Trey Martinez Fischer and José Menéndez will once again battle over Texas Senate District 26 — a rematch of their special election runoff earlier this year, when the latter prevailed.
Morgan Smith
Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality.
In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for “Death of a District,” a series on school closures. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College, she moved to Austin in 2008 to enter law school at the University of Texas.
A San Antonio native, her work has also appeared in Slate, where she spent a year as an editorial intern in Washington D.C.
Posted in
Politics
Cruz Surges To First Place In New Iowa Poll
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has edged closer to cementing his frontrunner status in the crucial early state of Iowa after claiming the top spot in a new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll.
Posted in
Politics
Slideshow: Photographer Captures Texas’ Democratic Days
While photographer Scott Newton is best known for his iconic images of rock stars, he made a living photographing Texas politicians for three decades.
Posted in
Public Education
Who Will Abbott Choose as the Next Texas Education Chief?
A look at who might be among Gov. Greg Abbott’s choices as he ponders the possibilities to fill the post Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael Williams will leave in January.
Posted in
Politics
In Filing, Prosecutors Say Paxton is Engaged in “Pre-Trial Shell Game”
In a 19-page court filing, the special prosecutors pursuing the financial securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton delivered a scathing response to Paxton’s latest efforts to dismiss his three felony charges.
Posted in
Demographics
Abbott: No State Grants for Sheriffs who Don’t Work with ICE
If Texas sheriffs do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities, they will face losing state grant money, Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday.
Posted in
Demographics
Local Battles Brewing Over Sanctuary Cities
Local officials find themselves at ground zero of the immigration debate as battles over “sanctuary cities,” a loose term for cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, brew in a handful of Texas counties.
Posted inState Government
Konni Burton-Organized SD-24 Forum Draws Three Candidates
The forum, which had drawn opposition from the local county GOP, touched on topics like same-sex marriage, red light cameras, school choice and border security.
Posted in
Politics
Straus Defends Conservative Record of House
Critics of his leadership should look at the conservative record of the Texas House under three terms of his speakership, Joe Straus told an audience at the Texas Tribune Festival Saturday.
Posted in
Politics
At Baptist Church, Paxton Repeats Call for Christians in Politics
Urging Christians to “be bold” in standing up for religious freedom, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton touted his work as the state’s top lawyer on Tuesday, championing causes dear to social conservatives at a Baptist church.
