On the Records: A Ballot Balance Sheet
Use our simple new data application to scan $150 million in campaign fundraising and spending by the major-party candidates on today's ballot. Full Story
The latest campaign finance news from The Texas Tribune.
Use our simple new data application to scan $150 million in campaign fundraising and spending by the major-party candidates on today's ballot. Full Story
Ideological purity is the big issue on March 2 in this South Texas district. Freshman state Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, touts her "moderate" approach and bipartisan tendencies, but her challenger insists, “The first thing we have to do is get rid of all the closet Republicans from the Democratic Party." Full Story
The five major candidates in the governor's race spent $24 million from Jan. 22 to Feb. 20. Full Story
The Texas Ethics Commission and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts are opening up more of their data to the public at no charge. Full Story
The six Texas congressional candidates who ended the year with $1 million or more on hand are incumbents. Only two of the candidates with the 20 biggest bank accounts are not. Full Story
The latest campaign finance reports show that both candidates raised more than $700,000 in January. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison spent more than any other candidate: $3.3 million. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case will come to be seen as the third horseman of the apocalypse for lawyers, judges, and those who favor the direct election of state judges. Full Story
We've added a few new features to our campaign donations app, including the ability to filter the search results by the donation amount, year and donor type. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case constitutes activist judicial arrogance. Full Story
The death penalty and DNA testing in a 16-year-old triple murder in the Texas Panhandle. The second debate between the three Republican candidates for governor. Charter schools are having a hard time hanging on to the employees that matter the most: Teachers. The possibilities and perils of a switch to electronic medical records. A rundown of top races. Who's giving to candidates, and how much? Social networks and politicians. Ballots: The slow reveal. And a new and highly requested feature makes its debut. The best of our best from January 23 to 29, 2010. Full Story
Some deep-pocketed trial lawyers didn't make the Twenty Who Gave Plenty list. Why not? Full Story
Houston homebuilder Bob Perry tops the list of the biggest donors to Texas candidates in the last half of 2009. McAllen developer Alonzo Cantu and Dallas businessman Ross Perot Sr. also gave large sums. Full Story
The governor's race candidates fill their campaign coffers disproportionately from some rural areas, according to a per-capita calculation. Each Dallas resident gave $1 to the race in 2009, for example, while those in Blanco donated $57. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: Full Story
How will Thursday's shooting change security guidelines at the Capitol? Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in a federal campaign finance case could have an immediate affect on state elections here in Texas, where a ban on corporate contributions has been on the books. Ben Philpott, who's covering the governor's race for KUT News and the Tribune, filed this report. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court freed corporations and unions from a century-old ban on political spending Thursday, ruling that restrictions on their electioneering expenditures violate their First Amendment Rights. Ramsey explains what the ruling says; Philpott, covering politics for KUT News and the Tribune, reports on how it will affect a state like Texas, which has long had a corporate cash ban in effect. Full Story
A review of campaign finance reports for the period from July to December 2009 reveals that some candidates for the Texas House are capable of raising serious money. Full Story
To better understand the geography of the money race, we mapped the candidates' contributions by city, using graduated symbols to highlight their most lucrative areas. The bubbles in the maps get larger based on the percentage of a candidates' total take. Full Story
Democrat Jack McDonald surprised his supporters last month by dropping his 10-month bid for Congress. He said at the time he'd give money back to donors who want it back. Now come the details, in an email from the candidate to supporters. Full Story