If the race to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison is over before it begins — if the lieutenant governor and his vast personal wealth have this locked up — why are so many credible candidates saying they’ll run? Because they see an opportunity.
Congress
Read the latest Texas Tribune coverage of Congress, from the state’s lawmakers in Washington to key legislation and political debates shaping Texas and the nation.
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Congress
2012: Jonesing for a Senate Race
Republican Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones will officially begin — or revive, rather — her campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Tuesday.
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State Government
Climbing the Ladder
What happens if Gov. Rick Perry or Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst decide to run for federal office and win, creating a vacancy — or two — in Texas? That sound you hear is a herd of GOP pols rushing to update their resumes.
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State Government
TribBlog: A Voter ID Emergency
Today, Gov. Rick Perry added two more issues — voter ID legislation and a call for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget — to his list of “emergency items” that state legislators can begin deliberating on right away.
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Congress
TribBlog: Cruz-ing Into the Senate Race
Ted Cruz, who served as Texas Solicitor General from 2003 to 2008, is the latest to officially throw in for the race to replace GOP U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
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Congress
2012: H.W. Bush Backs Roger Williams
The race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison may only be days old, but at least one candidate in the crowded field is already pulling out the big guns.
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State Government
Dewhurst: I’ve Got My Plate Full
Minutes after learning of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s decision not to seek re-election, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst demurred when asked whether he would run for her seat.
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Demographics
Silvestre Reyes: The TT Interview
The Democratic congressman from El Paso on what life will be like with the Republicans in control of the U.S. House, why the information released by WikiLeaks shouldn’t be public, whether we should be sending troops to Mexico and why Gov. Rick Perry talks so much about spillover violence.
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Congress
Lamar Smith on the New Congress
The 112th Congress will convene Wednesday with new faces at the helm of a number House committees. Jennifer Stayton of KUT News talked with U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, who will take over as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, about the issues on which he expects to find bipartisan support, the assertion that Americans won’t work certain jobs and why he supports a repeal of the new health care law.
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Economy
National Treasure
Texas lawmakers have vowed to cut their way to a balanced budget, in the face of a shortfall that could be as high as $25 billion. But their task pales compared to the federal government, which ran a deficit of almost $ 1.3 trillion last fiscal year. As KUT’s Matt Largey reports, a lot’s at stake for Austin when the next Congress gets down to business on the next federal budget.