Texas, unlike all but 11 other states, hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program. And it also hasn’t addressed the problem that’s supposed to help solve: The state’s worst-in-the-nation ranking for people without health insurance.
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.
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Texas Voting Rights
Analysis: When 1 in 8 Texas mail ballots gets trashed, that’s vote suppression
Nearly 23,000 Texans voted in this month’s party primaries and saw their mail ballots rejected by election officials, evidently an aftershock from new state laws that were supposed to make voting easier and more secure.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: A power test for Texas voters
After last winter’s near-statewide electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers went after regulators they deemed responsible but tiptoed around the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas. Now voters have a chance, if they want it, to send the state a message.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: Whatever the campaigns say, the Texas electric grid isn’t fixed yet
After 2021’s winter storm electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers worked to shore up the state’s electric grid. But they’re not finished, despite what you might hear from campaigning politicians.
Posted in
Transgender Texans
Analysis: Texas officials bully transgender kids for political points
Lucky for them, Texas officials probably can’t be prosecuted for bullying under the state’s education laws. The gist of those laws, however, is crystal clear, and so is the effect of their actions and rhetoric about gender-affirming health care.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: If it was easier to vote in Texas, would turnout still be this low?
Texas has loaded its election and voting laws with obstacles — and also has remarkably low voter turnout. Maybe those two things are connected.
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Unconventional Wisdom
Analysis: The Fred Rogers test, for Texas public officials
Texas voters can get some guidance for sorting through the political noise of campaigns from an unlikely source — a comforting tale for children.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Texas’ GOP runoffs hinge on a name that’s not on the ballot
Ken Paxton and George P. Bush are in a May runoff for attorney general — the top race on that GOP ballot. But a name that’s not on the ballot might be the biggest name in that race.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Winning their primaries, Abbott and O’Rourke offer a preview of their march toward November
Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke have had their eyes on November from the start, attacking and critiquing each other and, in the process, previewing some of the themes other candidates in their parties will probably adopt for the general election.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Texas election day is a time to say goodbye to some well-known candidates
It’s cutting time. Expect to see some political names you know among Tuesday’s primary election losers.