The contest has served as a bellwether in the Texas GOP’s warring factions.
Patrick Svitek
Patrick Svitek was the primary political correspondent for The Texas Tribune. Patrick covered elections, state leaders, the Legislature and political trends across the state from 2015 until 2024. He previously worked for the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau. Patrick graduated in 2014 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
Texas Republicans who defied Gov. Greg Abbott on school vouchers face mounting primary attacks
As promised, the governor is going after members of his own party after some of them tanked his top legislative priority.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Texas Supreme Court pauses depositions in Paxton whistleblower case
The ruling by the all-Republican court came after former President Donald Trump told justices to leave Paxton alone.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
Texas GOP increasingly considers push to close its primaries
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has talked openly about targeting states like Texas that have open primaries to get a boost over Trump.
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Politics
Democrats Colin Allred, Roland Gutierrez show contrasts during U.S. Senate primary debate
During potentially their only primary debate, Gutierrez suggested Allred was pandering to Republicans, while Allred defended his bipartisanship as necessary to winning in GOP-dominated Texas.
Posted in
Politics
Texas GOP vice chair challenges Matt Rinaldi for party leadership
Dana Myers has been critical of the party’s ties to Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a hard-right group that’s been tied to white supremacists.
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2024 Texas Elections
Colin Allred looks to protect advantages in crowded race to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who is trailing Allred in money and polls, is positioning himself as the chief progressive in the race.
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Politics
Republican senator who voted to acquit Paxton wants Senate to consider reopening impeachment proceedings
The bombshell request by retiring state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, comes after Paxton decided to stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit whose claims factored into his impeachment trial.
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Politics
Texas high court won’t force Collin County to pay prosecutors in Paxton securities fraud case
Paxton’s securities fraud trial has been delayed for years by a number of pretrial disputes, including how much the special prosecutors should be paid.
Posted in
2024 Texas Elections
After Fuentes scandal, Texas billionaires fund new PAC to support conservative candidates
In the wake of a scandal tying them to white supremacists, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks started a new PAC to support far-right candidates