Republicans in Austin have been after local governments for years, pushing aside local laws and rules on a long list of issues where local and state powers overlap. Now they’re recruiting fellow Republicans for local offices, to try to change things at the ground level.
Texas 2022 Elections
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Democrat Matthew Dowd ends campaign for Texas lieutenant governor, citing need for “greater diversity”
The former George W. Bush political strategist had launched a bid to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. On Tuesday, Dowd said he’s stepping aside to make way for a “diverse field” of candidates in the race.
As critical race theory and mask mandate debates heat up, Texas GOP takes aim at local school board and municipal races
The Republican Party of Texas announced Monday it had launched a new Local Government Committee to work with county parties on backing candidates for nonpartisan local offices.
Analysis: It takes a village to win big races in Texas
Want to win a statewide political race in Texas that’s not at the very top of the ballot? It helps a lot if your party’s top candidate wins — or at least runs a close second.
Texas Democrats see focusing on power grid failure as a winning campaign strategy heading into 2022
Republican leaders defend their record on the power grid, pointing to more than a dozen laws passed during this year’s legislative session to address the grid’s reliability. Gov. Greg Abbott has staked his reputation on a promise that the lights won’t go out this winter.
Analysis: Betting a Texas election on a weather forecast
Gov. Greg Abbott says he can “guarantee” there won’t be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That’s the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll.
Longtime state Sen. Larry Taylor, best known for his work on education issues, says he won’t run for reelection
Taylor was a key player in the 2019 school finance overhaul that lawmakers passed.
Matthew McConaughey says he won’t run for Texas governor
The actor said in a video Sunday that “political leadership” is a “path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”
Freshman state Rep. Jasmine Crockett is running for Dallas congressional seat, with Eddie Bernice Johnson’s backing
Crockett is running for the seat vacated by Johnson, who announced Saturday that she would not seek reelection in the 30th Congressional District after serving nearly three decades in Congress. The seat is solidly Democratic.
Beto O’Rourke targets South Texas in bid to win back Democratic voters he’ll need to beat Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022
O’Rourke has ground to make up after his own underwhelming performance with voters there in 2018 when he ran for U.S. Senate — and turning out more Latino voters has long been key to Democratic hopes statewide.

