Politics

Sentiment for the Tea Party remains strong within the GOP, but what started as an insurgent group is becoming just another — albeit important — part of the Republican Party in Texas.

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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza talked about the efforts of Republicans — nationally and in Texas — to attract Latino voters.

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A couple of Democrats won election in 2012 talking about education, but that doesn't mean the issue was a silver bullet for the minority party. Lots of others talked about it and lost, and the two who won were victorious in districts favorable to them.

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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Texas lawmakers are poised to spend billions out of the state's Rainy Day Fund, but some say tapping the fund will lower the state's bond rating. So what's the truth?

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A troubled cancer-fighting charity paid a tobacco lobbyist to represent its interests in the Legislature, even as it was winding down its operations and facing the wrath of lawmakers.

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With the death this weekend of Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, Texas Republicans lost one of their stalwarts, and one of their biggest and most reliable donors. So did a few Democrats.

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Your evening reading: Perry calls for $1.6 billion in business tax relief; George P. Bush jabs at Obama in new campaign video; Perry launches ad campaign targeting Illinois businesses

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Bob Perry, a behind-the-scenes titan in the Texas political world, has died at the age of 80.

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This week in the Newsreel: An effort to legalize casinos is under way in the Texas Senate, Attorney General Greg Abbott wants a redistricting bill, and some lawmakers want to give drug tests to recipients of unemployment and TANF benefits.

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Your evening reading: Perry talks re-election, backs dedicated car sales tax for transportation funding; Stockman bumper sticker stirs controversy; Railroad Commission chairman apologizes for retweeting noose image

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Texas could trim the size of its court fights over redistricting by endorsing maps drawn by federal judges, but legislative leaders fear the harmony of the current session would evaporate in the process.

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UPDATED: Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman apologized on Friday for retweeting an image that showed a noose beside the names of Republican U.S. senators who had voted down a gun-control filibuster.

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The Texas House on Thursday voted to formally ask the U.S. State Department to apply pressure on the Mexican government to release water owed to Texas under the terms of a treaty signed in 1944.

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Polls might show a low interest in public education cuts made by lawmakers in 2011, but some of the candidates who ran in 2012 found a very receptive electorate.

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Attitudes about gun control proposals among Texas Republicans provide a foundation for understanding Sen. Ted Cruz’s resistance to the apparent compromise taking shape in the U.S. Senate.

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With gun and immigration bills gaining new momentum in Washington, the spotlight has again fallen on Ted Cruz.

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It's no shock that Texans tend to be more conservative when it comes to federal gun control measures. But Texans are also conservative in another, more literal sense when it comes to proposals seeking to reduce the requirements to carry a concealed handgun.

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"You never really know when a major issue like this will find a break or an opportunity to be passed," state Sen. John Carona said Monday of proposed legislation that could lead to the legalization of casino gambling in Texas.

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UT-Austin President Bill Powers addressed the future — and turbulent present — of the University of Texas System at the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors convention on Saturday.

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This week in the Newsreel: Gov. Rick Perry says no again to Medicaid expansion, the Texas House starts debate on a new state budget and the Senate approves CPRIT reform legislation.

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