffs, turnout in the second round of voting averaged almost half of turnout in the first round. On average, the runoff got a vote for every two in the primary. In elections with a statewide runoff, the average Republican runoff turnout was 27.3 percent of the party's average primary turnout. For Democrats, the corresponding number was 34.9 percent. Full Story 

• With Paltry Turnout, Last Word Goes to the Few

  By Ross Ramsey July 16, 2012

  Voter turnout for the July 31 runoff is likely to fall well short of 1993, when 1.8 million voters cast ballots in the special runoff for a U.S. Senate seat, which Kay Bailey Hutchison won. Full Story 

• To Try to Predict Perry's Future, Look to His Past

  By Ross Ramsey July 13, 2012

  Gov. Rick Perry looks like he will be in office as long as voters will have him. He talks like he wants voters to keep him where he is. Many think he's just bluffing, but that's not how he has operated in the past. Full Story 

• Inside Intelligence: In the Open Seats...

  By Ross Ramsey July 10, 2012

  For this week's nonscientific survey of government and political insiders, we asked about a dozen open House races on the July 31 ballot and found the insiders mostly in agreement, wrong or right. Full Story 

• TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

  By Ross Ramsey July 7, 2012

  Grissom's analysis of misconduct by prosecutors and Murphy's interactive guide to the data and documents behind it, Aguilar on Mexico's presidential election and the official counting, Batheja and Root on donor vetting in the U.S. Senate race, Galbraith on what the drought has done to the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton queries education experts on STEM, M. Smith's cheat sheet to guide you through the state's school finance lawsuits and Dehn's latest Weekend Insider on runoff elections and prosecutors: The best of our best from July 2 to 6, 2012. Full Story