The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
The long-running securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — now more than five years old — has been delayed for years as he resists paying special prosecutors $300 an hour. But he personally signed off on that rate for an inexperienced attorney probing a political donor’s complaint. Full Story
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Springer, a state representative, faces Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was jailed earlier this year after refusing to shutter her business due to pandemic restrictions, for the seat of state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper. Full Story
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West made the comments Friday to the Austin American-Statesman after his lack of support for Hegar came up at her first debate with Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Full Story
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The young lawyer has five years of experience and apparent ties to an attorney for Nate Paul, a political donor to Paxton at the center of the latest allegations against the attorney general. Full Story
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Top aides have accused Paxton of using the agency to serve the interests of the donor through the investigation — which has involved subpoenas related to the donor's financial interests. Full Story
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Political parties are enlisting a record number of poll watchers in Texas and across the country for a highly charged election season. Full Story
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Cornyn, the Republican incumbent, leads Hegar 50%-42% in his bid for a fourth term, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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The president leads the former vice president 50%-45% in Texas, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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While Denton County is moving forward, Dallas and Harris counties officials almost immediately declined the offer to allow bars to reopen. Many others are taking a wait-and-see approach. Full Story
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Texas business owners and unemployed residents feel like federal leaders of both parties are playing political games with their financial lives in the middle of a damaging recession. Full Story
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The aides are doubling down on accusations they made last week to law enforcement that Paxton had committed crimes including bribery and abuse of office. Full Story
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Cornyn said the allegations against Paxton “need to be investigated.” Full Story
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The fate of the presidential race in Texas could be tied to dozens of legislative and congressional races in the state's suburbs. Those seats have often gone to Republicans. But Democratic candidates are raising and spending big. Full Story
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Voting rights groups say last-minute changes to the voting process in Texas have created confusion. Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says he has expanded accessibility by allowing voters to submit mail-in ballots in person before Election Day. Full Story
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Democrats outraised Republicans in battleground districts in the third quarter, though Republicans still have the cash-on-hand advantage. Full Story
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In this week's TribCast, Matthew speaks with Emma and Cassi about the turmoil at the attorney general's office, legal fights over voting issues in Texas and how the 2021 legislative session will look. Full Story
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Among the documents Paxton released Wednesday was a June 10 referral from the Travis County district attorney’s office, which asked the attorney general’s office to investigate a complaint that appears to come from Nate Paul. Full Story
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Akilah Bacy, Joanna Cattanach and Celina Montoya are running for Texas House Districts 138, 108 and 121, respectively. Full Story
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The elections administrator for the county, Texas' most populous and a critical stronghold for Democrats, has already sent the applications to voters 65 or over. The GOP Texas Supreme Court ruled he may not send them to the rest of the county's 2.4 million registered voters. Full Story
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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, like many Republicans in Texas, has made support for the police a key tenet of his campaign. But Democrats have made his law enforcement record a point of attack. Full Story
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