Texas gained two new seats in Congress based on population growth fueled by people of color. But the Senate’s proposal provides no new majority-Black or majority-Hispanic districts to reflect that growth.
James Barragán
James Barragán was a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and previously had stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a 2023-24 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas
Senate approves map cementing GOP dominance in upper chamber, dividing up Tarrant county’s voters of color
Democrats criticized Republicans for “targeting” a North Texas district that had been trending Democratic and for not drawing any new districts where people of color would represent a majority of eligible voters.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas
Historically red Tarrant County diversified in the last decade. Now Republicans are trying to divide up its voters of color.
Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said the maps were drawn “race-blind.” But Democratic Sen. Beverly Powell, whose district would be turned into a majority-Republican district, said they’re an attempt to deny voters of color their voice in elections.
Posted in
Courts
How much Texas gets from multistate, $26 billion opioid settlement hinges on how many local governments sign on
The state and its political subdivisions could get up to $1.5 billion from the settlement. But some local governments are considering pursuing their own lawsuits against drug makers and distributors.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Matthew Dowd, former George W. Bush strategist, to run as Democrat for Texas lieutenant governor
Dowd said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has focused on “culture war” issues to divide and hurt Texans.
Posted in
Politics
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick blast state bar investigation into Ken Paxton as “politically motivated”
The Texas attorney general is being investigated for professional misconduct for his filing of a lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential elections in battleground states. Fellow Republicans say the probe encroaches on Paxton’s executive branch authority.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Despite his victory in Texas and no credible evidence of widespread fraud, Donald Trump calls for election audit legislation
There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and the Texas secretary of state who oversaw the 2020 election and was appointed by the Republican governor declared the election “smooth and secure.”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas appellate justices appear skeptical of Attorney General Ken Paxton defense that he’s exempt from state’s whistleblower law
Paxton’s attorneys argued to a panel of Texas 3rd Court of Appeals justices on Wednesday that a lawsuit from former deputies should be thrown out. The ex-employees claim they were fired after reporting Paxton to law enforcement.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott adds property tax relief, bail to special session agenda
Abbott has faced pressure from his right to prioritize property tax relief. One of his challengers in the Republican primary has slammed him for not including it earlier in the agenda, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it his top priority this session.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Bill tripling Texas’ border security budget and allocating $750 million to wall construction becomes law
Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas was stepping up to do the federal government’s job after Biden’s immigration policies had “opened the floodgates” to illegal immigration and crime.
