The Ouija Board
Uncertainties over the presidential race, Hurricane Ike's after-effects, and the rapidly changing economic news have political people on both sides of the aisle looking at bloated lists of hot races in the Texas House. Full Story
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Yet Another Sign
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told her colleagues in the Senate that she won't be seeking reelection to her Senate leadership job, and on a little (but not much) more private level, she's telling colleagues she'll soon form an "exploratory" committee to start raising money and gathering intelligence in anticipation of a 2010 run for governor. Full Story
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Putting It Back Together Again
The state's politicians are forced to regroup four weeks before voting begins. Full Story
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From Katrina to Ike
They say good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. Full Story
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Dream Sequence
If your campaign plan depends on something that has never happened before, you're a long shot. Full Story
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Sparking the Speaker's Race
The law limiting speech and political contributions in races for Speaker of the Texas House is, in part, unconstitutional, according to a federal judge in Austin. Full Story
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A Nice Inheritance
Kyle Janek isn't in a political race this year, but his money will be. The Houston Republican resigned from the state Senate in mid-term and the special election to replace him is underway. Full Story
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A Different View of the Primaries
In seven of the state's 31 Senate districts, more people voted in this year's Democratic primary than voted in the 2006 general election. Full Story
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Point Shaving
Texas Democrats have been recruiting Libertarian candidates into state races for years. The conventional view is that a Libertarian takes more from a Republican than from a Democrat. In a close race, that can make all the difference. Full Story
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Money and Time
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, raised $1.7 million during the three months ending June 30 and got to the mid-year mark with $9.3 million in the campaign account. Full Story
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Trial Heat
Texas Democrats are doing a tag-team routine on Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, excoriating him for filing a lawsuit to knock Wendy Davis off the ballot and asking the courts to rule against him — and quickly. The courts have answered that request; they set a hearing for July 22. Full Story
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Winning and Losing, Simultaneously
High gas prices cost the state money, but pump a huge windfall into the treasury, too. Full Story
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Unhappy Campers
Residents of the Lone Star State aren't happy about the way things are going, with 70 percent saying the country's on the wrong track and 78 percent saying the country is worse off economically than it was a year ago. Full Story
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Rumors of Mice
Suppose you are a Republican and you're on the ballot and the party's presidential candidate wasn't your first choice and the guy on the Democratic side of the presidential ticket has exhibited a knack for turning out voters and getting people on the Internet to send money. Full Story
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What's That?
We kept hearing a question at the state Democratic convention that we haven't heard at Texas Democratic gatherings in a while: Do you think it's turning? Full Story
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Texas Democrats Look for a Turnaround
Boyd Richie might get his wish. The head of the Texas Democratic Party has been hoping to start his state convention with a little love at the top of the ticket. Full Story
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Tricky Recipe
There's one week to go 'til the state convention for the Democrats and some counties are still ironing out what they see as kinks in their delegate selection. The Texas Democrats haven't been so divided about their candidates in decades, so the selection process is about as competitive as the presidential race itself. Full Story
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Ghosts and Other Scary Stuff
Travis County prosecutors have issued subpoenas in their investigation of the so-called Ghost Worker case. The primary House committee investigating that affair has, as a result, pulled up (a second committee hasn't changed course, but could). And the piles of Open Information Requests from politicians, partisans and the press should start yielding some results in the next week or so. Full Story
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Surprised?
By now, Texas businesses were supposed to have already filed returns and written checks for the newish business margins tax. They got a one-month reprieve from Comptroller Susan Combs, who decided the level of confusion was high enough to give everyone another month to calculate and pay up. Full Story
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Something for Nothing
It's the kind of Special Deals for Politicians saga that can taint the whole institution: Texas lawmakers are accused of lying about their employees to obtain benefits to which those workers would not otherwise be entitled. Full Story