Two congressional districts are part of a Texas redistricting case the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Tuesday. Here’s a detailed look at what’s at issue in one of them: the 27th Congressional District.
Chris Essig
Chris Essig is the data visuals editor at The Texas Tribune. Based in Austin, he leads a team of developers who build charts, maintain public databases and analyze data to help reporters hold elected officials accountable. Chris has been a newsroom developer for 10 years and has worked in several local newsrooms. As a native of the Midwest, Chris received his journalism degree from Eastern Illinois University and spent six years in Iowa working at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids and at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Waterloo.
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Lock the Vote
How a fluke win diminished the political clout of Hispanic voters in this Texas congressional district
Last year, federal judges ruled that when Texas lawmakers redrew the 27th Congressional District in 2011, they did so in a way that diminished the political clout of Hispanic voters. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in a redistricting case that includes CD-27, take a closer look at what’s at issue in the district.
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Graphics and data reporting
Ahead of 2020 census, Texans are becoming even harder to count
Local officials, demographers and advocates are worried the census could be particularly tough to carry out in Texas in 2020. They are bracing for challenges both practical and political that could make the state, which is already hard to count, even tougher to enumerate.
Posted inPolitics
Here’s who’s running for Texas House Speaker and who may soon join the race
The Texas House is in the midst of a months-long scramble for control. Here’s an updated look at who is running to lead the chamber after Speaker Joe Straus steps down in January as well as who may soon throw their hats in the ring.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Here’s a look at who’s interested in replacing Straus as House speaker
Despite all the focus on November, many in Texas politics are keeping a close eye on January. That’s when the 150-member Texas House will pick its new House speaker.
Posted in
Dangerous Deliveries
Dangerous deliveries: Are Texas lawmakers doing enough to reduce maternal deaths?
After a months-long investigation, the Tribune found that the state’s data on maternal mortality is a moving target, that the number of women dying during or after pregnancy is still rising and that the state has missed opportunities to improve women’s health programs.
Posted inCongress, Demographics
Puzzling shapes: Travel across one gerrymandered Texas congressional district
Revisit our animated tour of Texas Congressional District 35, which wiggles its way from Austin to San Antonio, swallowing specific neighborhoods while avoiding — or splitting — others, all in the name of partisan political advantage.
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Congress
Congress just sent a massive tax cut bill to Trump. Here’s how Texans voted.
The U.S. House and Senate voted for a major overhaul of the American tax code on Tuesday and Wednesday, sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk. Here’s how all 38 Texans in Congress voted on the bill.
Posted inState Government
Data for University of Texas employees updated in Salaries Explorer
We’ve updated compensation data for employees of the University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center in our Government Salaries Explorer. This update reflects state agency payrolls for 2017.
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Congress
We asked every Texan in Congress about banning “bump stocks” used by Vegas shooter
The Texas Tribune asked all 38 members of the state’s congressional delegation whether they would consider a ban on “bump stocks,” the type of gun attachment used by the Las Vegas mass shooter.
