The Texas Legislature remains mostly white and male
When the 2021 legislative session begins Tuesday, three of every five lawmakers in the state House and Senate will be white and just 27% of seats will be held by women. Full Story
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![The Capitol at sunset on May 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas gives Medicaid recipients using Planned Parenthood until Feb. 3 to find new health care provider
The extension comes after the conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in November sided with Texas officials who have long tried to block Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor. Full Story
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![The exterior of Planned Parenthood's Downtown Austin Health Center on Jan. 14, 2020. The location was being renovated at tim…]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Early in the pandemic, Texas banned most abortions. After the ban lifted, second-trimester abortions jumped, a new study shows.
Texas officials cited a need to preserve medical supplies as a reason to crack down on abortions. A new study finds that many Texans left the state during this time seeking the procedure. Full Story
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![A women's health clinic in Texas.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Beth Van Duyne could be the GOP’s antidote to high-profile progressives when she joins Congress
The former Housing and Urban Development official will be part of the largest group of House Republican women ever elected to Congress in the same year. Van Duyne’s supporters expect she’ll bring her brand of outspoken conservative fire with her to the Capitol. Full Story
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![Ben Wear, transportation reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, moderated the “Tyranny of the Commute” panel featuring …]()
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U.S. Supreme Court leery of Trump’s bid to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional reapportionment
Outgoing President Donald Trump's administration wants to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count that determines how many congressional seats each state gets. Texas could lose at least one congressional district under the plan, according to a study. Full Story
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![A protester holds a sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court where the court ruled that U.S. President Donald Trump's administrat…]()
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Eight months into the pandemic, this women’s health clinic in rural Texas struggles to meet demand for care
At a housing unit turned health clinic in rural Brown County, the director of a family planning clinic laughs at the idea of offering tele-health visits to limit the virus' spread: “Where we are, that is just not an option for us.” Full Story
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![Brenda Seely waits for her next patient at the Midway Family Planning clinic in Brownwood.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
The devastating toll of COVID-19 on El Paso illustrates the pandemic’s stark inequalities
El Paso is far from the only predominantly Hispanic area that has been ravaged by the virus. Hidalgo and Cameron counties, both along the state’s southern border, have seen death tolls that rival larger and more urban parts of the state. Full Story
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![Restaurant guests inside Chico’s Tacos during the COVID-19 outbreak in El Paso. Nov. 15, 2020.]()
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COVID-19 vaccines may be coming soon, but most Texans won’t get them for months. Here’s why.
Officials are preparing for the massive undertaking of distributing a vaccine that may require multiple doses and subzero storage temperatures across a state that covers 270,000 square miles and some 170 rural counties. Full Story
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![Shirley Cortez, left, prepares flu shots while Janel Allen applies hand sanitizer inside the mobile unit in front of Falfurr…]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
How split-ticket voting might have saved two Republican Texas lawmakers in a blue county
Texas Republicans managed to avoid net losses in the state and U.S. House this election cycle in part because voters in key districts showed a willingness to vote Democratic at the top of the ballot and Republican lower down. Full Story
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![Voters at the polling place inside the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Judge rules acting Homeland Security secretary appointment unlawful, which could have implications for DACA
U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis said acting Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf's memo in July limiting the validity of the DACA permits from two years to one year “was not an exercise of legal authority.” Full Story
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![DACA recipients and supporters rally in celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the program outside of the Immgratio…]()
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In Texas, Biden’s urban wins couldn’t offset Trump’s millions of votes in rural, red counties
In order to turn the tide in 2020, Biden needed to take advantage of population growth in the state’s biggest cities and political shifts in the suburbs to erase Trump’s massive advantages in rural areas of the state. Full Story
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![Republican signage outside the Blanco County Tax Assessor/Collector’s Office polling location in Blanco on Election Day, Nov…]()
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Democrats hoped high turnout would usher in a blue wave across Texas. It didn’t.
In Texas, at least 66% of the 17 million registered voters cast ballots in the 2020 general election. That’s 6.6 percentage points higher than total turnout in 2016. Full Story
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![Voters wait in line to vote at the Austin Central Library, prior to polls opening on Election Day 2020. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
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Joe Biden’s struggles along the Texas border raise questions about Democrats’ outreach there
Democrats once again won a large number of counties along or near the Texas-Mexico border, but by narrower margins than in recent elections. That showing played a big role in disappointing results for the state’s Democrats. Full Story
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![Curbside early voting at Brownsville's Main Branch Library on Oct. 21, 2020.]()
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President Donald Trump defeats Joe Biden in Texas
The Republican incumbent was poised to win Texas’ 38 electoral votes after an unexpectedly tight statewide race for the White House. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Fayetteville Regional Airport in North Carolina on Nov. 2, 2020.]()
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Five things to watch on Election Day 2020 in Texas
Texas is playing host to a series of high-stakes contests up and down the ballot, from a presidential race that could be the state’s closest in a generation to the fight for the Texas House majority. Full Story
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![A polling location in the Performing Arts Center at Texas State University in San Marcos during early voting in October.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas has added 1.8 million registered voters. Where they are shows how the state has become more competitive.
Most of the new voters registered in the state's fast-growing urban counties or suburbs. Full Story
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![Some voters waited for more than three hours to cast their ballot at a shopping center in South Austin on the first day of e…]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
In Lubbock, pandemic fatigue sets in as hospitalizations rise
Experts and officials say people are exhausted with coronavirus restrictions and have begged them to don face coverings, socially distance and take “personal responsibility” for keeping themselves and their neighbors safe. Full Story
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![A line forms outside of Mesquites Bar and Grill in Lubbock on Oct. 17.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
In Democrats' bid to flip Texas, maximizing the Latino vote is key
Joe Biden is not faring as well among Latino voters in the polls as Hillary Clinton did in 2016. But Democrats in Texas are working to shore up Latino support. Full Story
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![Day one of early voting in El Paso at the Sunland Park Mall indoor voting site on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ massive early voting numbers have persisted, leading to predictions of overall turnout unseen in years
Experts are predicting that as many as 12 million people could vote in Texas this year. Full Story
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![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at the Sunland Park Mall in El Paso on the first day of early voting in Texas on O…]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Why Asian American voters in Texas may hold outsized importance in key races this year
Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial or ethnic voting group in the country, according to the Pew Research Center. And in Texas, there are sizable Asian American communities in key districts. Full Story
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![Sri Preston Kulkarni speaks to his supporters in Sugar Land after losing to Pete Olson in a race for Texas' 22nd Congressio…]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune