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All Coverage

  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 53

    By Elise Hu

    In this post-election TribCast, Evan, Elise and Ben look back on the election year that was and discuss Gov. Rick Perry's political future and the implications of the massive Republican landslide in the Texas House. Full Story 

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  • 2010: Neil Waiting For Final Vote Tally

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Republican Dan Neil, who lost to Democratic Rep. Donna Howard in Tuesday's HD-48 election by a mere 15 votes, released a statement tonight saying he's going to wait for every legal vote to be "received and counted" before he decides his next course of action — namely, whether to ask for a recount. Full Story 

    State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and her GOP challenger, Dan Neil.
    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • 2010: 130 to Chisum

    By Ross Ramsey

    House Speaker Joe Straus says he's now got 130 votes for re-election as speaker — and that the only thing new is that 99 Republicans instead of 76 will make the House a much more conservative body. But State Rep. Warren Chisum says he will continue the challenge to Straus that he announced three weeks ago. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Straus: "I Don't Need Lessons" From Chisum

    By Elise Hu

    "I don't need lessons on how to be a Republican," Joe Straus said Wednesday morning, responding to claims by his challenger in the Speaker's race, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, that he isn't Republican enough to hold the leadership post. Full Story 

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  • White's Concession Speech

    By Elise Hu

    After it became clear that the early returns were against him, Bill White called on Democratic voters to support Gov. Rick Perry. “All our elected leaders, including our national leadership, deserve respect,” he said. Full Story 

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  • Perry's Victory Speech

    By Elise Hu

    Gov. Rick Perry addresses hundreds of supporters in Buda after voters re-elected him to an unprecedented third full term in office. Hitting on a familiar theme, Perry said Texans were "tired of big government" and "fed up" with Washington's intrusion into their daily lives. Full Story 

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  • Perry, White Look to the Future

    By Evan Smith

    As Gov. Rick Perry won another four years in office last night and his Democratic challenger, Bill White, conceded defeat, both men hinted at what they might do next. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story 

    The press risers set up for Gov. Rick Perry and other Republicans' on election night, November 2, 2010.
    Credit: Bob Daemmerich

  • 2010: Few Hiccups With Harris County Ballots

    By Julián Aguilar

    A fire in August that destroyed thousands of electronic voting machines in Houston prolonged the release of Harris County voting totals. Despite the delay, election officials expect to decide close races early Wednesday morning. But the outcome of one hotly contested race is known: Bill White defeated Rick Perry in his home county by a margin of less than 2 percent. Full Story 

    Paper-ballot boxes flood Reliant Center, where Harris County officials convened to count thousands of paper ballots.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • 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