With all precincts reporting, State Board of Education incumbent Don McLeroy has lost to challenger Thomas Ratliff in the race for District 9 by a razor thin margin — less than 1,000 votes.
Abby Rapoport
Abby Rapoport was a reporter at the Tribune in 2009-10. She served as a writing fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, in Washington, D.C. before coming to Austin. She covered the 2009 legislative session for Texas Monthly under the tutelage of Paul Burka, the magazine’s senior executive. Previously, she blogged for Glamour Magazine and interned at Lapham’s Quarterly. A native of Williamsburg, Virginia, she has a degree in history from Grinnell College.
Posted in
Politics
In Closing: Debra Medina
“We’ll do a runoff if we have to,” she said Saturday. “I’d like to secure it outright.” She paused and smiled. “It will be the upset of the century if that happens.”
Posted inState Government
In Closing: The Big Five
Whether or not the outcome of tomorrow’s gubernatorial primary is conclusive — whether or not we have a runoff six weeks hence — we can say this with certainty: One of the five main candidates on the ballot will be the next governor of Texas. And this: 40 hours from now, we’ll know much more about the state’s coming political landscape than we do today. While we bide our time and wait for results, we present these final snapshots of the campaigns as they wound down.
Posted in
Transportation
TribBlog: Acceptable Road Conditions
The North Texas Tollway Authority board just accepted the Transportation Commission’s deal for building State Highway 161 by a vote of eight to one. The state commissioners offered the deal on Wednesday that allows NTTA to effectively borrow TXDOT’s credit rating in making deals.
Posted in
Transportation
Road Conditions
Sensible people in the Metroplex may have given up long ago on Southwest Parkway and State Highway 161, two huge projects first proposed back in the 1960s. Now they’re toll roads — one incomplete, one not yet started — and the money to build them may finally be available. There is, of course, a catch.
Posted in
Politics
Primary Color: HD-7
Is this the year that independent-minded state Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, finally gets his comeuppance from conservatives?
Posted in
State Government
Primary Color: Five to Watch
In honor of today’s kickoff of early voting — a two-week period in which political junkies, committed activists and other go-to-the-head-of-the-class types will line up to cast ballots for their favorite candidates, unable to contain their enthusiasm or anger until March 2 — we present five different installments in our Primary Color series. Brandi Grissom reports on the GOP face-off to take on state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, in House District 78. Elise Hu tackles the four-way scrum between Republicans in HD-20 hoping to succeed retiring state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown. Ross Ramsey asks why a perenially safe incumbent, state Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, has a fight on her hands this year in HD-98. Abby Rapoport looks at the battle for conservative cred in the race for the District 5 seat on the State Board of Education. And Morgan Smith picks apart the five-way race for the GOP nomination in Congressional District 23 — and the chance to topple U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.
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Politics
Primary Color: SBOE District 5
Forget about Don McLeroy vs. Thomas Ratliff. The most interesting fight for a State Board of Education seat may be in San Antonio, where well-funded lawyer-lobbyist Tim Tuggey is challenging incumbent Ken Mercer — and the big question being asked is, ‘How conservative is conservative enough?’
Posted inState Government
A Day with Debra Medina
I had wanted to shadow the phenom gubernatorial candidate on the trail since before the first GOP debate, and her handlers told me I could do it on February 11. Little did I know, little did they know, that Glenn Beck’s questions about 9/11 “truthers” would turn her campaign upside-down right before my eyes.
