Democrats forced to rethink their political strategy in Texas, reporters say
A panel of Texas Tribune political journalists discussed the results of the 2024 elections, in which Republicans dominated statewide and local races. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d72e5c2eedc287042e57ade028179b16/11-07_PostElection-Lead-Title_01-v1.png)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
-
How to stay politically engaged in between election cycles
From engaging with representatives to joining advocacy groups, there are numerous ways to continue participating in democracy and shaping policy after the polls close. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/76700b7805c9866dd584cb9fbc4a7e9b/0801%20Irving%20City%20Council%20BT%2018.jpg)
![An Irving City Council meeting on Aug. 01, 2024 in Irving, Texas.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
“Uncharted territory”: Trump’s anti-immigration plans could take center stage in Texas
Texas is positioned better than any state to help Trump carry out his ambitious anti-immigration agenda. But it is also vulnerable to those policies’ impacts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3eb992bd17ace58260df7607cc0231f2/Abbott%20Trump%20Wall%20Visit%20MG%20TT%2009.jpg)
![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference before the border wall in Pharr on June 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Trump’s near sweep of Texas border counties shows a shift to the right for Latino voters
The former president captured 55% of Latino voters in the state, according to exit polls. He also won 14 out of the 18 counties within 20 miles of the border, a number that doubled his 2020 performance in the Latino-majority region. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bfe0d5cdbc335bb65117055c9cd7f51e/20241105-Wissmath-Del-Rio-2660_A.jpg)
![Gabriel Garza, left, augmentee with the sheriff’s office, congratulates, Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, right, after the final vote counts for the night were announced around 10pm at Val Verde County Courthouse on election day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Del Rio, Texas. Martinez was in the lead ahead of his opponent Rogelio “Roger” Hernandez 7,926 votes to 6,033.]()
Credit: Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
Texas Democrats underperformed yet again. Now what?
Tuesday was another electoral blowout in which Democrats underperformed expectations, weakening their case that Texas is a battleground state worthy of investment and attention from the national party. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6f32d66e87ab02683334d91174473138/1105%20Election%20Day%20Permian%20Basin%20EH%20TT%2053.jpg)
![The Ector County Democratic Headquarters on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Republican sweep in Texas also extended to state’s appellate courts
Republican judges won in 25 out of 26 contested races throughout the state in a show of the party’s broader strength up and down Tuesday’s ballot. Full Story
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ highest criminal court orders new trial for death row inmate over judge's alleged antisemitic bias
Randy Halprin was a member of a gang of prisoners known as the “Texas 7” who escaped from custody and killed an Irving police officer in 2000. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/861f594fdb5b79506fdab4413eff625a/Randy%20Halprin%20%20REUTERS%20TT.jpg)
![Randy Halprin, then 23, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees, is led out of the Teller County Courthouse after a extradition hearing in Cripple Creek, Colorado on Jan. 26, 2001.]()
Credit: REUTERS -
Texas Legislature will approve school vouchers and boost public education funds next year, Abbott says
Last year, Abbott refused to give public schools a major raise without passing a voucher program. His tone was more conciliatory after Election Day. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0952819333315205e1bde43fef87fdff/1106%20Abbott%20Voucher%20Victory%20MC%2002.jpg)
![Governor Greg Abbott speaks about school choice during a visit to the Kingdom Life Academy private school on Wednesday November 6, 2024, in Tyler.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Texas voter turnout falls in 2024 election despite record registration numbers
A historic 18.6 million Texans were registered to vote in the 2024 election, and 61% cast ballots, a nearly 6% drop from the 2020 presidential race. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/393b1e32443eda938284c20549f2336b/1105%20Election%20Day%20El%20Paso%20JH%20TT%2025.jpg)
![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election at the Esperanza Acosta Memorial Library. Voters waited in line in upwards of two hours in El Paso, Texas on November 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Adam Hinojosa flips Texas Senate seat, becomes first Republican to represent Rio Grande Valley district since Reconstruction
Hinojosa won the only competitive seat in the Texas Senate this cycle, besting Sen. Morgan LaMantia two years after she narrowly defeated him. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1deab4b83be912b918275aa3bee6b17a/TX%2027%20Rep%20Candidates%20VC%20TT%2043.jpg)
![Adam Hinojosa, Texas Senate District 27 Republican Candidate, after a Futuro RGV candidate forum in Brownsville on Jan. 19, 2022.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriel Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Republicans maintain majority on the Texas State Board of Education
