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The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.

  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 45

    by Elise Hu

    In this week's TribCast, the regular podcast gang is back to talk about the start of campaign season, the latest polls in the race for governor, and the political effect of that $18 billion budget hole. Full Story 

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  • 2010: Poll-Land

    by Ross Ramsey

    A new political survey says Gov. Rick Perry is beating Democrat Bill White in the governor's race, but also shows the incumbent is unpopular with half of likely Texas voters and that the same percentage of voters support a two-term limit for governors. Full Story 

    This plot of polls in the Texas governor's race shows more variance when multiple surveys are performed around the same time.
    Credit: James Henson/UT

  • Is the Governor's Race Really Tied?

    by Ben Philpott, KUT News

    A poll released Tuesday shows the Texas governor's race in a virtual dead heat. Conducted by the GOP firm Hill Research Consultants, it has Rick Perry leading Bill White 42 percent to 41 percent, with 14 percent undecided. Other polls this summer, however, have shown the governor with a much larger lead. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story 

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  • 2010: A Dead Heat?

    by Ross Ramsey

    And now for something completely different: Rick Perry and Bill White are virtually tied in the race for governor, according to a poll done for Texas Watch by Republican pollster Hill Research Consultants. Full Story 

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  • The Bellwether

    by Morgan Smith

    As U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, goes, so go the Democrats? In a hyper-partisan year, with control of the U.S. House up for grabs, all eyes are on Congressional District 17, the most Republican district in America held by a Democrat. Pundits think Edwards may finally get beat: Were he to survive, a D.C. analyst says, it would be "one of the greatest Houdini acts ever seen in Texas politics." But the 10-term incumbent has seen awful political environments before. “The Washington Generals have a better record against Harlem Globetrotters than the [National Republican Congressional Committee] does in predicting my defeat," he says. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Marjorie Cotera/Todd Wiseman

  • The Sting of the Killer Bees

    by Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede

    The rules of the Texas Senate are designed to create an orderly process that respects the rights of individual members. They have lasted this long because they do the job well and consider the need for compromise in the legislative operation. Trampling the rights of the minority is never a good idea — and yet it has happened over and over again. An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    Galbraith on grass, federal money and efforts to prevent another dust bowl, Ergenbright on school suspensions and who gets punished; Aguilar's interview with Alan Bersin, whose job is to keep the U.S./Mexico border secure, M. Smith on why it would be harder than you think to ditch the 14th Amendment, Adler and me on whether controversy is politically contagious, Ramshaw on the flap over funding for the state's institutions for the disabled (it's not about the money), my meditation on the state's fiscal woes (including a $1.3 billion deficit in the current budget), Philpott on proposed cuts to the state's food stamp program, Grissom on the push by Hidalgo County officials for a special election that might not be legal; Hamilton on the seven Texas universities that are making a play for Tier One status and Stiles on the mid-year cash-on-hand numbers reported by campaigns and political action committees: The best of our best from August 16 to 23, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 41

    by Ben Philpott, KUT News

    Ben, Ross, Evan and Matt talk about President Obama's visit to Texas and who didn't want to be seen with him, the battle over strings attached to federal education money, Bill White's donor-appointees and the legal and political definitions of residency. Full Story 

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  • Every Doggett Has His Day

    by Ben Philpott, KUT News

    The U.S. House has passed a bill on Tuesday that is expected to send about $800 million to bolster the state’s education budget. But thanks to an amendment added by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, the funding comes with Texas-specific strings attached. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Border Residents Feel Safe, Poll Finds

    by Julián Aguilar

    A large majority of the residents of Texas cities on the U.S.-Mexico border feel relatively safe despite harsh rhetoric from lawmakers and a consistent media portrayal of their communities as war zones, according to a poll released today. Full Story 

    Downtown El Paso
    Credit: http://jdlong.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/nighttime-downtown-el-paso.jpg

  • The Polling Center: White's No Mad Man

    by Jim Henson

    Bill White deciding to travel to points far from Austin and Dallas while President Barack Obama visits the state today to raise money and speak at the University of Texas presents us with yet another mountain-out-of-a-molehill political story in the long, hot summer of gassy coverage of the governor’s race. A look at Obama’s standing in Texas makes it clear that White would be nuts to share a stage with Obama unless he feels like doing a favor for Gov. Rick Perry’s ad team. Full Story 

    Democratic candidate for Texas governor Bill White campaigns in Henderson at the East Texans for Texas rally
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • TribBlog: How Much Do Kids Count?

    by Alexa Garcia-Ditta

    Texas ranks 34th nationally in childhood well-being, has the third highest teen birth rate and is experiencing a rapid increase in child poverty, according to new numbers released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS Count data center. Full Story 

  • The Map: Get Out the Vote

    by Matt Stiles, The Texas Tribune, and Zahira Torres, El Paso Times

    El Paso and Hidalgo are the largest Latino-majority and Democratic-leaning counties in the state, and they rank near the bottom when you compare the size of their voting age population to the actual number of people who show up at the polls. Collin and Fort Bend are growing suburban counties with larger Anglo populations that tend to lean Republican and produce some of the highest turnouts of eligible voters anywhere in Texas. Guess which pair gets the most attention and has the most clout? Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman/Jacob Villanueva

  • The Map: The Giant Still Sleeps

    by Matt Stiles, The Texas Tribune, and Zahira Torres, El Paso Times

    Nearly 37 percent of the state's population of nearly 25 million is Latino, but only about 1.2 million Latinos who were registered to vote in 2008 cast ballots. Pinpointing when the emerging majority group in Texas will begin wielding its power at election time is no small feat. Scores of campaigns, party activists and interest groups spend millions of dollars each year trying to determine what will happen when that day comes. Full Story 

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    Credit: El Paso Times

  • 2010: Perry 43, White 43

    by Reeve Hamilton

    According to a new poll released by Public Policy Polling, Democratic challenger Bill White is running neck and neck with incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story 

    Rick Perry, Bill White
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller, Callie Richmond

  • Dave Carney: The TT Interview

    by Ross Ramsey

    During last weekend's GOP convention in Dallas, the chief consultant to Rick Perry's re-election campaign talked to the Tribune about the strategy behind his strategy, why many people believe a Perry run for president is coming, the mistake that Bill White is making, the canard of the "39 Percent Governor" and the whole states-versus-the-feds thing. Full Story 

    Gov. Rick Perry after his primary victory on March 2, 2010.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller