Longtime Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman to retire from Texas Legislature
The lawmaker has represented parts of central and southeast Houston in state House District 147 since 1991. Full Story
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![State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, on the House floor on Aug. 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats rely on voters of color to be competitive. So why are their top statewide candidates mostly white?
The GOP slate for statewide office includes two high-profile Latinos and two Black candidates who have previously held state or federal office. Republicans are making a play to be more competitive with voters of color as the state’s electorate grows more diverse. Full Story
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![Democratic Party signage and logos at the Texas Democratic Party office in Austin on Oct. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
With special session’s end looming, Texas Democrats and Republicans mull their next moves
Abbott has promised to call a second special session to pass the GOP’s priority voting bill, but the exact timing is uncertain. And House Democrats have not yet revealed what they have planned after the session ends this week. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan speaks with legislators on the opening day of the special session at the Texas Capitol on July 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats spar with congressional Republicans over their protest of state voting bills
Three Texas House Democrats testified before a congressional committee on their efforts to thwart voting restrictions — and were met with heat from their Republican counterparts. Full Story
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![State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, testified at a House Oversight and Reform's Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee hearing on "Democracy in Danger: The Assault on Voting Rights in Texas" on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 29, 2021.]()
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State Rep. John Turner says he won't seek reelection to Texas House
Turner has represented House District 114 since 2019 after he flipped the previously GOP-held seat during the 2018 elections. Full Story
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![John Turner was first elected to represent House District 114 in 2018. Turner and volunteers at his campaign office in Dallas on Sept. 22, 2018]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers take Gov. Greg Abbott to court for defunding Legislature
The governor had vowed to veto the Legislature’s funding in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May after House Democrats broke quorum and left the chamber to prevent passage of a controversial elections bill. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3 at the Texas Capitol on June 8, 2021. The omnibus power grid bills will change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats blame lack of in-person campaigning, inefficient voter outreach for 2020 disappointment
Despite an underwhelming performance in the most recent election cycle, Texas Democrats continued to paint an ambitious picture of a “sustainably blue” state in the next 10 years. Full Story
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![Texas Democratic Convention at the Alamodome on June 17th, 2016.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Top two staffers at Texas Democratic Party to step down
The party's executive director, Manny Garcia, and deputy executive director, Cliff Walker, are leaving their posts at the end of the month. Their exits come two months after an election in which Texas Democrats underperformed expectations throughout the ballot. Full Story
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![Democratic signage, mugs, stickers, and buttons on display at the Travis County Democratic Party office in Austin on Oct. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
What went wrong with Texas Democrats' 2020 plans? State party leaders intend to find out.
The state party chair plans to do a "deep dive" after executive committee members asked for answers about the outcome of the November election and demanded reforms. Full Story
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![The main stage at the 2014 Texas Democratic Convention held at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, June 27, 2014.]()
Credit: Alyssa Banata for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas Republicans and Allen West, their nettlesome party animal
Republican officeholders couldn't have had a better election in Texas this year, but they've still got noisy and loud critics — inside their own political party. Full Story
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![The Honorable Allen West gave remarks during TPPR's Policy Orientation on February 9, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
“It’s not purple. It’s not blue. It’s conservative.” Watch what happened in the Texas elections
The Republican party dominated races up and down the ballot, dashing Democrats' high hopes. Our analysis sheds light on what happened. Full Story
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![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Dan Ruiz Branch Library in Austin on Election Day. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Harris County Democrats' headquarters vandalized
The local party said its locks were filled with super glue, preventing officials from accessing their office. Also, federal officials are sending election monitors to Harris and Waller counties. And Texas is on pace to set a record for voter turnout Tuesday. Full Story
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![A voting sign at the South Austin Recreation Center polling site on Oct. 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
![Democratic Party signage and logos at the Texas Democratic Party office in Austin on Oct. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
In Texas, Republicans fight voting by mail expansion while encouraging their voters to use it
What was once a lightly used and largely uncontroversial voting option in Texas, one even Republicans relied on, is now the crux of the latest fight over who gets to vote and, equally as crucial in a pandemic, who has access to safe voting. Full Story
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![Ballot by mail clerk Jim Ragland organized ballot packages at the Travis County Elections Division in Austin in 2014.]()
Credit: Charlie Pearce for The Texas Tribune -
As the Democratic National Convention begins, some Texas Democrats wish their state had a bigger role
Some party leaders have pushed for convention organizers to give more prominent slots to Texans in the convention lineup, eager to show it is a battleground in November. Full Story
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![The Travis County Democratic Party office in Austin.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Timing of Supreme Court justice’s retirement allows Gov. Greg. Abbott, not voters, to pick his two-year replacement
Aug. 21 is the deadline for vacancies that trigger a November election to fill open seats. If Green’s replacement is not on this year’s ballot, the next general election will be in November 2022. Abbott will appoint someone to fill the rest of the term. Full Story
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![Justice Paul Green hears arguments in the Texas Supreme Court in 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
MJ Hegar defeats Royce West in Democratic runoff for U.S. Senate
Hegar declared victory late Tuesday, but West did not concede until Wednesday morning. Full Story
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![State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, and MJ Hegar will face each other in the May runoff that will decide who will be the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson and Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribune -
Longtime Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. fends off primary challenge from his left
Lucio’s race against Sara Stapleton-Barrera was among the most competitive of the primary elections for the Texas Senate, where Republicans are expected to keep their majority after the general election. Full Story
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![Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, spoke during during a Senate State Affairs committee hearing on July 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas runoff 2020 results
Get all of Texas’ election results through The Texas Tribune’s coverage of the 2020 runoff races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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Analysis: Events — and their own words — put Texas Republicans in an election year bind
Texas Democrats convened last week. But it was the state's Republicans giving them the most hope about the coming November elections. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol Building.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune