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Texas House of Representatives

The latest Texas House of Representatives news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Our wall-to-wall Election Day coverage — complete results up and down the ballot and county by county, the all-hands-on-deck Trib team on the Republican tsunami, my conversation with George W. Bush's media adviser and Rick Perry's pollster about what happened on Tuesday, Stiles and Ramsey on what 194 candidates spent per vote this election cycle, Hu on how the GOP rout will affect the substance of the next legislative session, Hamilton on the Texas Democratic Trust's unhappy end, Ramshaw and Stiles profile the new arrivals at the Capitol in January, M. Smith on what's next for Chet Edwards and Ramsey and me on six matters of politics and policy we're thinking about going forward — plus Thevenot and Butrymowicz on a possible solution to the high school dropout problem: The best of our best from Nov. 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Straus on the Offensive

    By Elise Hu

    House Speaker Joe Straus is moving quickly to squelch any talk of a speaker's race. His office released two letters this afternoon — one from conservative leaders expressing support for him, and another that emphasizes his strengths as House leader. Full Story 

    House Speaker Joe Straus and the man in the running to unseat him, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller/Bob Daemmrich

  • TribBlog: Ethics Reform a Nudge at Hodge?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Embattled former Dallas state Rep. Terri Hodge hasn't even finished serving her year in prison for lying on her tax returns. But her successor, freshman Democratic Rep. Eric Johnson, is already pledging to file legislation that would prohibit lawmakers who commit felonies from receiving state pension benefits. Full Story 

    Democrat Eric Johnson campaigns to replace incumbent Dallas Rep. Terri Hodge in House District 100. Hodge has pleaded guilty to lying on her tax return.
    Credit: Eric Johnson campaign

  • TribBlog: Kuempel Dead [Updated]

    By Ross Ramsey

    State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, died this morning of an apparent heart attack. He was taken to Austin's Brackenridge Hospital with heart problems; an aide in his Capitol office said his defibrillator went off and said he was taken to the hospital. Full Story 

    Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin

  • Majority Rules

    By Elise Hu

    Whether you call it a wave, a rout or a tsunami, one thing is clear: Republicans in the Texas House won a massive mandate for conservative bills — and budgeting — in the coming legislative session. Full Story 

  • The Speaker in a Squeaker?

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    Tuesday's elections gave Republicans a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — and, with it, the power to do just about whatever they want in the next legislative session. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the party faithful are battling over who should lead the lower chamber. Full Story 

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  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 53

    By Elise Hu

    In this post-election TribCast, Evan, Elise and Ben look back on the election year that was and discuss Gov. Rick Perry's political future and the implications of the massive Republican landslide in the Texas House. Full Story 

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  • 2010: 130 to Chisum

    By Ross Ramsey

    House Speaker Joe Straus says he's now got 130 votes for re-election as speaker — and that the only thing new is that 99 Republicans instead of 76 will make the House a much more conservative body. But State Rep. Warren Chisum says he will continue the challenge to Straus that he announced three weeks ago. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Straus: "I Don't Need Lessons" From Chisum

    By Elise Hu

    "I don't need lessons on how to be a Republican," Joe Straus said Wednesday morning, responding to claims by his challenger in the Speaker's race, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, that he isn't Republican enough to hold the leadership post. Full Story 

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  • 2010: Joe vs. the Volcano

    By Ross Ramsey

    House Speaker Joe Straus says he's got 122 votes for another term as speaker — in spite of the fact that at least a dozen of his past supporters were defeated in Tuesday's election. Full Story 

    Texas House Speaker Joe Straus addressing Republicans on Nov. 2, 2010.
    Credit: Bob Daemmerich for The Texas Tribune

  • Election Night 2010: The Liveblog

    By Texas Tribune Staff

    The Tribune's crack reporting staff — in Houston, Buda and other political hotspots — will be posting the latest news and spin the minute the polls close. Check back and refresh often for updates and photos from the field. Full Story 

    A voter casts a ballot in Travis County on November 2, 2010.
    Credit: Marjorie Cotera

  • Beyond Election Day

    By Ross Ramsey and Evan Smith

    Yes, yes, the governor’s race: It’s tended to suck all the air out of the room this election cycle, hasn’t it? But there’s an undercard as well, and even if it’s received scant attention by comparison, don’t think it doesn’t matter. To the contrary, the outcome of races other than the one at the top of the ballot has serious implications for a great many matters of politics and policy that will affect and should interest every single Texan in the near term. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • The Mother's Milk

    By Ross Ramsey

    The state's political economy hummed with $43.5 million in contributions to and between candidates and political action committees between Sept. 24 and Oct. 23, according to the most recent reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. The biggest contribution: $3 million to Rick Perry's re-election campaign from the Republican Governors Association. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Where They Stand: HD-52

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    In House District 52 — southern Williamson County — incumbent Democrat Diana Maldonado faces one of her party's toughest challengers in Republican Larry Gonzales. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at how the candidates would set priorities for a fast-growing part of state. Full Story 

    State Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, and Republican challenger Larry Gonzales.
    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Dunnam on Trial

    By Julián Aguilar

    The trial-lawyer-as-epithet strategy, a perennial favorite of Texans Republicans, is playing big in the effort to oust longtime Democratic House member Jim Dunnam, D-Waco. Full Story 

    State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, at a press conference in 2009.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich