Gov. Greg Abbott is required to appoint a secretary of state “without delay.” It has been 63 days since the last one left.
Former Secretary of State David Whitley resigned after a botched review of the voter rolls. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/28/TXTrib-EarlyVote-CCR005.jpg)
-
![Vote signs outside early voting locations in Austin on Feb. 23, 2014.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
GOP opposition to Colin Allred starts to take shape after he turned a Dallas-area U.S. House seat blue
A former Navy SEAL entered the primary against Allred on Monday, and more announcements are expected before the end of summer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cf8520ed2e0ec32c9f7709971d665936/Colin_Allred_wins_N_Texas_LBS_TT.jpg)
![Democrat Collin Allred takes the stage after defeating Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions in the 2018 midterms, in Dallas on Nov. 6, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Despite its record, Texas can remake its political maps without a federal permission slip
After multiple court findings that Texas intentionally discriminated in drawing political maps and writing election laws, a panel of federal judges says the state won't be subjected to federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Redistrict_by_Students_1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Texas might spend up to $20 billion to protect Houston from hurricanes. Rice University says it can do it for a fraction of that.
A government plan to guard the Houston-Galveston region from deadly storm surges isn't expected to become reality for at least 15 years. Rice University says it has a plan that could be completed faster for a fraction of the cost. Full Story
Credit: Connie Hanzhang Jin -
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as national intelligence director
President Donald Trump is said to have been pleased by the Texas Republican's admonishment of former special counsel Robert Mueller in last week's House Judiciary Committee hearing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1935d9589162d1bca908d77deb17785d/John%20RatcliffeREUTERS%20TT.jpg)
![U.S. Rep John Ratcliffe, R-Heath, questions former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on the Office of Special Counsel's investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on July 24, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Leah Millis -
Facing accusation of targeting GOP lawmakers, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen pushes back
"I look forward to vigorously campaigning and supporting every one of you in both the upcoming primary and general elections," House Speaker Dennis Bonnen told his colleagues. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a4d40513bab692d98aee434bc4361132/09_Dennis_Bonnen_EW.jpg)
![Speaker Dennis Bonnen in the House Chamber on March 27, 2019, the day the House will take up HB1, the 2020-21 budget plan.8]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Donald Trump Jr. visits private border wall amid immigration crisis, Mueller aftermath
Trump was among the special guests at what organizers dubbed the Symposium at the Wall, organized by the group that raised millions to build a border barrier on private land. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/40fb32ff8b5a70497a6ec359912fe1d4/Trump%20Jr%20at%20private%20border%20wall%20JA%20TT.jpg)
![Donald Trump Jr. at the We Build the Wall Symposium n Sunland Park, New Mexico on Friday July 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Julián Aguilar/The Texas Tribune -
Trump says he has agreement with Guatemala to help stem flow of migrants at the border
The announcement comes just days after Trump threatened retaliation against Guatemala as discussions stalled over designating the Central American nation as a country where migrants on their journey to the United States would be directed to first seek asylum. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c6df92c1c6f729fd2c12c804b33605da/02_Trump_immigration_remarks_REUTERS_TT.jpg)
![President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the humanitarian crisis on the Southern border and the shutdown at the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas -
In a Mexican border city, Trump’s plan to discourage migrants appears to be working as some give up on asylum
The controversial "remain in Mexico" plan is becoming one of the Trump administration’s most successful strategies for keeping migrants from gaining entry into the U.S. Just ask the migrants released into cartel-weary Nuevo Laredo this week. Many are headed home. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/028d83b16b70b86e885ccb12da7082da/07%20Bridge%20Nuevo%20Laredo%20MPP%20TT.jpg)
![A group of migrants walk across International Bridge Two into Mexico from the United States. The group requested asylum in the United States, but were returned to Mexico to await their court proceedings. July 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Watch: In a Mexican border city, some migrants give up on asylum
In Nuevo Laredo, dozens of migrants decided that waiting in Mexico for an asylum hearing that could be months away was too much. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/60c6ddf5f3807e2802a8ed29c5f47b0e/08%20Bridge%20Nuevo%20Laredo%20MPP%20TT.jpg)
![Two migrants sit on a bench at the Casa del Migrante Amar shelter in Nuevo Laredo on July 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Jen O'Malley Dillon is a star Democratic operative. Can she save Beto O'Rourke's candidacy?
