The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
At our 2/27 symposium on demographic change at the University of Texas at El Paso, the Trib's Julián Aguilar talked about the changing political map with state Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, state Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, former state Rep. Dee Margo, R-El Paso, and George Antuna, co-founder of Hispanic Republicans of Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Texas_Tribune_On_the_Road_at_UTEP_IPA_41.jpg)
The crowded field of candidates campaigning against 90-year-old U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall argues that 17 terms are enough for the Republican lawmaker. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/100810_ralphhall.jpg)
With low turnout in statewide primaries and the two-decade dominance of Republicans, a bloc of a relatively few voters determines how Texas will handle long-term public policy challenges. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a4eefe6f7bf7af4241b80800705e5b8e/BD%20INC%20Barton%20Hills%20Elem%202013)
Gov. Rick Perry, the state's top elected official, is missing from all but a handful of candidates' endorsements. Uncharacteristically, his is a mostly secret ballot in this year's Republican primaries. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/963ad2488a7cda95eb4e4f8facdfdffd/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Votes%200019%20TT%202013)
Reporting of this week’s UT/TT Poll can’t help but present a simple story: Davis is down, Abbott is up. But these latest results reflect factors that are much more deeply rooted than the low-hanging fruit making headlines and feeding campaign emails. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/11/15/Abbott-Davis-Split.jpg)
As Republican lawmakers seek to rein in the president's executive authority, proponents of immigration reform are urging the president to keep using it to push through immigration changes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA9669.jpg)
All of the major Republican candidates for Texas agriculture commissioner strongly oppose any pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants — a position that the agricultural lobby says would cripple the industry in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/13/Ag-Commissioner-Race-update.jpg)
With five Republicans fighting for the open state Senate seat vacated by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, one thing is almost certain: a May runoff. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/25/SD10-Cans.jpg)
Texans are much more optimistic about the direction of the state than the nation as a whole, according to the final installment of findings from the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e189cc0fde0e91e28afeb529b340d414/BD%20INC%20Paint%20Creek%20Sunrise%202011)
State Sen. Glenn Hegar, a candidate for comptroller, amended his personal financial forms this week to include more information about his wife's income and investments. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Hegar-Glenn.jpg)
UPDATED: The state of Texas on Thursday filed a notice that it intends to appeal a federal judge's ruling Wednesday that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/11/GayMarriage-Court.jpg)
The way Democrats see it, Greg Abbott hurt himself by campaigning with caustic rocker Ted Nugent. In the Abbott camp, though, the Nuge blowback theory is another fiction spun by the liberal elites. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/17/Abbott_Nugent.jpg.Still002.jpg)
The times they are a-changin' on Texans' attitudes toward marijuana, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/14/TexasPot.jpg)
Battleground Texas, the Democratic group working to make the state politically competitive, wrote a letter to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Tuesday saying it has broken no laws. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/504c90ec851572b4157db9fbdc22177e/BD%20INC%20Dewhurst%202013)
Detailed campaign finance records show that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis received a fundraising boost last week as her likely GOP opponent, Greg Abbott, came under fire for campaigning with controversial rocker Ted Nugent. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/29/DavisAbbottMoney.jpg)
UPDATED: Opponents of a proposed open pit coal mine on the border will see this week if their last chance at stopping the venture has legs. Representatives for the project say fears have been overblown. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-MexicanCoal015.jpg)
Three Texas Supreme Court justices up for re-election face GOP primary challenges. Backers of the incumbents are critical about where support for those challengers is coming from. And those challengers have questioned the current court's conservatism. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/07/SupremeCourt.jpg)
Boosting funding for public schools and cutting the number of standardized tests top the list of ways the state could change public education most effectively, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/24/UTTT-Poll-Feb2014.008.png)
Democrats and Republicans in Texas differ in their enthusiasm for spending more money for education, but they tend to agree on the need to invest more, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/24/DavisAbbottEducationKids.jpg)
Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis and a fundraising partner raised more money in the last month than the campaign of Attorney General Greg Abbott, but Abbott has nearly three times the cash on hand. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/10/TPPF_Abb569cuCMS.jpg)