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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 primaries and runoffs are out of the way. The state conventions are over. The hot arguments that produced the state party platforms have cooled. And the power of the most partisan Republicans and Democrats is ebbing with the season. Full Story
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The Texas Democrats have taken their crack at how the world ought to look, packing their version into a 44-page platform at last weekend’s biennial state party convention. Full Story
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Donald Trump starred this weekend as the minority party’s engine, a source of Texas Democratic Party delegates’ enthusiasm and of their hope that someday, perhaps even someday soon, voters will elect a Democrat to statewide office. Full Story
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Numbers can give you a full accounting of something without telling you what’s really going on, like when lawmakers talk about trimming budgets and saving money while diverting attention from whatever fell on the cutting room floor. Full Story
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The Texas Democratic Party’s convention lands at a moment when the state’s Republicans are feverishly manufacturing topics for the opposition party to talk about. Will it matter? Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is under fire for his comments after the shootings in a gay nightclub in Orlando, and he can only blame himself. His problem isn’t his intent; his problem is that his other actions of late made his critics’ worst suspicions plausible. Full Story
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The most reliable source of third-party candidates — the Libertarian Party of Texas — didn't field contestants in most of the state’s few remaining swing districts. It looks like that’s one problem GOP candidates in the most competitive races won’t have to deal with. Full Story
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Straight-ticket voting is usually an advantage for the majority party, which is one reason why a Republican Texas Legislature has left that voting law in place in spite of steady attempts to change it. But what if the person at the top of the ballot is unpopular? Full Story
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“Shut up” is nearly always a terrible response. It escalates a disagreement. It’s obnoxious. It hardly ever works. It is a clear signal that someone is losing the argument, their patience — or both. Full Story
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Before Texas Republicans can become evangelists for their presidential nominee, they’re going to have to reconcile themselves to Donald Trump. Full Story
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