Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt resigns to run for Texas Senate
Eckhardt was elected Travis County's first female county judge in 2015. Full Story
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Credit: Thomas Meredith for The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez becomes first to enter race for Senate District 14
Rodriguez, a longtime House Democrat from Austin, announced his candidacy Saturday for the seat being vacated by state Sen. Kirk Watson. Full Story
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![State Representative Eddie Rodriguez during the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and House Elections Commitee press conference regarding the statements released about the alleged 95,000 non-citizens on the voter rolls in Austin on Jan. 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
In Texas, a chaotic primary yields status quo results
As Democrats and Republicans gear up for a competitive general election in Texas, there seems to be less appetite for intraparty warfare. Full Story
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![Presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to supporters at a campaign event at Texas Southern University in Houston on Monday, March 2, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Longtime Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. heads to a runoff
The Brownsville Democrat has served in the Senate for nearly three decades. With all polling locations reporting Wednesday morning, he was just shy of the 50% vote mark needed to win outright. 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 -
Analysis: Culling the Texas ballots, round one
Tuesday's elections will trim dozens and dozens of would-be officeholders from the ballots, setting the table for a number of consequential runoffs and for a highly contested and anticipated general election in Texas. Full Story
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![People in line to cast their vote at a South Austin early voting location on Nov. 2, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. bets on experience, seniority as he confronts two Democratic primary challengers
The longtime state senator from Brownsville is hoping his upper-chamber clout can ward off two intraparty opponents questioning his Democratic credentials. Full Story
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![State Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, on the Senate floor on May 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Why would a Texas Democrat want a seat in the Republican state Senate?
On paper, Texas senators have it better than their counterparts in the Texas House, but why would a Democrat want to work in a place where Republicans are fully and completely in control? Full Story
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![State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, chairman of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, meets with fellow members on the Senate floor on May 10, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: A Texas Senate retirement and Bernie Sanders' new lead in the state
On this week's TribCast, Alexa talks to Emma, Cassi and Alex about what state Sen. Kirk Watson's retirement could mean for the Senate, Bernie Sanders' new lead in presidential polling in Texas and a Democratic judicial candidate's sexist comments about his opponent. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, at a press conference at the Capitol on Feb. 18, 2020. Watson spoke about his retirement from the Texas Senate and his new upcoming position as the Founding Dean of the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
State Sen. Kirk Watson to retire from Texas Senate
Watson has represented Austin in the Texas Senate since 2007. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, on the Senate floor on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Royce West helped flip Dallas County for Democrats in 2006. Could he flip Texas in 2020?
In a crowded Democratic field to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the longtime state senator is betting on his decades of experience as a consensus builder. Full Story
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![State Sen. and Democratic candidate. for U.S. Senate Royce West in the lobby at 919 Congress Ave. on Feb. 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Conservative activists helped elect Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Now some say there’s a disconnect.
A group of hardline grassroots activists has called on Patrick to be more outspoken on party priorities and worries that lines of communication appear to no longer be there. Full Story
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![JoAnn Fleming, executive director of Grassroots America, sits for a portrait in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Tyler Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Cara Campbell for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas Senate could become more democratic — for partisan reasons
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he might adjust Senate rules if the GOP majority shrinks — the better to bring Republican legislation up for debate when Democrats object. What's so surprising about that? Full Story
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With GOP supermajority at risk in 2020, Dan Patrick says Texas Senate may lower threshold to bring bills to the floor
The lieutenant governor said Thursday he may decrease the threshold to a simple majority if Republicans lose one or two seats in November. Full Story
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![Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Senate Parliamentarian Karina Davis on the senate floor. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
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Joe Biden sells himself as the Democrat to beat Trump — and turn Texas blue — during San Antonio campaign stop
“You’ll be seeing a lot of me before now and November, God willing," the former vice president said at a rally in the hometown of fellow Democratic candidate Julián Castro. Full Story
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![Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a community event in San Antonio on Dec. 13, 2019.]()
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Analysis: The Texas Senate will be a quiet zone in a noisy, important election year
In what promises to be a tumultuous and competitive election year, races for the Texas House are going to be a lot more interesting than those for the Texas Senate. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, on the Senate floor on April 9, 2019.]()
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Houston police chief calls out Texas Republicans for opposing "boyfriend loophole" law after officer dies in domestic violence call
Acevedo accused U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of being too afraid of the NRA to pass a provision to the Violence Against Women Act that would close the so-called boyfriend loophole. Full Story
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![Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo speaks out against bathroom bills at a press conference on the steps of the state capitol on July 25, 2017.]()
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Appointees claim Gov. Greg Abbott ousted them from board for voting to sanction judge who refused to perform same-sex marriages
After those two appointees left the commission, it handed down just a warning to the judge, Dianne Hensley. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott during the Texas Fallen Heroes Memorial Ceremony on May 25, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas candidates have one week left to sign up or shut up
Candidates have one more week to officially declare their 2020 campaigns. In the Texas House — a key partisan battleground — as many as 31 districts, out of 150, could be competitive. Full Story
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![State Capitol on June 20, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Beware of Texas politicians bearing home-brewed arithmetic
When government officials want to spin a story about state finance, it helps to have control of the numbers — and to do the math properly. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the dais on the Senate floor on May 25, 2019.]()
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Analysis: For Texas candidates, 2020 officially started last weekend
The starting gun wasn't loud, but the 2020 elections in Texas began — officially — last Saturday, when candidates could start filing for office. That's the beginning of a sprint from now to the March primaries. Full Story
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![Political campaign signs outside of the Carver Branch Library in Austin on the last day of early voting in Travis County.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune
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