O'Malley Dillon is building a conventional campaign around an unconventional candidate, and some Democrats say she's O'Rourke's best hope. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9d77e482a07036e79931cb6e2a1309a2/Jen%20OMalley%20Dillon%20TT.jpg)
![Political strategist and former Obama operative Jen O'Malley Dillon is Beto O'Rourke's campaign manager.]()
Credit: Social media -
Analysis: House Speaker Bonnen accused of conspiring against fellow Republicans in 2020
A political activist accused Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen of trying to undermine the campaigns of 10 members of his own party, an allegation that — true or not — could ruin the goodwill Bonnen built up in a successful legislative session earlier this year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6f9dc933699fa001171c1eff1ada0d56/Dennis%20Bonnen%20Sine%20Die%20Weekend%20MKC%20TT.jpg)
![Speaker Dennis Bonnen during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony on May 25, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Pete Olson announces he won't seek reelection
The Republican from Sugar Land was first elected in 2008. His seat is being targeted by national Democrats. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/06/20/Pete_Olson_CQ_TT.jpg)
![U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, at the House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting to organize for the 115th Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017.]()
Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call -
In restarting the federal death penalty, AG William Barr looks to Texas
The federal death penalty hasn't been carried out since 2003. Now the U.S. attorney general wants to adopt the method used in Texas executions to put five men to death. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/09/DeathChamber-Texas.jpg)
![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Many Texans’ votes are lost when they go to the wrong polling place. Counties see countywide vote centers as an answer.
The 2020 election could mark the first time the state's five largest counties allow residents to vote at any polling place instead of limiting them to precinct-based sites on Election Day. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/06/27/EARLYVOTING3444.jpg)
![Voters line up at an early voting station in Houston on Oct. 24, 2016. Poll workers said the lines were much longer than normal for early voting.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats settle in for crowded U.S. Senate primary to decide who challenges Cornyn
Since state Sen. Royce West and Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards joined the race, it's clear the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate isn't going to be a quick and easy one. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5b2f7364b1dce1706f8545c1d663d773/03%20Royce%20West%20LBS.jpg)
![State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, announces he's running for the U.S. Senate against John Cornyn, in Dallas on July 22, 2019.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Chip Roy helped Ted Cruz agitate in the U.S. Senate. Now he has brought those tactics to the House.
Roy, a Republican from Austin who previously served as Cruz's chief of staff, has employed a kind of procedural troublemaking to frustrate Democrats — and some Republicans — in Congress. Full Story
Credit: Leigh Vogel for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge in California halts Trump’s latest asylum ban
The judge said that Congress' laws should not be overridden by "executive fiat." But the decision came hours after another federal judge declined to halt the policy, setting up a potential race to appellate courts over the matter. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d3a3985cbb697b34a25d48c1d7ff51e2/Migrants_Bridge_Asylum_RL_TT.jpg)
![Asylum seekers from Central and South America wait on the Mexican side of the Brownsville/Gateway Bridge.]()
Credit: Reynaldo Leal for The Texas Tribune -
Trump proposal could end food stamp benefits for 125,000 Texans, experts say
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it was proposing a new requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The rule, which limits states' flexibility to set eligibility standards, could cut off thousands of Texans. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/82c29fb09fff896077fccf33af927bb2/SNAP%20CR%20TT.jpg)
![Volunteers from neighboring small towns divide, box-up, and load their trucks with food from the Amarillo-based High Plains Food Bank for monthly delivery to Quitaque on June 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Wendy Davis makes it official
On this week’s TribCast, Emily talks to Edgar, Jolie, Abby and Kiah about about Wendy Davis’ entrance into a Central Texas congressional race, the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program, what the Texas coast can learn from the Dutch and how the legalization of hemp is confusing pot prosecutions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2bdf9f24cb1743671dcdeb3664a07911/TribCast%207_24_19%20MG%20TT.jpg)
![Former State Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has announced she's running against U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d215843ff16e13ee32f31cab8215fa71/Galveston%20Bay%20Park%20Plan%20Map%20v6)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/248dff3569f069952fdc5ef60972469a/.badroy%206)