Four of the seven Texas attorneys general since 1972 have gone on to higher office, one stalled and one went to prison. Ken Paxton, the current AG, is in a situation now that could determine which way his career will go.
Ross Ramsey
Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: Greg Abbott’s latest retreat comes at the expense of Texas voters
Given the opportunity to make it easier to vote in Texas’ 2020 general election, to leave the election process alone or to make it harder to vote, the governor chose the third option.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: The confounding commotion around voting in Texas
Voting and election cases are piled up in the courts in Texas, and the days between now and Nov. 3 are growing short. Some of the rules could change while we’re voting. But vote anyhow.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Unlike the 2018 election in Texas, 2020’s top races won’t set spending records
Two years ago in Texas, interest and election turnout were juiced by a $125 million race for U.S. Senate. This year’s ballot is topped by an extraordinary race for president, but the political spending at the top won’t match 2018.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Keep calm and vote on
Political people in high places are sowing doubt about voting and elections, making our 200-year-old system seem fraught with problems and even crime. Vote anyway.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: Coronavirus splits Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his own party
Voting in the 2020 general election starts in Texas in less than three weeks. But the governor’s responses to the coronavirus have strained Republican unity.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: The 2020 election and Texas’ incremental blues
Democrats have their eyes on winning back the Texas House majority they lost in 2002. That wouldn’t give them the power to pass legislation, but it would give them the power to stop legislation they don’t like.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: COVID-19’s almost incomprehensible toll in Texas
We’ve lost a lot of Texans already and will surely lose more to the coronavirus. Doesn’t it seem like there should at least be a moment of silence?
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: Texas reopenings tied more to COVID-19 severity than to spread
Leaving behind their focus on the spread of the coronavirus, Texas leaders now say hospitalizations will guide their decisions on how to regulate social distancing at businesses and cultural centers.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: It’s hard to make good pandemic policy if the Texas data is fuzzy
The state’s public health experts are changing their calculation of one of the governor’s go-to measures of the spread of coronavirus. It’s an improvement, but the new version has some bugs of its own.
