Texas looms large in 2024 presidential race as Trump, others angle for early support
The former president is courting state support as other GOP candidates try to emerge from his shadow, including Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. Full Story
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![Former president Donald Trump holds his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas on Mar. 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Weighing Donald Trump’s support among Texas Republicans
In this week’s episode, we discuss the Texas reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump and check in on how the leaders of the Legislature are getting along. Full Story
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![Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco, on March 25, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Leah Millis -
Texas Republicans quickly blast Donald Trump indictment, calling it “catastrophic” and politically motivated
Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, in his case over alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star. Many of his fellow Republicans in Texas lambasted the legal development. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Waco on March 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Trump vows retribution at Waco rally: “I am your warrior, I am your justice”
Former president focuses his ire on political enemies and says he will have the back of supporters who have been wronged or betrayed. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump looks on during his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco on March 25, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Leah Millis -
Trump supporters, including Branch Davidian leader, undeterred by looming legal woes
Trump’s first major rally of the 2024 campaign came days after he said he was to be arrested by New York authorities as part of an investigation into alleged hush payments to a former adult film star. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Waco on March 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Former President Donald Trump’s first 2024 campaign rally will be in Waco
In his third consecutive bid for the White House, the former president hopes “Trump Country” supporters in Texas will turn out next Saturday. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Conroe on Jan. 29, 2022.]()
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This rancher doesn’t want a border wall on his land. He fears Texas will build it anyway.
Anti-border wall activists are racing to find landowners along the Rio Grande before they sign contracts with the state. Full Story
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![Joseph Hein at his 580-acre ranch on the Webb and Zapata county lines on Feb. 15, 2023. Hein breeds horses at his ranch, but fears that if the border wall is built through a portion of his land, it will restrict access to the Rio Grande River and he will likely have to sell his horses.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ U.S. Rep. Chip Roy says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should be president
The Austin Republican is the staunch conservative who led 19 House members in blocking Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the speakership. “I believe it’s time for a new generation of leadership,” he said of DeSantis. Full Story
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![Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Marco Bello | Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
As 2024 nears, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looms large over Gov. Greg Abbott
DeSantis and Abbott often appear to be locked in an unspoken ideological arms race as they take turns leading and then following one another, enacting policies and backing bills that push both states further to the right. Full Story
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![From left: Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune|REUTERS/Octavio Jones -
Potential 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls headed to Austin for retreat with donors
Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn are helping host the event at the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa. Full Story
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![Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and former Vice President Mike Pence.]()
Credit: Rebecca F. Miller and Jonathan Ernst via REUTERS; Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Ron DeSantis to visit Texas to help Republicans in Harris and Dallas counties raise money
The news of DeSantis’ visit comes as speculation continues to mount that he could make a 2024 presidential bid against former President Donald Trump, who is already running. Full Story
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![Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives a speech after taking the oath of office at his second term inauguration in Tallahassee, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2023.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he’ll run for reelection in 2026, reversing previous plan to retire
Patrick made the comments at a daylong conference in Austin hosted by The Texan, a political news site started by former GOP state Sen. Konni Burton. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick delivers his inaugural address after taking the oath of office at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 17, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
As Donald Trump mounts his 2024 presidential bid, his support among Texas officials is waning
About two months into his comeback bid, few prominent Texas Republicans have endorsed Trump — and some are showing more willingness to cross him publicly. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
How Texans helped plot, foment and carry out the Jan. 6 insurrection
From those who planted the seeds of Trump’s strategy to try to challenge the election, to others who sowed doubt and anger by spreading baseless election-fraud conspiracy theories, Texans played major roles in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol two years ago. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas family planning clinics require parental consent for birth control following court ruling
The Title X program has long provided free, confidential contraception to anyone, regardless of age, income or immigration status. A North Texas federal judge ruled in December that the program violates Texas law and parents’ rights. Full Story
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![Various birth control pills available at a Planned Parenthood in Austin.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas businessmen pitched Trump on plan to overturn 2020 election, Jan. 6 report reveals
Morgan Warstler and John S. Robison, who have ties with former Gov. Rick Perry, met the president at the White House one week after the 2020 election. They advanced a fringe theory that state legislatures could overturn election results. Full Story
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![Members of the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol sit beneath an image showing former President Donald Trump speaking on the telephone in the Oval Office during the final meeting of the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, 2022.]()
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U.S. House Jan. 6 committee investigated four Texas conservative figures, transcripts reveal
The figures, who include leaders of right-wing groups and political allies of the Trump White House, largely pleaded the Fifth Amendment to questions about the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. Full Story
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![Pro-Trump demonstrators gathered in Freedom Plaza to protest the Presidential election results in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
House committee votes to release Trump tax returns over objections by U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady
Brady, the top Republican on the House tax-writing committee, urged the committee not to release the former president’s records just before it deliberated on what to do with them. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, in his office in Washington on Nov. 17, 2022.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
State audit finds 2020 Texas elections secure despite COVID-related “irregularities”
Four Texas counties were evaluated in a 359-page audit released by Secretary of State John Scott on Monday, two weeks before he steps down as chief election official. Full Story
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![Secetary of State John Scott watches as a testing crew use voting machines during a state-mandated logic and accuracy test at the Hays County Government building in San Marcos on Sept. 21, 2022. The goal of the test was to identify errors in the counting process.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
After disappointing midterms, Texas GOP votes unanimously for a new national leader
Ronna McDaniel has kept the RNC aligned with former President Donald Trump, who some Republicans have blamed for the party’s underwhelming performance in the midterm elections. Full Story
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![RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at an event for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson in Franklin, Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Angela Peterson/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS
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