Congress

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.

It's not about Kip Averitt. It's about Chet Edwards.

Jack McDonald isn't running for Congress after all.

Search the privately funded trips taken by Texas congressmen and their staffs during the last two years.

Stiles and Thevenot collaborate on the salaries paid to superintendents, and even compare them on price per student… Ramsey’s look at redistricting and next year’s elections… Aguilar’s report on jails, brought to you by the federal agency that’s in the ag business… Rapoport’s peek at the power behind Texas pre-kindergarten programs… Smith’s conversation with Dan Patrick, in three parts… Grissom’s narrative on a circular immigration and deportation route financed by two governments… Ramshaw finds doctors agreeing on public policy and split on strategy and tactics… Hu’s latest Stump Interrupted puts the camera on Farouk Shami… Hamilton’s story on two retired cops who are taking on cargo theft in Texas… And Kreighbaum and Stiles pop open the itineraries of your folks in Congress. The best of our best from December 12 to 18, 2009.

Writing about congressional travel required days of tedious work because the information isn't easily accessible.

Members of the Texas congressional delegation took more than 200 privately funded trips, at a cost of more than $350,000, in 2008 and 2009.

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.

Tom DeLay, the former Houston congressman and U.S. House majority leader and ertswhile booty-shaker, is Texas Monthly's 2010 Bum Steer of the Year.

How many Texas congressional seats are competitive enough to merit a mention? Three, according to sayer of sooth Charlie Cook.

KBH is out with her second television ad of the campaign cycle. "Texas Tough", as it's called, highlights the KBH record with the help of a tough-talkin' male voiceover.

Congressional Quarterly's latest rankings of congressional races has only three Texas contests in the "likely" category, two on the Democratic side and one on the Republican side.

Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn... Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint... Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch... Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors... Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that's trying to control itself... and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It's the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009.

Kay Bailey Hutchison won't resign from the Senate to run for governor. Hutchison and her aides began calling other Republicans Friday afternoon to tell them to make other plans.

Texans say immigration tops their list of state concerns. Nearly half of them say illegal immigrants should be deported, as against 41 percent who think the immigrants should be allowed to keep their jobs, assimilate, and eventually be allowed to apply for legal status.