Analysis: Dan Patrick and the reddest Texas Senate ever
Texas Democrats had a chance to limit Republican legislators' power in the state Senate. But with a special election loss this week, they may have cemented it instead. Full Story
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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.
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![Former Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock (left) and current Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
Credit: Baylor University: Bullock/Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Patrick -
Analysis: Neal Dikeman’s voters could decide which Texan serves in the U.S. Senate
In close elections, the handfuls of votes collected by third-party candidates can make all the difference. That makes the Libertarian in the U.S. Senate race that much more interesting. Full Story
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![Neal Dikeman is the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senator.]()
Credit: Facebook campaign page -
Analysis: The fight over the Texas Legislature isn’t only in the House
Sure, the selection of a new House speaker is going to change the way the Legislature works next year. But watch the elections in the Senate, too: Things could change in the upper chamber, too. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Property taxes rise, state education spending falls. That's the design.
Early discussions about the next state budget include an old and politically hazardous debate: Property values are rising, meaning the local share of education spending will rise while the state share drops. Full Story
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![Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath testifies before the Texas Commission on Public School Finance about education outcomes on Jan. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The swoon for Beto O’Rourke doesn’t mean Ted Cruz will lose
The rise of Beto O'Rourke is one of the hottest stories in U.S. politics — enough to put incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in a defensive posture. But Cruz still holds the advantage. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, speaks to the crowd marching on the tent city where children separated from their parents at the border are being held at Tornillo Port of Entry, on June 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: An old headline lingers on the Texas-Mexico border
More than two months after the president ended the "zero tolerance" policy on the border, more than 400 of the kids separated from their migrant parents remain in U.S. custody. Dozens of them won't be reunited with their parents. Full Story
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![David Xol and his wife Florinda at their home in Alta Verapaz. Xol made his way across Mexico with his 7-year-old son, Byron. Xol was deported back to Guatemala; Byron remains in a detention center in Baytown.]()
Credit: Carlos Sebastián/Nómada -
Analysis: For potential Texas House speaker candidates, the clock is ticking
Add another candidate to the pool of people who want to be the next speaker of the Texas House, and a conundrum for candidates who aren't officially in: Late birds usually don't get the worms. Full Story
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![During a marathon debate on the state budget, Texas House Parliamentarian Chris Griesel reacts to a point of order on an amendment involving feral hog elimination.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Some voters want candidates who watch what they say. Some don’t.
What a politician says can divide the electorate, for better or worse. And sometimes, two politicians can say the same things and send their partisans scurrying in opposite directions. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, has become known for his impassioned language on the campaign trail. O'Rourke is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Illustration by Marjorie Kamys Cotera/Emily Albracht -
Analysis: A viewer’s guide to the 2018 Texas elections
Texans will start casting ballots in less than eight weeks and campaigns are turning their attention from raising money and organizing to those voters: winning their support, revving them up and getting them to the polls. The stakes are big. Full Story
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![Voters in Houston arrive to cast ballots during the last hour of voting in the primaries on March 6, 2018.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Will a split Texas electorate split the 2018 ticket?
Polls point to a close U.S. Senate race and to a potential blowout in the race for governor. For that to happen, some voters in this politically polarized state would have to switch sides as they move down the ballot. Full Story
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![Top: Gov. Greg Abbott and Lupe Valdez, his Democratic challenger; bottom: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, his Democratic challenger.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich: Abbott/Lauras Skelding: Valdez/Robin Jerstad: Cruz/Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson: O'Rourke
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