Republicans Tom Maynard, Pam Little, Aaron Kinsey and Brandon Hall prevailed in contested races. Democrat Gustavo Reveles won in the District 1 race. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/379a1ff05c6f5387096d78233dc967ff/SBOE%20MXAM%20Textbooks%2007%20TT.jpg)
![State Board of Education chambers during the SBOE hearing on the controversial Mexican-American studies textbooks in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 13. Scholars who have reviewed Mexican American Heritage have pointed out that the textbook is riddled with factual errors, promotes offensive ethnic stereotypes and disparages Mexican Americans and their contributions to this country.]()
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune -
Following a year of partisan fights, Election Day runs smoothly across Texas
A mostly quiet Election Day in Texas came after a series of pitched partisan battles over how elections should be conducted. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7e3452128606d9985ebd288648b4908b/1105%20VB%20Bryan%20MM%20TT%2017.jpg)
![People wait in line to vote at the Brazos County Election Administrator Office on Election Day in Bryan on Nov. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for Votebeat -
Republican Christi Craddick reelected to Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency
The three-member board oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. The agency has faced criticism over safety concerns linked to fracking, well blowouts and groundwater protection. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/732ddf621213a08ebf6e93950807e1c4/2024%200525%20Texas%20GOP%20Con%20EG%20TT%200001.jpg)
![Christi Craddick, chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, speaks to delegates at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 25, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Paxton’s picks cement Republicans’ hold on Texas’ highest criminal court
Three new faces will join the bench, but the political balance of power will remain the same on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bbe71ba10f29b1bc51d8ff678f5c028b/Texas%20Court%20of%20Criminal%20Appeals%20MG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
These Texans could join or influence a second Trump administration
Donald Trump has built close ties to many Texas Republicans, from judges to elected officials to policy experts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b1db882e330d29e990c9f5591517b9ec/1025%20Trump%20Rally%20LW%20TT%2014.jpg)
![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Million Air in Austin, Texas on Oct. 25, 2024.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Republicans reassert their dominance in Texas
Recent gains made by Democrats in past elections were wiped out, as Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and other Republicans won by wide margins. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0ef1580f22e232aa0d45a67af2b8cd8c/1105%20Cruz%20Election%20Night%20AM%2008.jpg)
![Attendees celebrate poll results during a watch party for Ted Cruz on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in downtown Houston.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Republicans win Tarrant County, moving local government further to the right
Former state Rep. Matt Krause’s win may push the commissioners court even further away from the bipartisanship on which it once prided itself. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5fd3620c8d52174f91fad910b329d0b8/0305%20DFW%20Primary%20ST%20TT%2011.jpg)
![Voters cast their ballots at the Tarrant County College Southeast Campus polling location in Arlington on primary election day, March 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP poised to increase its majorities in the Legislature
Gov. Greg Abbott said the House would have enough Republicans to pass school vouchers next year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8dee21dfee30855ac66462c24b59769d/0529%20Sine%20Die%20EG%20TT%2006.jpg)
![Lawmakers on the House floor during Sine Die of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, at the Capitol in Austin, on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar secures another term as criminal trial looms
The longtime Laredo congressman fended off Republican challenger Jay Furman despite a federal indictment accusing the incumbent of bribery and money laundering. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6458ef8cea14bf466d7a6ea379ddc30f/Clinton%20Vallejo%20Cuellar%20MGO%2005.JPG)
![U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, speaks at a GOTV rally with former President Bill Clinton for Democratic congressional candidate Michelle Vallejo in Edinburg on Nov. 7, 2022]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Three Republicans keep their seats on Texas Supreme Court, despite efforts from pro-abortion groups
John Devine, Jane Bland and Jimmy Blacklock won their reelection bids over Democrat challengers backed by groups that support expanding abortion access. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/870a3610e491e82a6fa55637e920b8d2/SCOTX%20REUTERS%202024%20TT.jpg)
![All rise as The Supreme Court of Texas prepares to hear oral arguments on Senate Bill 14, a prohibition on gender affirming care for transgender youth, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024.]()
Credit: Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7ad63be0efae0b1d8ef2f7533a7e8c23/Texas%20Senate%20Gavel%20)