Watch: National progressives target Texas in contentious Democratic primary races
National progressive groups and their allies in Congress are looking to the Texas primary to send a new class of stars to Congress. Full Story
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![Greg Casar speaks to the crowd at the voting rally event at the Paper Tiger in San Antonio on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The 3% of Texans deciding who governs the other 97%
Most Texas voters skip the primary elections, leaving many of the decisions about who serves in office to a relatively small group of Texas — voters who have more clout as a result. Full Story
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![Early voting for the primaries opened on Feb. 14, 2022. Bodhi Goodwin, 4, sits with Ethan Goodwin, 41, outside the Austin City Hall polling location.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Las Vegas Sands launches $2 million PAC to continue its push to legalize casinos in Texas
The new Texas Sands PAC has already spread over half a million dollars across roughly three dozen primaries for the state House and Senate. Full Story
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![The Sands Expo and The Palazzo resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.]()
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Will an FBI raid boost Laredo progressive Jessica Cisneros’ bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar?
Cisneros came within 4 percentage points of unseating the moderate Cuellar in 2020. He seemed better prepared to fend her off in 2022 — until the FBI raided his office. Full Story
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![Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-TX, talks with supporters at an event featuring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at his campaign headquarters in Laredo on Feb. 22, 2020.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Ross Ramsey, our executive editor and co-founder, will retire on May 1 after more than four decades in journalism
A beloved reporter and columnist who knows more about Texas politics than just about anyone alive, he’s been instrumental to the Tribune’s operations and evolution. No him, no us. Our success is his legacy. Full Story
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![Ross Ramsey moderates the “Fade to Blue” panel with guests Rodney Anderson, John Bucy, KP George, Larry Gonzalez and Erin Zweiner at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa for The Texas Tribune -
Debate between Texas GOP attorney general candidates got heated, even though incumbent Ken Paxton wasn’t there
Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman repeatedly criticized each other. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert focused on the incumbent, who didn’t participate. Full Story
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![Republican candidates for state attorney general debate in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. From left: Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush; U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler; and former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune/POOL -
Pushing falsehoods about Biden’s election is a plus for Republicans vying to be Texas’ top lawyer
Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, one of his challengers, have embraced disproven claims of 2020 election fraud. It’s a sentiment shared with most Texas Republicans, according to political experts. Full Story
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![Pro-Trump protesters rally at the Texas State Capitol building on Jan 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton dined with the family of a trans Texas kid. They now feel under attack.
Amber Briggle wants to know why the attorney general issued a directive that states gender-affirming care is child abuse after he visited her family for hours in 2016. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton talks during a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz ends block on Biden appointments after sanctions issued for Russian gas pipeline
As the Ukraine crisis intensifies, President Joe Biden issued sanctions against a pipeline company. Cruz previously blocked State Department nominees because Biden wouldn’t oppose the project. Full Story
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![U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-TX, leaves a U.S. Senate classified briefing on the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, at Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
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Redistricting, challenges from the right test Texas House GOP incumbents coming off “most conservative session ever”
The primaries are also the first major electoral test for House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who took over the gavel more than a year ago. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, spoke to the media during a press conference by the Republican Caucus on the break of quorum by state Democrats. July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt takes heat for lack of Texas law license in his bid for attorney general
Merritt is licensed in Pennsylvania. The state constitution doesn’t require the attorney general to be a licensed lawyer, but Merritt’s opponent has criticized his legal record. Full Story
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![Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt announces his campaign for Attorney General at a press conference held at the Texas Capitol on July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott’s two most vocal GOP challengers have long sought to push their party to the right
Former state Sen. Don Huffines and ex-Republican Party of Texas Chair Allen West have each made careers out of championing conservative values. Full Story
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![Republican candidates for Texas Governor Don Huffines, left, and Allen West, before a forum in College Station on Jan. 19, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Giving professors freedom, so long as they agree with politicians
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to revoke tenure for professors teaching lessons about race that he disagrees with. It’s a new chapter of an old fight between academics and populist politicians. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks to reporters at a press conference at the state Capitol on Feb. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Attacks fly in final days of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s primary fight
Paxton is targeting one of his challengers, Louie Gohmert, while another challenger, George P. Bush, is going after challenger Eva Guzman. Full Story
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Former Texas state Sen. Kirk Watson running for Austin mayor
Watson was mayor of the city from 1997 to 2001 and is focused on tackling the rising cost of living, homelessness, public safety and transportation. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, speaks at a press conference on his retirement from the Texas Senate and his new upcoming position as the Founding Dean of the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs at the Senate Press Conference Room at the Capitol on Feb. 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas land commissioner candidates compete to oversee Alamo and disaster relief funds
Land Commissioner George P. Bush is stepping down to run for attorney general. Four Democrats and eight Republicans are seeking their parties’ nominations for the office. Full Story
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![Visitors crossed the street away from the Alamo in San Antonio on Jan. 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell defends faculty tenure after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes to end it at all public universities
Patrick’s suggestion to end tenure at public universities received swift criticism from faculty and higher education experts who said it would negatively impact the reputation of Texas’ colleges and universities. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell gives the state of the university address on Sept. 24, 2021.]()
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Whistleblowers say Ken Paxton is misleading Texans about his bribery and abuse-of-office allegations
The whistleblowers made their first statement about Paxton’s decision to fire them since filing a lawsuit against the attorney general. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton at a border security briefing at the Texas DPS airport hangar in Edinburg on Jan. 28, 2022. The four whistleblowers who sued Paxton after he fired them for accusing him of bribery and abuse of office are speaking out against him publicly for the first time since filing their lawsuit.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the power of Us vs. Them
A week into early voting in the Texas party primaries, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick launched his latest culture-war volley, an attack on college professors whose teachings about race don’t match his notions about what they should be teaching. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference concerning the recently passed Election & Ballot Security Bill, also known as Senate Bill 7, at the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2021. "Senate Bill 7 is about voter security, not about voter suppression, and I'm tired of the lies and the nest of liars who continue to repeat them," said Patrick.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
An Austin cop has been charged with police misconduct. That might actually help his Texas House campaign.
Justin Berry is among 19 Austin law enforcement officers indicted and accused of using excessive force on anti-police brutality protesters in 2020. Full Story
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![Former Austin Police officer Justin Berry holds a weapon with non-lethal rounds during a protest in front of Austin City Hall on May 31, 2020. The protestors had gathered in response to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
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