The blue wave that swept the country on Election Day wasn't as obvious in Texas, where Republicans won all of the statewide offices on the ballot and held all but a couple of seats in the congressional delegation and the state Senate. Full Story
Face it: This is a political off year. There's one race at the top of the ballot, and the polls, if they're right, have been remarkably stagnant for a long time. There's movement back there in the race for second, but the overall outlook is a lot like it was months ago. There's one race in the Legislature that could change how things operate — it's in the Senate — and a handful of races in the House that look to change the partisan makeup only slightly. Most of the statewide races are yawners, though it's a nervous time for Republicans at the low end of the statewide ballot. Full Story
Without Houston lawyer John O'Quinn, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell wouldn't be on television during the last three weeks of this election cycle. Full Story
Answers, we'll get on November 7. Questions and speculation, we've got now. Full Story
A half-cent increase in the sales tax could be used on a local option basis to lower property taxes, according to the head of the governor's task force on appraisal reform. Full Story
Old School: Politicians complain about the "filter" of the news media, a gripe usually leveled when they had something good about themselves or nasty about the opposition that they couldn't convince anyone to run. Full Story
Start this look at Texas House races with the usual caveats: Partisans — the people who tell us about this stuff — are always wrong about some of the races on their "hot" lists. Some won't pan out. Some might pan out when nobody's looking. It's a head vs. heart thing. Full Story
A new poll of registered voters done for the Texas Credit Union League has everybody in the governor's race well below the 50 percent that would give them a majority. Gov. Rick Perry is at the front of the pack, with 42 percent, followed by Democrat Chris Bell at 20 percent, independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn at 18 percent, independent Kinky Friedman at 12 percent, and Libertarian James Werner at 2 percent. Full Story
Former Gov. Ann Richards, an iconic Texas Democrat known for her lashing wit, her crown of white hair, and her sheer charisma, succumbed to the esophageal cancer her doctors discovered earlier this year. She was 73. Full Story
Rep. Gene Seaman and his wife have houses in Austin and Corpus and have homestead and elderly tax exemptions on both of them. Rep. Rob Eissler pays rent from campaign funds for a condo in Austin he purchased years before he became a legislator to house his sons while they were students at the University of Texas. Sen. Kim Brimer and Rep. Vicki Truitt each use campaign funds to rent Austin living spaces from their spouses. Full Story
This is your last weekend to watch television without sorting through shouting, finger-pointing, and showboating from politicians. Full Story
Though their agency went through the "exercise" of writing a shrunken budget, the board at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department is unanimously backing an $84 million annual increase in state funding. Full Story
Ethics police are baking up a list of things they want changed or clarified by the Texas Legislature next year, and in the meantime, it has become dangerous for lobbyists to split the tab on officeholder meals and gifts. Full Story
A huge tax refund to Texas Instruments has rekindled questions about the conflicts that arise when tax consultants make political contributions to the tax collectors who decide their cases. Full Story
A state sales tax refund to "a large direct pay taxpayer" will cost the City of Stafford over $2.5 million — a stunning bit of news for a municipality with an annual budget of about $20 million. Full Story
Political hacks all over the state are huddling over computers loaded with mapping software, finishing their federal court filings on congressional redistricting. Full Story
Tom DeLay can't get off the ballot. Full Story
Texas and other states can redraw their political maps when they want to, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, but they can't dilute the strength of minority voters just to protect an incumbent those voters oppose. Full Story
Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn both got enough valid signatures to get onto the gubernatorial ballot in November. Full Story
He's still mostly ignoring Kinky Friedman, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell has trained his sights on Republican-turned-independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, emphasizing what she's got in common with incumbent Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story