The Brief: Feb. 4, 2014
Greg Abbott has reversed the campaign fundraising storyline of a month ago, raising more than three times the cash as the combined efforts of Wendy Davis and Battleground Texas. Full Story
The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
Greg Abbott has reversed the campaign fundraising storyline of a month ago, raising more than three times the cash as the combined efforts of Wendy Davis and Battleground Texas. Full Story
Six people were arrested on Monday in front of the Travis County Jail during a civil disobedience protest against a federal immigration program. Full Story
Democrats say a secret recording of Greg Abbott's comments at a fundraiser demonstrate the likely GOP nominee for governor is pushing attacks on his Democratic rival, Wendy Davis, while publicly maintaining he's above the fray. Full Story
Looking for income disparity? Look at the Texas campaign finance reports, where contributions from big donors outstrip the contributions from thousands of small ones. Full Story
The Tribune's Jay Root has the story on another secret audio recording released with the intent to impact the already contentious gubernatorial contest. Full Story
Texas' refusal to issue required greenhouse permits for almost two years may have hurt business. Energy companies say they have been unable to take advantage of the area's shale boom. Full Story
Republicans running for lieutenant governor demonstrated in their debate Monday that they are concerned about their March primary, not about how their positions might sound in November. Full Story
Texas ranks 33rd for its percentage of female legislators. The number of women in the upper chamber is unlikely to increase, even as two of the seven in the Senate — Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte — pursue statewide office. Full Story
The House Republican leadership on Thursday released a one-page blueprint for immigration reform. But with its call to legalize 11 million undocumented workers, the immediate question was whether the plan would fly within the party. Full Story
Congressional Republicans unveiled a set of guidelines for comprehensive immigration reform on Thursday, saying immigrants should have a path to legal status only after paying fines and passing background checks. Full Story
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Debra Medina, a candidate for Texas comptroller in 2014, talked about a possible shift away from property taxes and toward sales taxes — and the implications for the state budget. Full Story
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Debra Medina, a candidate for Texas comptroller in 2014, talked her comparatively meager cash on hand and whether she'll have enough money to run a winning campaign. Full Story
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Debra Medina, a candidate for Texas comptroller in 2014, talked about her Tea Party past and the advantages of running as an outsider. Full Story
Full video of my 1/30 TribLive interview with Debra Medina, a candidate for Texas comptroller in 2014. Full Story
We've expanded the officials in our Ethics Explorer to include the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the members of the State Board of Education. We've also updated our existing analysis on members of the Legislature. Full Story
After a polarizing freshman term in the state House, Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, a Tea Party backer, has drawn backlash from some Republicans in a closely watched race. Full Story
In the high-stakes gubernatorial race, the candidates are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in a competition to raise more money — and, hopefully, win more votes — than the competition. Full Story
New research by a Sam Houston State University economics professor finds Texas fifth in income inequality. Could it become a big issue in the governor's race? Full Story
Months after her husband was killed in Mexico, Lorena Acosta finally laid her husband to rest on Monday in West Texas. Acosta hopes to use her personal tragedy to spotlight what she said are deep-seated problems within law enforcement south of the border. Full Story
Twenty candidates — including seven Republicans and five Democrats — are hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. It is by far the most crowded statewide race in Texas this year. Full Story