House Speaker Dade Phelan has stuck to the tradition of appointing chairs from the opposing party, drawing fierce pushback from the GOP’s right wing.
Jasper Scherer
Jasper Scherer is the politics editor for The Texas Tribune. He oversees a team of reporters in Austin and Washington who lead the newsroom’s coverage of campaigns and elections, watchdog Texas' top officials, and translate what the state’s political and legislative developments mean for Texans. Jasper previously reported on politics for the Tribune, which he joined after stints covering politics and government at the state and local levels for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. A native of San Francisco, Jasper graduated from Northwestern University with degrees in journalism and political science in 2017, the same year he began covering Texas politics. He is based in Austin.
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2024 Texas Elections
State Rep. Shelby Slawson says she’s running for House speaker in letter condemning Phelan
The announcement came two days after Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, narrowly survived a runoff challenge from the GOP’s hard right.
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2024 Texas Elections
Texas runoff yields no clear winner among GOP’s warring factions, setting stage for power struggle
Neither of the Texas GOP’s dueling factions landed a clean knockout blow during a grueling primary season that only seemed to set up further chaos and strife.
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2024 Texas Elections
Lauren Ashley Simmons declares victory over Texas Rep. Shawn Thierry, who broke with Democrats on LGBTQ+ votes
The Simmons-Thierry contest emerged as a test of whether Democratic lawmakers who do not fully support LGBTQ+ causes can remain in good standing with their own party’s voters.
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2024 Texas Elections
Texas House runoffs bring wave of GOP incumbent defeats, give Abbott votes for school vouchers
Six of eight GOP incumbents lost their races. Gov. Greg Abbott declared he “now has enough votes to pass school choice.”
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2024 Texas Elections
It’s primary runoff election day in Texas. Here’s what we’re watching.
Texans are heading to the polls Tuesday to make their final selections for which Democrats and Republicans will run for various seats in the November election.
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2024 Texas Elections
Dade Phelan, House incumbents receive major fundraising boost from casino magnate
Incumbents saw key support from the business community, while hardline conservatives like Tim Dunn also spent heavily.
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2024 Texas Elections
Texas’ Republican old guard mobilizes to protect Dade Phelan from the far right
Phelan’s primary has emerged as a last stand for the Republican Party’s business-minded establishment against an insurgency primarily motivated by social and cultural issues.
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2024 Texas Elections
Donald Trump says he’d consider Ken Paxton for U.S. attorney general
Trump told a reporter in Texas this weekend that Paxton is “a very talented guy.”
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2024 Texas Elections
Heat intensifies around Houston Democrat Shawn Thierry ahead of bitter runoff
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who previously served in the Texas House with Thierry, spoke at a campaign event where she condemned her former colleague.