Dallas County sheriff to face predecessor Lupe Valdez, who ran for governor in 2018, in runoff election
Valdez ran the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department until 2017, when she stepped down to run against Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, left, and current Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown]()
Credit: Dallas County Sheriff Department -
Houston Rep. Lacey Hull defeats Paxton-backed Jared Woodfill in GOP primary
Woodfill’s endorsement by Paxton was decried by some Republicans because of his close ties to Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler, who has been accused multiple times of sexual abuse. Full Story
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![State Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, prepares to vote on a bill on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judges
Three incumbent judges with nearly a century of criminal law experience fell victim to Paxton’s political revenge tour after they ruled against the attorney general in a 2021 voter fraud case. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Moderate Republican Tony Gonzales fails to clinch GOP nomination, forced into runoff
State Rep. Craig Goldman and business owner John O’Shea are competing to replace U.S. Rep. Kay Granger. Brandon Gill won the GOP nomination to replace Michael Burgess. Full Story
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![Co-Chairmen U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) lead a news conference with members of the House Hispanic Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst -
Texans headed to the polls with a mixture of duty and frustration
Many who voted Tuesday said they weren’t excited about their choices. “Morale feels low,” said one Houston voter. Full Story
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Credit: The Texas Tribune -
I’m an elections reporter — and I just cast my first vote as a naturalized U.S. citizen
For a long time, I didn’t want to think or talk about elections or politics. That changed four years ago. Full Story
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![Votebeat reporter Natalia Contreras after voting for the first time in the United States on Feb. 25, 2024 in Corpus Christi.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Natalia Contreras/Votebeat -
It’s primary election day. Here are six things to watch.
Divisions among Republicans are in stark display, some of Texas’ most senior members of Congress are retiring and Democrats are hoping to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz. Full Story
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![Election signs on March 5, 2024, outside of the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Many homes burned in the Texas wildfires weren’t insured, creating a steep path to recovery
Rural Texans are more than twice as likely to go without homeowners insurance than their urban peers. Full Story
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![A burned truck sits on lot in Fritch where the fire went through while areas behind appear to be untouched Friday, March. 1, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas greenlights negotiations with SpaceX for Boca Chica State Park land exchange
Monday’s vote lets Texas Parks and Wildlife staff begin negotiations to swap 43 acres in the park for 477 acres next to a federal wildlife refuge. Full Story
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![The SpaceX South Texas launch site in Boca Chica on Nov. 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Jasper Scherer is our newest politics reporter
He’s covered state government for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News since 2021. Full Story
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![Jasper Scherer.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Taylor Goldenstein -
Interfaith collaboration is vital to solving today’s massive challenges, community leaders say
During a conversation hosted in Houston by The Texas Tribune, panelists talked about the importance of building bridges among different faiths despite politics often causing divisions within institutions. Full Story
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![In this Texas Tribune conversation, which is part of our “We the Texans” project looking at the state of democracy in Texas, we’ll talk with faith leaders about improving their communities, getting past the daily vitriol we hear in public discourse and what guidance they give to people who are losing faith in our systems and institutions.]()
Credit: Alfredo Palacios/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court continues blocking Texas immigration law
Senate Bill 4 would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the border. Full Story
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![National Guard members tell migrants that they cannot cross through that area and that they need to walk until the end of the property to turn themselves in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 29, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through. Some will be sent back after being arrested for trespassing private property without allowing them to go through the immigration process in the U.S.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
State calls for investigation into cause of Texas Panhandle wildfires
As officials try to determine a cause for the wildfires, a Canadian homeowner filed a lawsuit blaming an energy company for the destruction. And more are expected. Full Story
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![Texas Governor Greg Abbott, center, speaks at a press conference with Nim Kidd chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, left, and Hutchinson County Judge Cindy Irwin, right, Friday, March. 1, 2024, in Borger, Texas.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
New Panhandle wildfire emerges, forcing evacuation of tiny town of Sanford
Get the latest updates as firefighters continue battling massive fires that have burned more than 1 million acres. Full Story
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![A plane prepares drops retardant on the Roughneck fire near Sanford on Sunday, March. 3, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
As Biden and Trump visit the border, many Texas residents feel ignored
When the two presidents used the Texas-Mexico boundary as a backdrop for the national immigration fight, residents felt they were left out of the conversation. Full Story
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![Pedestrians walk through downtown Brownsville early Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. President Joe Biden visited Brownsville on Thursday, receiving briefings from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, USCIS, and ICE along the border before giving remarks at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s Annunciation House investigation is the latest attack on religious organizations aiding migrants at the border
For years, conservative religious groups and Texas politicians have accused groups housing newly-arrived migrants of encouraging, and profiting from, illegal immigration. Full Story
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![Migrants wait inside a local migrant shelter, Annunciation House, after leaving immigration court, Tuesday, August 23, 2022, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
In two Texas border towns, Biden and Trump push for different immigration approaches
Immigration is a driving issue in the almost-certain presidential rematch between the Democratic incumbent and ousted Republican. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden gives remarks during a visit to Brownsville on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw testifies before grand jury investigating Uvalde school shooting
McCraw, the state police chief, traveled to Uvalde to appear before a grand jury considering criminal charges against officers for their botched response to the 2022 school shooting. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw testifies during the Homeland Security & Public Safety committee hearing at the state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 28, 2023. McCraw emphasized the drug and human smuggling crisis at the border, and answered questions concerning the training that DPS officers undergo in relation to school shootings.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas executes Ivan Cantu for Dallas murders despite doubts of his guilt
Faith leaders and jurors from the original trial launched a public campaign to reconsider recanted testimony in Cantu’s case. Texas courts declined. Full Story
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![Ivan Cantu poses for a photo on Jan. 31, 2024. Cantu is locked in a room for visitation and uses a telephone to speak to a reporter.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Years before Texas conservatives painted them as criminals, Colony Ridge residents sought help from state agencies
Texas has little to show for conservative leaders’ uproar — or previously unreported complaints about the community developer. Full Story
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![An overhead view of the Colony Ridge development on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in New Caney, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune