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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Right Act. Full Story
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After two decades in the Texas Senate, Plano Republican Florence Shapiro said this afternoon that she won't seek re-election. State Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, starts as a strong replacement candidate. Full Story
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In the latest of our nonscientific polls of government and political insiders, we asked about wildfires and the drought and about what changes — if any — should be made to government policy and regulation. Full Story
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Three statewide elected officials have their eyes on the lieutenant governor’s job now that David Dewhurst is running for U.S. Senate. They admit it's early to be maneuvering for an election that’s almost three years away — but they admit it while pressing forward. Full Story
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David Dewhurst is the Mitt Romney of the U.S. Senate race. He's the candidate who has climbed the ladder in an orderly way. If you go for this sort of thing — and the Republican party often does — it’s his turn. Full Story
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A handful of Texas House members who say they're leaving — either getting out or trying to move into other posts — top this week's roundup of campaign news. Full Story
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General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The takeaway is simple: Texas has a strongly Republican map and the political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
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Lots of things affect election outcomes. Candidates. Money. Issues. Surprises. But some of the results are wired into district maps, through redistricting. Here's our charting of the political atmosphere — Republican or Democratic — in each of the House, Senate and congressional districts drawn by the Legislature this year. Full Story
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Amidst a record-setting drought and neighborhood-devouring wildfires, we asked the insiders this week about water and fire policy. Full Story
State Rep. Randy Weber, R-Pearland, wants to go to Congress: He announced today he'll run for the seat now held by U.S. Ron Paul, R-Surfside. And state Rep. Rodney Anderson made his intentions for state Senate official. Full Story
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