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.
Kayla Guo
Kayla Guo covers state politics and government. Before joining the Tribune, she covered Congress for The New York Times as a reporting fellow based in Washington, D.C. Kayla has also covered transportation policy for Politico and local news for The Raleigh News & Observer, and she was a part-time digital producer for The Boston Globe. She graduated from Brown University, where she studied public policy and served as editor-in-chief and president of the independent student newspaper. She was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She is based in Austin.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Here are the megadonors and dark money groups boosting James Talarico’s anti-billionaire Senate bid
As the Austin Democrat campaigns against big money in politics, he is being supported by a super PAC bankrolled by several billionaires, as well as nonprofits that do not have to disclose their funders.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Cornyn and Paxton bury each other in negative ads as Senate GOP runoff enters final stretch
The incumbent senator and his allies have massively outspent the pro-Paxton side, though polling points to a tight finish in the May 26 election.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Barack Obama appears with James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa at Austin restaurant
The former president greeted patrons while stopping for tacos near the University of Texas at Austin campus — a notable show of support for the Democrats atop the ticket this fall.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
With Trump and Talarico aligned on a gas tax holiday, Cornyn gets on board
James Talarico, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, has pushed to suspend the federal gas tax amid soaring fuel costs. Cornyn previously opposed the idea.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Texas’ 9th Congressional District GOP runoff: Who is running and what to know
Army veteran Alex Mealer and state Rep. Briscoe Cain are facing off for the Republican nomination in the newly drawn 9th District, anchored in east Harris County.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Talarico leads both Cornyn, Paxton in new polls of Texas’ U.S. Senate race
The Austin Democrat, who won his party’s nomination in March, led Cornyn and Paxton in two successive polls, though he did not crack 50%.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Texas Republican candidate suspended by Kalshi for betting on his own election
Zeke Enriquez, who ran in the GOP primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional District, was fined and barred from the prediction market platform for five years. Two candidates in other states were suspended for the same offense.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
James Talarico calls for federal gas tax pause to combat surging fuel prices
A trade group argued that a federal gas tax suspension would be unlikely to show up in savings for drivers and would diminish needed infrastructure revenue.
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Politics
Speaker Dustin Burrows asks Texas House to investigate Roblox in response to game simulating Uvalde shooting
Burrows added the charge to his list of interim priorities, instructing lawmakers to study ways to strengthen child protections on gaming platforms like Roblox.