The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
A letter from a state lawmaker asks the attorney general's office to give an opinion on whether Texas cities' bans on plastic bags are in compliance with the state’s health and safety laws. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_PlasticBag_MS_1.jpg)
Ted Cruz's positioning for the next stage of his political career was the common thread in Monday's news coverage of Texas' junior senator. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/21/Ted_Cruz_5.jpg)
Wendy Davis isn't the first Democratic candidate for governor to lose a fifth of her primary vote, and GOP crowing about the size of its own electorate hides the overall unpopularity of voting in primary elections. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/07/Richards-Davis-1.jpg)
The Tea Party's big moment last week in the GOP party primaries already is creating anticipation of a more libertarian tilt to next year's legislative session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TeaParty.png)
The former TWIA chief says two top Republicans tried to pressure him into fighting more cases and complained that fees paid to lawyers were ending up in Democratic coffers. The Republicans said their actions were appropriate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/07/TribInvestigates-T-M-D.jpg)
UPDATED: An email from a lobbyist at one of the state's largest law firms suggests there may be efforts underway to persuade three second-place Republican primary finishers to withdraw from the May runoffs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/04/DEWHURST4673.jpg)
During its five-year lifetime, the Tea Party has lost some of its original focus on national spending and national debt. But it's hard to win a Republican primary without its support. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/06/TeaPartyBirthday.jpg)
What's in a name? For some candidates in this week's primaries, including Jim Hogan and Malachi Boyuls, the answer may have been a few thousand votes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/06/NameID.jpg)
We pulled the county-by-county vote totals for each statewide candidate headed to a runoff in their primary and analyzed what parts of the state got them there. Use our interactive to compare each candidate's performance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/06/Vote-Map-Patrick-Dewhurst.jpg)
GOP gubernatorial nominee Greg Abbott leads his Democratic rival, Wendy Davis, by 12 points among likely voters, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/04/DavisAbbott.jpg)
Some Republicans' digs at Wendy Davis' performance in the Democratic primary on Tuesday have obscured the fact that turnout was down for both parties compared with 2010. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/05/Voter-Wagon.jpg)
In several races, Tuesday's election results didn't match the findings of the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll two weeks earlier. What happened? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/04/Patrick-Dewhurst-2.jpg)
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor in 2014, laid out the bill of particulars against her GOP opponent, Greg Abbott. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TXT-DavisLive-CCR003.jpg)
During a TribLive interview, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis said she’s not concerned by primary losses in several border counties, and that she was a better option for South Texas voters than Greg Abbott. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/06/TXT-DavisLive-CCR005.jpg)
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor in 2014, laid out the intellectual framework for her general election campaign. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TXT-DavisLive-CCR004.jpg)
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor in 2014, talked about losing a couple dozen counties on primary day and whether her party is in disarray. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TXT-DavisLive-CCR005.jpg)
Full video of my 3/6 TribLive conversation with state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor in 2014. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TXT-DavisLive-CCR002.jpg)
For the second time in two years, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is in a primary runoff. And the odds are heavily against him. Full Story
Candidates in several races came out swinging during the primary season, and that is not expected to ebb during the runoff campaign — particularly in the GOP races for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/05/Dew-Patrick-BranchPaxton.jpg)
As statewide candidates recover from primary elections and, in some cases, prepare for runoffs, use our interactive to see which campaigns purchased network airtime in Texas' four biggest media markets. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/12/Data-App-rast-3.jpg)