Analysis: The Names Might Change, but the Party Labels Won't
By the numbers, there are some federal and state legislative districts in Texas that can be considered competitive in November general elections. There just aren't many of them. Full Story
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![Congressman-elect Will Hurd answers a question during a Texas Tribune event on Dec. 18, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Winning by Packing the Ballot
It should come as no surprise when political plotters and schemers try to pack a primary election to force an incumbent into a runoff. Their hope is that the runoff's greater concentration of partisan voters will be harder on the incumbents. Full Story
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![Texas House Speaker Joe Straus listened to a Jan. 13, 2015, speech by a fellow member nominating him for another term as speaker.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: A Look at Texas Voter Preferences by Political District
As the presidential political season starts in Texas, here's a look — based on the results in past general elections — at how the state's congressional and statehouse districts stack up for the candidates from both parties. Full Story
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![Early voting at the Acres Home Multiservice Center in Houston on Oct. 26, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Hard Way to Win a Speaker's Race
Anti-establishment Republicans have tried three times to knock House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, out of the top job. Now they're entering an election season nearly five dozen votes short of what they need. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus gavels out the 84th session of the Texas Legislature on June 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Dancing With Those Who Brung Ya
Splitting the majority party in the House of Representatives leaves a potential speaker with two routes to the top. Lawmakers did it one way in Texas and another way in Washington, D.C. Full Story
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![TribFest 2014 Joe Straus interview with Ross Ramsey
Conversation San Antonio event on May12th, 2014 with Speaker of the House John Boehner
Credit: Bob Daemmrich/Marjorie Kamys Cotera]()
Credit: Credit: Bob Daemmrich/Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: More Voices on State Business, and Perhaps, More Headaches
Allowing more people to register their opinions on issues before state legislators is technologically easy. But is it really something legislators want to do? Full Story
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![A hearing on Senate Bill 1 is shown on July 8, 2013.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Analysis: Citizen Feedback, Without the Road Trip to Austin
After a committee confrontation and a state police investigation, there's still a question about allowing people who aren't in the Capitol to register their support or opposition to legislation: Why not? Full Story
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![State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, being escorted out of a House Transportation Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, on April 30, 2015.]()
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Analysis: Texas Election Managers Are Partying Like It's 2012
Federal judges are deciding two major Texas election law cases. One in particular — over the political maps for state House and congressional districts — has officials thinking about 2012, when the courts delayed the primary elections. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Lt. Gov. Patrick Endorses Hughes in Open Senate Seat
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who initially planned to stay away from endorsements in Republican primaries, said Tuesday he is backing state Rep. Bryan Hughes of Mineola in the Republican primary race to replace state Sen. Kevin Eltife of Tyler. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Setting up a Review That Could Be Preceding a Makeover
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants a special committee to review legislative agencies he co-chairs with House Speaker Joe Straus. It sounds a little weird at first, but could put him in position to remake some of those agencies. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus (left) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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Patrick: My Office Didn't Start Veto Inquiry
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday reiterated his disagreement with a letter questioning the governor's budget vetoes, saying his office did not initiate a letter from a legislative agency on that subject. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a Texas Tribune event on June 4, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: A Challenge to Vetoes — and a Governor's Power
The governor and the state's legislative leaders are having what looks like an argument over money, but it's really about who's in charge in state government. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol, May 15, 2015.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Legislature Questions Abbott's Budget Vetoes
Some of Gov. Greg Abbott’s line-item vetoes in the state budget might be invalid, the state’s Legislative Budget Board said in a letter sent Tuesday to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: In Texas, the Center Did Not Hold
Middle ground is arguably the most dangerous turf for a Texas lawmaker to occupy these days, and new research shows that none are doing it. The gap between moderate Republican and Democratic lawmakers is growing. Full Story
![Early voting at the Acres Home Multiservice Center in Houston on Oct. 26, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Legislature Losing Some Key Players
It will be more than a year before we know everyone who is and is not coming back to the Texas Legislature, but the trickle has started, and some big players are leaving the field. Full Story
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![Texas House Appropriations Chairman John Otto, R-Dayton, looks at his computer while state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, stands nearby on June 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Waiting, Literally, for the Political Field to Take Shape
Not all of the pieces are in place as the new political season begins. For starters, the maps used to elect people to the Texas House and to the state's congressional delegation are still tangled up in federal litigation. Full Story
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Here's a Look at What Happened With Straus' and Patrick's Priority Bills
Over the course of this year's legislative session, House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made their priorities known by what bills got the lowest bill numbers. Take a look at how those proposals fared. Full Story
![House Speaker Joe Straus (left) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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Otto, House's Lead Budget Writer, Announces He Won't Seek Re-election
After a decade in the Texas House and fresh off his first session as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, announced Tuesday that he is not planning to seek re-election. Full Story
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![Group congratulates Rep. John Otto R-Dayton after HB1 passes on May 29, 2015]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Keffer, a Straus Lieutenant, Won't Seek Re-election
State Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, plans to announce Wednesday that he will not seek another term in the Texas House. He is one of a handful of House Speaker Joe Straus' original supporters still in the Legislature. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Deconstructing the Session: What Happened Under the Dome?
During the 84th legislative session, state lawmakers had 140 days to pass a budget and other bills they thought were priorities for Texas. In this special collaboration with Texas Standard, we look at the big takeaways from the session. Full Story
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