In Texas, President Trump's team hits the road to shore up support
The president's reelection campaign launched a bus tour of the state Thursday, though surrogates said — strenuously — that they still don't see Texas in play. Full Story
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![Trump supporters greeted campaign surrogates — former campaign manager Brad Parscale, senior adviser Katrina Pierson and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — during a bus tour stop Thursday in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Voting in Texas could be as easy as a trip to the grocery store
Some of the biggest private-sector companies in Texas adapted quickly to customer service during the pandemic. Unfortunately, they're not in charge of voting. Full Story
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![The Collin County Elections Department created a mock polling site to prepare poll workers for early voting beginning June 29. The polling site included newly added signs to inform voters and employees on how to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 during the voting process.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans had light presence at national convention amid debate over state's battleground status
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs President Donald Trump's reelection campaign in Texas, said the lack of Texas speakers showed Republicans were not worried about the state. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke to Tarrant county Tea Party supporters in Grapevine for the Spread the Red event on Oct. 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Experts say disruption to oil and gas industry will depend on Hurricane Laura's speed
Hurricane Laura made landfall just east of the Texas-Louisiana border around midnight Thursday. Full Story
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![A Galveston resident boards up a home on Broadway Street, hours before Hurricane Laura is set to make landfall. Aug 26, 2020.]()
Credit: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Co -
Analysis: With elections coming, Texas Republican leaders join the thin blue line
Freezing local taxes in Texas cities that cut police funding sounds better than it works. But the political angle taken by the state's top leaders gives them something other than pandemic and recession to talk about this election season. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand guard as the Austin Fire Department puts out a car that was set on fire by protesters in downtown Austin on May 30, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Texas and the DNC, the fight over police funding, and election mailing woes
On this week's Tribcast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Alex and Ross about Texans' role at the Democratic National Convention, a new front in the local control fight and what election mail concerns could mean for Texas. Full Story
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![Protesters march in downtown Austin on July 27, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott, other Texas leaders want to freeze property tax revenues for cities that cut police budgets
The state's three top elected leaders also fiercely criticized the Austin officials who plan to cut up to one-third of their police department's budget, largely through reorganizing divisions out from under law enforcement. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, hold the first meeting of the Texas Safety Commission at the Texas Capitol August 22, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blames presence of Confederate monuments at the Capitol on Democrats
Senate Democrats want the symbols taken down, but Patrick said that the party is not committed to a “sincere” or “serious conversation” about the future of the monuments. Full Story
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![The 1903 Confederate monument at the south entrance to the state Capitol grounds in 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Five lawmakers sue Gov. Greg Abbott over $295 million contact tracing deal
“The Texas Constitution requires a separation of powers, and that separation leaves policy-making decisions with the Texas Legislature,” argues a lawsuit from five of the Legislature’s most conservative members. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage done by Hurricane Hanna in Nueces and Kleberg Counties, on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times via REUTERS -
Despite promising to step aside after racist Facebook post, Keith Nielsen becomes Harris County GOP chair
Nielsen said earlier this summer that he would forfeit the job amid condemnation for sharing a graphic on Facebook that juxtaposed a Martin Luther King Jr. quote with a banana. Full Story
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![Keith Nielsen.]()
Credit: Social Media -
Gov. Greg Abbott will skip Republican National Convention to deal with coronavirus
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will instead chair the Texas delegation to the pared-down convention later this month in North Carolina. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a joint press conference on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 9, 2019. Newly-elected House Speaker Dennis Bonnen was also present.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune. -
GOP officials say Harris County party chair-elect is reneging on commitment to step aside after sharing racist Facebook post
The incoming chair, Keith Nielsen, had faced calls to give up the position last month after sharing a Facebook post juxtaposing a Martin Luther King Jr. quote with a banana. Full Story
![Keith Nielsen.]()
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Analysis: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is lucky not to be on the 2020 ballot
The governor would face real competition if he were on the ballot this year — even in a Republican Party primary. His response to the pandemic has opened him to political attacks from the left and the right alike. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas hospital bed capacity and the state's strategy for fighting COVID-19 during a press conference at Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin on June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Analysis: With a wingman like Dan Patrick, who needs critics?
While Gov. Greg Abbott has been responding to the twin crises on his plate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s been stirring the pot — at the governor’s expense. Full Story
![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke to Tarrant county Tea Party supporters in Grapevine for the Spread the Red event on Oct. 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Early voting begins as coronavirus surges in Texas and a debate over sex ed curriculum
In this edition of TribCast, Emma talks to Matthew, Aliyya and Ross about the state's latest efforts to mitigate spread of the new coronavirus, and the State Board of Education’s ongoing debate over Texas’ sex ed curriculum. Full Story
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![Pharmacy technician Ashley Perez passes a self-swab coronavirus test to a patient at a drive thru testing site at a Walmart in McKinney on Tuesday, June 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sales tax revenue declined 6.5% versus last June as state reopened for business
While collections from restaurants were depressed, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said that take-out and delivery sales, along with online purchases, helped buoy revenue in the restaurant and retail sectors. Full Story
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![Downtown Dallas on March 19, 2018.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Dr. Anthony Fauci “doesn’t know what he’s talking about”
Fauci and other top medical leaders have flagged Texas as a COVID-19 hot spot, but Patrick said the infectious disease doctor has “been wrong every time on every issue.” Full Story
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Analysis: Governing in reaction mode, and always a beat or two behind
The pandemic has been with us since late winter, but state leaders seem to have forgotten something they already know from other disasters: You can get ready when a storm is coming, or wait until it blows your roof off. Full Story
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![A line of about 100 cars formed at Barbara Jordan Elementary School in Austin at a COVID-19 testing site. June 26, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers want to add more LGTBQ safeguards after U.S. Supreme Court guarantees workplace protections
A new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court makes clear that it violates federal law to fire an employee on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Now Texas lawmakers want to guarantee similar protections for LGBTQ Texans in housing, health care and other spheres. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Conspiracy theories and racist memes: How a dozen Texas GOP county chairs caused turmoil within the party
On Friday morning, five GOP county chairs were facing backlash for sharing racist social media posts. The Texas Tribune identified seven other GOP county chairs across the state who shared similar posts. Full Story
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![The Republican Party of Texas office in downtown Austin.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
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