The latest Texas Senate news from The Texas Tribune.
Forget about issues. The GOP primary for this Senate seat in Central Texas is all about honesty and integrity. Incumbent Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, says of his challenger, Ben Bius, "I can't remember the last time he said something truthful." Bius says of Ogden, "I can forgive a man a policy difference if he keeps his word." Full Story
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How will lawmakers deal with a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion — and maybe several billion more — in the next legislative session? In all likelihood, by doing what they did in 2003, when things were almost this bad. Full Story
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Sen. Cornyn said allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the U.S. military would hinder recruitment efforts. Full Story
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... against Washington, of course, and the less-than-resolute wing of his party: An interview with the Texas Railroad Commissioner, who'd like very much, thank you, to be the next Marco Rubio. Full Story
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The Waco senator's exit could open the door for the Democrats, who don't have a candidate in the race but might get a chance to add one. Full Story
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You cannot win if you do not play: Poker players know it, and the Ds, if they mean to make this a two-party state again, need to know it too. Full Story
A Burleson insurance agent who was challenging him in the primary is the beneficiary of his unexpected decision, as no Democrat filed to run in the race. Full Story
Should reporters wear muzzles when they're around politicians? Some states seem to think so, but not, thankfully, Texas. Full Story
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Roll your own political videos ... interactive travel maps of your federal and state legislators ... scary movies, to keep the kids out of the border's scary drug wars ... puttting dropouts back in class ... rates squeezing families out of home health care ... how many lobby and trade associations do teachers in Texas need? ... enjoying the silence before an expected two-month siege of political advertising ... the dean of Texas political writers gets shut out of the gubernatorial debates ... and we have an interactive database of the state's best and worst public schools. The best of our best for a short news week, from December 19 to 26, 2009. Full Story
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The Republican state senator from Houston on whether he wants to run for statewide office in Texas. Full Story
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Texas voters won't be offered a real chance at change in the Legislature and Congress next year. Four out of five state and federal lawmakers face no real competition in their primary or general elections. Full Story
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Think like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years. Full Story
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The full twenty minutes with the Republican state senator from Houston, who talks power, politics and why he loves life in the Lege. Full Story
The Republican state senator from Houston explains why the longstanding parliamentary tradition is "arbitrary" — and why his party should better exercise its power. Full Story
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Forget what I said on this week's TribCast, parroting the chatter around the Capitol: The state senator from Houston is not considering a primary challenge to his fellow Republican, Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs. Full Story
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Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, is not, Not, NOT running against Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, in spite of reports that he was planning a challenge. Full Story
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Wednesday could be the day voters in SD-5 find out whether Steve Ogden has changed his mind about getting out of the Legislature. Maybe. Full Story
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Rep. Dan Gattis says state Sen. Steve Ogden is running for reelection after all. But Ogden has maintained radio silence, not commenting (except through staff, who are happy to tell reporters that there's no comment available). Full Story
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Dan Patrick is changing the programming at his Dallas station exclusively to Indian music. Full Story
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State Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, is dropping his bid for state Senate and won't seek reelection to the Texas House next year, he said Sunday. Gattis said State Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, will seek reelection after all. Full Story
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