Middleton helped fund the Legislature’s swing to the right, and an internecine challenge to Ken Paxton. But that’s nothing next to the money he’s spent on himself.
Eleanor Klibanoff
Eleanor Klibanoff is the law and politics reporter, based in Austin, where she covers the the Texas Legislature, the Office of the Attorney General, state and federal courts and politics writ large. She also co-hosts the weekly politics podcast, TribCast. Eleanor previously spent three years as the Tribune’s women’s health reporter, covering abortion, maternal health and LGBTQ issues. Before coming to Texas, Eleanor worked for the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, where she reported, hosted and produced the Peabody-nominated podcast, “Dig.” Eleanor was born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlanta, and attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Posted in
TribCast
TribCast: Where have all the school kids gone?
Our podcast looks into declining public school enrollment and other impacts of the federal immigration crackdown.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
In GOP attorney general runoff, two hard-right conservatives spar over experience, Trump loyalty
State Sen. Mayes Middleton says Rep. Chip Roy betrayed the MAGA movement, while Roy says Middleton isn’t qualified to work at the attorney general’s office, let alone lead it.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Chip Roy gets $2.75 million infusion from GOP megadonor Alex Fairly in attorney general runoff
Roy is the only candidate who’s “able and prepared to do the job,” Fairly said. Roy’s opponent, Mayes Middleton, has been criticized for his lack of legal experience.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott’s request to remove Democratic Rep. Gene Wu from office over redistricting protest
More than 50 Democrats, including Wu — the House Democratic leader — left the state last August to shut down the Legislature and stall passage of the GOP’s map.
Posted in
Politics
Texas Republicans spent years courting Indian voters. Then came talk of the “Indian takeover.”
A North Texas city has become the epicenter of a collision between the GOP’s efforts to win over Indian American voters and some conservatives’ nativist agenda.
Posted in
TribCast
TribCast: The past and future of the Voting Rights Act in Texas
The Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. What does that mean for Texas?
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Ken Paxton narrowly leads John Cornyn in new poll of Texas’ Senate GOP runoff
The University of Houston survey results were within the margin of error less than a month out from the May 26 election. State Sen. Mayes Middleton had a wider lead in the attorney general primary.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
How the Voting Rights Act reshaped Texas’ electoral maps by empowering voters, candidates of color
The Supreme Court weakened Section 2, the linchpin of the 1965 civil rights legislation that prohibits diluting the electoral power of voters of color. But the statute’s fingerprints can be seen all over Texas’ maps.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
Supreme Court voting rights ruling empowers Texas Republicans to redraw more partisan maps
Texas lawmakers will be able to draw more aggressively partisan maps for the state House, Senate and education board when they return in 2027.
