Campaign Roundup: The Week's Political News
State campaign news, candidate announcements, retirements and rumors from the past week. Full Story
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Campaign Chatter
Chris Harris and Will Hartnett say they won't be back, but the horde of candidates for state and federal legislative seats is growing. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Hartnett Confirms He Won't Seek Re-election
State Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, said this afternoon that he won't seek another term in the Texas House. Full Story
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Campaign Chatter
Rep. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, will run for Steve Ogden's Senate seat. Ogden isn't running, and Williamson County has become the 300-pound gorilla of that district in terms of population. Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, won't run. Full Story
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The Texas Weekly Index: March Fights, November Peace
General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
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Feds: Proposed Texas Maps Undermine Minority Voting Rights
The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Right Act. Full Story
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The Texas Weekly Index
Lots of things affect election outcomes. Candidates. Money. Issues. Surprises. But some of the results are wired into district maps, through redistricting. Here's our charting of the political atmosphere — Republican or Democratic — in each of the House, Senate and congressional districts drawn by the Legislature this year. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Jose Aliseda: The TT Interview
The freshman Republican state representative on what he liked about the legislative session, what's wrong with the process, the press, politics and why he'd be coming back for more if a local job hadn't opened up. Full Story
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Texplainer: Can Texas Use the Rainy Day Fund to Fight Wildfires?
Gov. Rick Perry has said the Rainy Day Fund should be preserved as an insurance policy against natural disasters, but Texas can't actually dip into it until the next legislative session — in 2013. Full Story
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Lyne Won't Seek Re-election to House
Another House freshman won't be back: Lanham Lyne, R-Wichita Falls, says he won't seek re-election to the Texas House in 2012. Full Story
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Challenge to Texas Redistricting Opens in Federal Court
The state's new political maps are now in the hands of the federal government. An army of lawyers lined up before the start of federal hearings on Tuesday, lugging boxes of papers and briefcases bulging with the scribbled notes and other arguments they'll present over the next two weeks. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Van Arsdale Seeks Return to House
Former state Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, defeated in Tomball in the 2008 Republican primary, will run for an open seat in Cedar Park in 2012. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Interactive: The Texas Tribune Redistricting Viewer
Building on the success of our previous redistricting interactive, the Tribune has prepared a new version that includes the redistricting maps for the state House, Senate and State Board of Education. Full Story
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Winn Looking at Open House Seat — But Not Brown's
Former Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector Gerald "Buddy" Winn might run for the Texas House next year, but it won't be for state Rep. Fred Brown's seat. Full Story
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Charlie Howard Gets a Challenger
Sugar Land Mayor Pro Tem Jacquie Chaumette says she will challenge state Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, in next year's Republican primary. Full Story
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Fort Worth Senate Race Could Get Crowded, and Quickly
As expected, state Rep. Kelly Hancock, R-Richland Hills, will run for the Texas Senate next year in SD-10, the district currently occupied by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. Hancock is the first challenger to announce, but this could get crowded, and quickly. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson examines the Texas jobs "miracle," Root on how Rick Perry built his financial portfolio, Tan and Wiseman on Perry vs. Ron Paul, Philpott on how budget cuts will affect a mental health provider, yours truly on a House freshman who was less than impressed with his first legislative experience, M. Smith on public schools charging for things that used to be free, Hamilton on a new call to reinvent higher education, Grissom on a rare stay of execution, Galbraith on the end of a Panhandle wind program, Aguilar on the increase of legal immigration into the U.S. and Texas: The best of our best content from July 25 to 29, 2011. Full Story
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Woolley Won't Seek Re-election to House
State Rep. Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, says her current term — her ninth — will be her last; she's not running for re-election next year. Full Story
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Visualization: 1989-91 Texas House Partisanship Scores — When Perry Turned Red
See where Rick Perry stood on the liberal-conservative spectrum when he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1985-1991. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Ryan Murphy / Todd Wiseman -
Visualizing Days of Lege Debate: The Wild Card Issues
State lawmakers considered a wide variety of bills, from shooting feral hogs from helicopters to criminalizing “inappropriate” touching during airport security searches. Use this interactive to find lawmakers’ commentary on the measures. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Becca Aaronson / Todd Wiseman
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