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Texas Democratic Party

The latest Texas Democratic Party news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Galbraith's three-parter on the battle over wind power transmission lines, Grissom on a convicted killer who got probation, Aguilar on how the U.S. census counts inmates in the Texas prison system, Stiles launches a new interactive tool tracking the candidates for governor, Hamilton on the Texas A&M University System's latest accountability measure for faculty, Hu's interview with Democratic megadonor Steve "Back to Basics" Mostyn, Philpott on how the Texas economy compares to that of other states and Ramsey on the start of the 2010 election sprint: The best of our best from Sept. 6 to 10, 2010. Full Story 

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  • How I Became Lieutenant Governor

    By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede

    "I always wanted to run for office," Bill Hobby writes. "And I grew up in a family that had been part of state government for a couple of generations." An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story 

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  • A Certified Texan

    By Ross Ramsey

    In the wake of a court ruling keeping state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, on the ballot, lawyers for his Democratic opponent and the Texas Democratic Party are deciding whether to appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. But time is short: Today is the last day a candidate who is removed can be replaced. Full Story 

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    Credit: Birdwell campaign

  • 2010: Birdwell Will Stay on Ballot

    By Ross Ramsey

    Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, can remain on the November ballot, the state's 5th Court of Appeals ruled this afternoon. Texas Democrats had sued to remove him, saying his vote in the Virginia elections in 2006 made him ineligible to serve in the Texas Senate. Full Story 

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    Credit: Birdwell campaign

  • Obamarama

    By Elise Hu

    In his first trip to the Texas capital as president, Barack Obama served up little news but plenty of red meat for supporters. Check out our pool report from his fundraiser and our audio, video and slideshow of his UT-Austin speech. Full Story 

    President Obama at the University of Texas on Monday, August 9, 2010.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • Fundraiser in Chief

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    President Obama is coming to Austin and Dallas on Monday. He'll make a stop on the University of Texas campus to deliver a speech before throngs of supporters — and, no doubt, protesters. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the main focus of his trip is green, not burnt orange. Full Story 

    A screenshot from a web ad by Gov. Rick Perry's campaign.

  • The Map: Can a Democrat Win?

    By Matt Stiles, The Texas Tribune, and Zahira Torres, El Paso Times

    Political observers, partisan faithful and a pair of campaigns have been consumed by one question for nearly eight months: How close is the race between Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White? Members of both parties agree that White represents the Democrats' best shot at winning the governor's office in 15 years, despite the state's status as a Republican stronghold. But many believe that voting patterns show Texas is still years away from becoming truly competitive. Full Story 

    Bill White and Rick Perry have their sights set on the governor's office
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Courting Hispanics: The Future

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    For the final part of his three-part series, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune sat down with Hispanic student leaders to find out whether Texas Democrats and Republicans can attract first-time voters in November. Full Story 

    Students at LBJ School's Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders.
    Credit: Jaci Clark

  • Courting Hispanics: The Dems

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    The Hispanic vote in Texas is often referred to as a "sleeping giant" because of historically low turnout. If Hispanics were to show up at the ballot box in record numbers, they could easily influence elections of all kinds. In part two of his three-part series, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the efforts of state Democrats to sound the alarm. Full Story 

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  • They Want Their GOTV

    By Erika Aguilar, KUT News

    The push to get out the vote is underway. Democrats in Austin scattered about town Saturday morning to reach out to registered voters and sign up new ones for the November election — a strategy they banked on in 2008. But as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, they've got competition. Full Story 

    Democrats and Republicans have started their efforts to register voters for the 2010 election in Texas.
    Credit: Courtesy KUT

  • Mark Jones: The TT Interview

    By Matt Stiles

    The chairman of the political science department at Rice University recently ranked Texas House members' partisanship based on their 2009 legislative votes. Our interactive chart highlights what he describes as Texas' increasingly polarized political environment. Full Story 

    Mark P. Jones, political science chair at Rice University.
    Credit: Mark P. Jones

  • Rice Poli Sci Chair Mark Jones on House Partisanship

    By Matt Stiles

    Mark P. Jones, political science chairman at Rice University, recently ranked Texas House members' partisanship based on their 2009 legislative votes. The study, which we've used to create an interactive chart, shows Texas' increasingly polarized political environment, Jones says in an interview. Full Story 

    Mark P. Jones, political science chair at Rice University.
    Credit: Mark P. Jones

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Grissom, Hamilton, and Philpott on the Texas Democratic Party's state convention, the two-step, the forecast, and the ticket; Galbraith on the political and environmental battle between state and federal environmental regulators, and on a new age of nukes in Texas; Burnson on signs of the times in San Antonio; Ramshaw on hackers breaking into the state's confidential cancer database; Aguilar's interview with Katherine Glass, the Libertarian Party's nominee for governor; Acosta on efforts to stop 'Murderabilia' items that sell because of the association with killers; Ramshaw and the Houston Chronicle's Terri Langford on the criminal arrest records of workers in state-funded foster care centers; Hu on accusations that state Sunset examiners missed problems with workers compensation regulators because they didn't ask the right questions of the right people; Ramsey and Stiles on the rush to rake in campaign cash, and on political races that could be won or lost because of voter attraction to Libertarian candidates; and Aguilar's fresh take on South Texas' reputation for corruption. The best of our best from June 28 to July 3, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • The Tail on the Donkey

    By Ross Ramsey

    It's impossible to know exactly which elections will be close in November. But with Libertarian candidates in more than a dozen House races that are on the Republican and Democratic target lists, signed up for the two Texas congressional seats on the GOP's national target list, and in the statewide races, too, here's a question: Are the Libertarians giving Texas Democrats a electoral boost? Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • Lone Star?

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Though he gave a memorable speech, Bill White wasn't the only candidate at the Democrats' state convention in Corpus Christi. The question is whether he's the only one of consequence, or if this is a legitimate statewide ticket that can return the party to power. Full Story 

    Bill White at the Texas Democratic Party State Convention.

  • A Slippery Slope

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    The fallout over the BP oil leak has Texas Democrats at odds over deep sea drilling: Environmentalists have called for a permanent ban, but the party’s candidate for governor, Bill White, opposes the idea. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story 

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