Campaign Chatter
Chris Harris and Will Hartnett say they won't be back, but the horde of candidates for state and federal legislative seats is growing. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Harris Won't Run Again; Vandergriff's In
State Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, won't seek another term in the Texas Legislature, he said Monday, and he encouraged Victor Vandergriff to get into the race. UPDATE: Vandergriff says he's in. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Campaign Chatter
Rep. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, will run for Steve Ogden's Senate seat. Ogden isn't running, and Williamson County has become the 300-pound gorilla of that district in terms of population. Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, won't run. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Higher-Octane Partisans
Partisan changes in the Legislature are on ice for now. The more important game to watch is for which kinds of Republicans and Democrats are coming to Austin every two years. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Texas Weekly Index: March Fights, November Peace
General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Ogden Won't Seek Another Term
The Texas Senate's chief budget writer — Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan — won't seek re-election, he announced this morning. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Feds: Proposed Texas Maps Undermine Minority Voting Rights
The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Right Act. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Shapiro Won't Run Again; Others Jump In
After two decades in the Texas Senate, Plano Republican Florence Shapiro said this afternoon that she won't seek re-election. State Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, starts as a strong replacement candidate. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Texas Weekly Index
Lots of things affect election outcomes. Candidates. Money. Issues. Surprises. But some of the results are wired into district maps, through redistricting. Here's our charting of the political atmosphere — Republican or Democratic — in each of the House, Senate and congressional districts drawn by the Legislature this year. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Two House Members Want Promotions
State Rep. Randy Weber, R-Pearland, wants to go to Congress: He announced today he'll run for the seat now held by U.S. Ron Paul, R-Surfside. And state Rep. Rodney Anderson made his intentions for state Senate official. Full Story
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Texplainer: Can Texas Use the Rainy Day Fund to Fight Wildfires?
Gov. Rick Perry has said the Rainy Day Fund should be preserved as an insurance policy against natural disasters, but Texas can't actually dip into it until the next legislative session — in 2013. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Challenge to Texas Redistricting Opens in Federal Court
The state's new political maps are now in the hands of the federal government. An army of lawyers lined up before the start of federal hearings on Tuesday, lugging boxes of papers and briefcases bulging with the scribbled notes and other arguments they'll present over the next two weeks. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Inside Intelligence: The Pecking Order
Hand a bunch of insiders a list of 31 senators and ask what's going to happen next, and you turn them into outsiders. Full Story
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Inside or Out: Who'll Run the Texas Senate?
The restricted club that is the Texas Senate will be invaded by noisy conservative voters and activists next year if senators have to choose a new leader from their own ranks, reprising the 2011 contretemps over the choice for Speaker of the House. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Inside Intelligence: The Ultimate Insiders' Vote
In which we ask the insiders how the selection of a new lieutenant governor will go, if David Dewhurst moves on to another job after the 2012 elections. Full Story
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Updated: Jackson Chooses Congress Over State Senate
As expected, state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, will run for Congress next year instead of for re-election to the Texas Senate. State Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, may run for his Senate seat. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Interactive: The Texas Tribune Redistricting Viewer
Building on the success of our previous redistricting interactive, the Tribune has prepared a new version that includes the redistricting maps for the state House, Senate and State Board of Education. Full Story
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Fort Worth Senate Race Could Get Crowded, and Quickly
As expected, state Rep. Kelly Hancock, R-Richland Hills, will run for the Texas Senate next year in SD-10, the district currently occupied by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. Hancock is the first challenger to announce, but this could get crowded, and quickly. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: The Wild Card Issues
State lawmakers considered a wide variety of bills, from shooting feral hogs from helicopters to criminalizing “inappropriate” touching during airport security searches. Use this interactive to find lawmakers’ commentary on the measures. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Becca Aaronson / Todd Wiseman -
Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: Criminal Justice
In the legislative session, state lawmakers passed bills to help exonerated Texans who have been convicted of crimes but later determined to be innocent. Use this interactive to search for the big debates on criminal justice. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Becca Aaronson / Todd Wiseman
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