The Tribune has posted more than 70 campaign spots in the ‘Ads Infinitum’ blog. Use this interactive to filter them by political party, candidate and election type, and click the ads’ title to watch it and read a transcript.
Matt Stiles
Matt Stiles covered government and politics for the Tribune, with a focus on data journalism, from 2009 to 2011. He oversaw and developed the Tribune’s library of web applications and interactive graphics. Previously, he was a government reporter at the Houston Chronicle. While there, he won the newspaper’s Jesse Award for service journalism and beat reporting and was its reporter of the year in 2007. Before joining the Chronicle, Stiles worked as a reporter for nearly four years at The Dallas Morning News.
Interactive: 30-Day Campaign Finance Reports
On October 4, candidates in Texas political races filed reports itemizing how they financed their campaigns from July 1 to Sept. 23. The data show each candidate’s totals for fundraising, spending, loans and, perhaps most important, cash left to spend.
2010: More on Perry, White Fundraising
The major party gubernatorial candidates’ 30-day campaign reports are now available online, offering political observers more detail about their fundraising from July 1 to Sept. 23.
2010: Perry Has $10 Million on Hand
Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign reported today raising more than $8 million since July 1, eclipsing his Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White, by about $3 million.
Interactive: Concealed Handgun Licenses By County
The Tribune analyzed Texas Department of Public Safety data on concealed handgun license issuance during 2009, creating thematic maps that show a county-by-county breakdown of the total number of licenses issued and the per-capita rate. The latter figure is a more accurate measure for the proportion of residents who received licenses. Darker colors represent higher totals and rates.
Crime, Guns and Money
When the state’s concealed handgun statute was approved 15 years ago, lawmakers argued it would help citizens defend themselves — but residents of low-income, largely Democratic nieghborhoods aren’t applying for gun permits as often as those in wealthier, more-conservative areas, according to a Texas Tribune/San Antonio Express-News analysis.
An Obama Gun Rush?
In the two years since Barack Obama was elected president, many Texas gun owners — afraid of losing their Second Amendment rights — have stocked up on weapons and ammo. Texans have also sought a record number of concealed handgun licenses. Coincidence?
A Place to Shoot
In a pattern that’s playing out in San Antonio and other major metro areas in Texas, residents in low-income neighborhoods aren’t taking advantage of the state’s concealed-carry law as often as residents living in wealthier, more conservative areas.
Ads Infinitum: DGA’s “Cracks”
The Democratic Governors Association is running commercials critical of Gov. Rick Perry.
Search: Texas Prison Inmates, Units
Find records on each of the more than 160,000 inmates in Texas prisons, including their names, crimes, hometowns, height, weight and gender, the counties in which they were convicted and their sentencing dates.


