State Rep. Matt Krause, a Republican candidate for attorney general, wants public schools to explain some of the books in their libraries. He’s got questions about content, along with a way to get some attention from voters.
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
Redistricting Texas
Analysis: Maps bolster Republicans in the Texas Senate, especially the top one
The new political maps drawn by the Texas Senate don’t just favor Republicans; that much was expected from a Republican majority. The maps help Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pick which Republicans he wants in the Senate.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Are lawmakers trying to make Texans more confident in elections, or less?
After conservative complaints about the national results in the 2020 election, Texas Republicans have tried to anticipate everything that might play against them in 2022, right down to who’ll be at the helm.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: A quick turn on property taxes with the long game in mind
High Texas property taxes were an issue in the state’s 2018 elections, and you can see from their work on a new homestead exemption earlier this week that state lawmakers didn’t forget that lesson from voters.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Texas legislators set the table for the 2022 elections
The controversial issues you’ve heard Texas lawmakers debate for most of the year aren’t going away; many of them will be argued all over again during the 2022 elections.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: An election slogan you won’t hear in Texas in 2022
“Turn Texas Blue” was the Democratic rally cry in the 2020 elections. It didn’t happen, and with the maps the Texas Legislature is drawing, it’s not in the cards for 2022, either.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Analysis: Greg Abbott and the policy contradiction of an anti-mandate mandate
Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest executive order contradicts what he’s been saying for months about mandates and the personal choices of Texans and their businesses during the pandemic.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
Analysis: Intentional loopholes in Texas abortion law draw a judge’s rebuke
The judge who blocked enforcement of the new abortion restrictions in Texas said lawmakers knew it was unconstitutional and tried to prevent federal courts from saying so — and said he wanted to keep other states from copying the idea.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: When Texas legislators admit they don’t know what they’re doing
When lawmakers find something in the law that they don’t like — or that their voters don’t like — they can always say they didn’t know what they were voting on. It happens more than you’d think.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas
Analysis: In the drive to get new Texas political maps, racial representation takes a back seat
Republican lawmakers in Texas are trying to make the most of their majority, drawing new political maps to preserve their political dynasty. The maps they’ve proposed would do that, but don’t represent the state’s population.
