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All Coverage

  • 2010: Joe vs. the Volcano

    By Ross Ramsey

    House Speaker Joe Straus says he's got 122 votes for another term as speaker — in spite of the fact that at least a dozen of his past supporters were defeated in Tuesday's election. Full Story 

    Texas House Speaker Joe Straus addressing Republicans on Nov. 2, 2010.
    Credit: Bob Daemmerich for The Texas Tribune

  • Red November

    By Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Elise Hu, Ross Ramsey, Emily Ramshaw, Morgan Smith, Matt Stiles, Julián Aguilar, David Muto, Kate Galbraith, Becca Aaronson, Julie Chang, Tristan Hallman and Emily Brown

    Rick Perry won his third full term as governor of Texas on Tuesday, defeating former Houston Mayor Bill White by a convincing double-digit margin and positioning himself for a role on the national stage. And he led a Republican army that swept all statewide offices for the fourth election in a row, took out three Democratic U.S. congressmen and was on its way to a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — a mark the GOP hasn't seen since the days following the Civil War. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmerich

  • 2010: Watkins Narrowly Holding On

    By Becca Aaronson

    With 672 of 737 precincts in Dallas County reporting, the race for district attorney remains close. Incumbent District Attorney Craig Watkins, a Democrat, is leading challenger Danny Clancy, a Republican defense lawyer, by less than 1 percentage point, 50.45 percent to 49.55 percent. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • 2010: White Concedes

    By Julián Aguilar

    “To those who supported me, please recognize that every governor of our state deserves respect," Bill White told the ballroom crowd at the Hilton Americas in Houston. Full Story 

    Bill White addresses supporters in Houston after losing to Gov. Rick Perry
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • 2010: R's Lead in 2 of 3 Key County Races

    By Emily Brown

    In the race for Harris County judge, Republican Ed Emmett is leading Democrat Gordon Quan by 26 points with 9 percent of precincts reporting. In the race for Nueces County district attorney, Democrat Mark Skurka is leading Republican Anna Jimenez by 7 points. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Jimenez, then a prosecutor in the DA’s child victims unit, as district attorney in March to replace Carlos Valdez. Skurka, who spent 10 years as chief prosecutor and another 10 years as first assistant district attorney, is vying for the final two years of Valdez’s unexpired term. In the race for Tarrant County Probate Court No. 2, Republican Judge Pat Ferchill is leading with 85 percent of the vote, with 11.8 percent of precincts reporting. Ferchill, who has come under fire for holding secret hearings to take child-guardianship rights away from families, is up against Libertarian Bob Shelton. Ferchill recently recused himself from a case in which a disabled girl’s parents had their guardianship rights taken away because they opposed a group home’s reliance on psychiatric medication. The judge who received the motion to re-hear the case postponed a scheduled October hearing last week, citing Ferchill’s upcoming election. Full Story 

  • 2010: Big Game

    By Ross Ramsey

    State Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, a Democratic leader and a difficult target for Republicans, was handily defeated by political novice Marva Beck of Centerville. Full Story 

    State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, at a press conference in 2009.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • 2010: Red All Over

    By Ross Ramsey

    Rick Perry and the other statewide Republicans are on their way to easy wins over their challengers and opponents. Republican judicial candidates for statewide positions are winning easily. Four Democrats in the Texas congressional delegation are either behind or have been defeated: Chet Edwards (who conceded earlier this evening to Bill Flores), Ciro Rodriguez, Solomon Ortiz, and Lloyd Doggett. In incomplete returns, there are 22 Democratic incumbents running behind in Texas House races: Stephen Frost, Mark Homer, Jim McReynolds, Solomon Ortiz Jr., Abel Herrero, Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, Patrick Rose, Donna Howard, Diana Maldonado, Jim Dunnam, Joe Moody, Joe Heflin, Paula Pierson, Chris Turner, Robert Miklos, Carol Kent, Kirk England, Allen Vaught, David McQuade Leibowitz, Kristi Thibaut, Ellen Cohen, and Hubert Vo. The GOP's high-water mark (post-Reconstruction) was 88 members in the Texas House. The GOP would have to pick up 12 seats tonight to match that. They've already got one — David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, didn't seek reelection and former Mayor Lanham Lyne is running away with that race. And maybe this tells you more about the night than anything else: No incumbent Republicans in state office are currently running behind. Full Story 

    Gov. Rick Perry, speaking to the Texas Federation of Republican Women
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • 2010: Republicans Ahead in SBOE Count

    By Kate Galbraith

    Republicans are well ahead in the results for six of seven races for the State Board of Education. The contests are closely watched due to the board's controversial efforts to amend the content allowed in school textbooks earlier this year. In one of the most-watched races, in the Austin area, Republican Marsha Farney leads her Democratic opponent, Judy Jennings, by 59 percent to 28 percent with 30 percent of the vote counted. In a second closely watched race, in the San Antonio area, the Republican incumbent Ken Mercer leads Democratic challenger Rebecca Bell-Metereau 61 percent to 35 percent with 27 percent of the vote counted. In District 1, the Democratic incumbent Rene Nuñez trails Republican challenger Carlos Garza by 42 percent to 58 percent, with 33 percent of the vote counted. Full Story 

  • 2010: Swept Away?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    In what's becoming an increasingly obvious Republican sweep in the Texas House, 22 Democratic incumbents are behind in their races. Full Story 

    Rep. Carol Kent, D-Dallas, and Rep. Robert Miklos, D-Mesquite
    Credit: reelectcarolkent.com, myspace.com

  • 2010: Chet Edwards Concedes

    By Morgan Smith

    If he had won tonight, it would have cemented his reputation as a political miracle worker. Instead, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards lost the Central Texas seat he's held for more than two decades to Republican Bill Flores of Bryan by a wide margin. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Marjorie Cotera/Todd Wiseman

  • Election Night 2010: The Liveblog

    By Texas Tribune Staff

    The Tribune's crack reporting staff — in Houston, Buda and other political hotspots — will be posting the latest news and spin the minute the polls close. Check back and refresh often for updates and photos from the field. Full Story 

    A voter casts a ballot in Travis County on November 2, 2010.
    Credit: Marjorie Cotera

  • 2010: Stay Alert — or Not

    By Elise Hu

    Be warned: If you're signed up for our instant e-mail alerts, your mobile device will be buzzing a lot this evening. But there's still plenty of time to update or temporarily disable your alert settings. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • 2010: Be Calm

    By Julián Aguilar

    Patience is the central theme emanating from the Houston county clerk’s office as officials there are cautioning that counting the ballots in Texas’ largest county won't happen quickly. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Time Flies

    By Elise Hu

    We've been around for one whole year! To mark the occasion, we look back at our inaugural 365 ... by the numbers. Full Story 

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  • Election Nightapalooza

    By Elise Hu

    We'll be chock full of constantly updated content beginning at 7 p.m. CDT, when most of the polls close around the state. Here's a handy guide to the barrage of interactives and information you'll find our site, plus where to watch and listen to your favorite Trib staffers make sense of it all on TV and radio. Full Story 

  • Tonight's the Night

    By Ross Ramsey

    Over the past year, we've seen nearly $100 million worth of gubernatorial politics in Texas and millions more spent maneuvering for advantage in Congress, in the Legislature and in other statewide and local offices. Tonight, we'll finally know what's what. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich