The 2016 Facebook post said, “Better to be a Mexican, than to be a citizen of a country that elects Trump as President.”
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
State Government
State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, who announced last year he would not seek reelection, to step down early
The Brownsville Democrat said his resignation will be effective Jan. 31. That sets up a potential special election to finish his term, though whoever wins would only serve for a short time.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Beto O’Rourke announces $7.2 million in fundraising in first 46 days of campaign; Greg Abbott touts $18.9 million over last six months
The latest fundraising figures in the governor’s race confirm what’s long been seen as the state of play: O’Rourke is a strong fundraiser, but Abbott, with over $65 million saved up, is on another level.
Posted in
Politics
Court reverses rebuke against state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt for wearing “pussyhat,” mocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s disability
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct had admonished Eckhardt in 2020 for her actions as Travis County judge.
Posted in
Operation Lone Star
Gov. Greg Abbott says critics are “playing politics” over Texas National Guard suicides
Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.”
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
COVID-19 kept Texas Democrats off the campaign trail in 2020. Not this time.
In 2020, Democrats took their campaign efforts virtual. But they later admitted that the lack of in-person campaigning hurt them at the polls.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Watch: The Abbott vs. O’Rourke battle begins
The two-term Republican governor likely faces off against a Democratic challenger. Watch as we go behind the scenes.
Posted in
Politics
Abbott, O’Rourke lead off election year with visits to border cities
The Republican governor officially announced his reelection campaign Saturday in McAllen, while likely Democratic opponent Beto O’Rourke campaigned in El Paso.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Shelley Luther, anti-lockdown activist and GOP candidate, said Chinese students should be banned from Texas universities
Luther became nationally known at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 when she refused to shut down her Dallas salon in defiance of emergency orders. She was sentenced to a week in jail but was released after only a few days.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Gov. Greg Abbott plans 60 reelection campaign stops, fewer than 60 days before the GOP primary
Republicans including former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and former Texas GOP chair Allen West are challenging Abbott for the Republican nomination.
