Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's downfall throws House majority fight into uncertainty
The speaker's decision Tuesday to not seek reelection after months of scandal could have deep implications for the fight for the House majority. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen signs paperwork on the House floor on May 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
With a lame-duck speaker, Texas House confronts the work of the interim
For the next 14 months, the powerful committee chairs who called for House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to step down will be asked to carry out his will — and every decision the speaker makes will be viewed in the shadow of demise. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announces committee chairs at the state capitol. Jan 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen won't seek reelection after recording scandal
By Tuesday morning, more than 30 House Republicans had either called for the speaker's resignation or had stated they no longer supported him. Full Story
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![Speaker Dennis Bonnen in the House Chamber on March 27, 2019, the day the House will take up HB1, the 2020-21 budget plan.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Top Texas House Republicans say they can no longer support Speaker Dennis Bonnen
In the biggest blow yet to the House leader's political future, five fellow Republicans said they can't back him moving forward. Their statement comes days after the House GOP caucus condemned Bonnen. Full Story
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![Speaker Dennis Bonnen during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony on May 25, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Bonnen regrets comments about Texas cities and counties — yet also says urban governments have "run amok"
Local leaders felt targeted by state lawmakers even before the release of a secret recording that has imperiled the Texas House speaker's future. Bonnen says he was trying to convey a larger point about those officials and how they treat taxpayers. Full Story
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![Dallas city skyline at sunset.]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto -
Analysis: Dennis Bonnen’s long goodbye
The Texas House speaker was always going to leave sometime. But his departure could come much sooner than expected. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony at the Capitol on May 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Could Texas Democrats influence Dennis Bonnen's fate? The minority party is mulling what to do next.
Of the 17 House members who have called for Bonnen to step down, only four are Democrats. Full Story
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![The House Democratic Caucus speaks to the press following Gov. Abbott's State of the State address in Austin on Feb. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Calls for Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's resignation are limited but growing
A handful of Republicans and Democrats have said the GOP leader of the lower chamber should step aside. And so far, no one from Bonnen's own party has publicly come to his defense. Full Story
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![State Rep. and presumptive House Speaker Dennis Bonnen in the House Chamber on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: In the Texas House, it’s going to be a little tougher to say, “Come, let us reason together”
The recording of Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's raw political conversation with a conservative activist threw a partisan rock into the state Legislature's normally bipartisan pool. Now the members have to sort that out. Full Story
![The House Democratic Caucus speaks to the press following Gov. Abbott's State of the State address in Austin on Feb. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
In their secretly recorded meeting, Dennis Bonnen and Michael Quinn Sullivan laid bare GOP anxieties about 2020
The recording, released Tuesday, features the two prominent Republicans airing their concerns about how Texas Republicans will fare next election, particularly in state House races. Full Story
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![The Republican Party of Texas office in downtown Austin.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Dennis Bonnen, Michael Quinn Sullivan and who? We break down who was in the room and who’s mentioned on the tape.
Here’s who was mentioned in the recording where Republican Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen urged a hardline conservative activist to politically target members of their own party — and suggested he could get the activist's group media access to lawmakers next legislative session. Full Story
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![Michael Quinn Sullivan and Dennis Bonnen.]()
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen offered media access to Empower Texans, suggested it target certain Republicans, recording shows
Bonnen also spoke disparagingly about multiple Democrats, calling one House member “vile” and suggesting that another’s “wife’s gonna be really pissed when she learns he’s gay.” Full Story
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![Speaker Dennis Bonnen during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony on May 25, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Secret Dennis Bonnen recording of alleged quid pro quo coming out next week, activist says
Allegations against the Texas House speaker by hardline conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan have thrown the chamber into turmoil for the past couple of months. Full Story
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![From left: House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, at a bill signing ceremony for Senate Bill 2, in Austin on June 12, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Primary fights few and far between as Texas Republicans focus on November 2020
With two months until the filing deadline for the 2020 primary, the Texas GOP is dealing with fewer intra-party fights than usual. Full Story
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![Quilt at the Lincoln Day Dinner for the Tarrant County Republican Party in Fort Worth.]()
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State Rep. Mike Lang reverses decision to not run for reelection
The Granbury Republican announced Wednesday he wasn't seeking another term in the House and was instead running for county commissioner, but he has since changed course. Full Story
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![State Rep. Mike Lang, R-Granbury, listens in during the House Select Committee on Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety hearing on Sept. 17, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
After two Texas mass shootings, Greg Abbott wants to strengthen a vague network officials won't discuss
The governor's executive orders after shootings in El Paso and West Texas are meant to address gun violence without gun control. But a Department of Public Safety network he tapped says it needs more resources — and is remaining mum on how it operates. Full Story
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![Steven McCraw, Director of Texas Department of Public Safety, gives his testimony before the House Select Committe on Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety committee on Sept. 17.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Mike Lang announces he won't seek reelection
Instead, Lang said Wednesday, he will run to become a Hood County commissioner. Full Story
![State Rep. Mike Lang, R-Granbury, listens in during the House Select Committee on Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety hearing on Sept. 17, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Dwayne Bohac announces he won't seek reelection
Bohac's decision gives Democrats one of their best pickup opportunities next year in the Texas House. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, on the house floor.]()
Credit: Via Bohac campaign website -
State Rep. César Blanco to run for Texas Senate
He is vying to replace state Sen. José Rodríguez, who announced Friday he is not seeking reelection. Full Story
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![At a press conference at the Texas Capitol, state Rep. César Blanco, D-El Paso, addresses the decision taken by the Trump Administration to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas redistricting is hard enough when politicians trust the mapmakers
Lawmakers get jittery when it's time to redraw their political maps, and the exercise is based on a mix of power, party, clout, tenure — and trust. That last one is a fleeting quality in the Texas House right now. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, looks at redistricting maps at a Senate hearing on May 13, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune