Voter apathy takes hold of early voting ahead of Texas midterm election
Republicans may be waiting to vote on Election Day after former President Donald Trump pushed voting in person on Nov. 8 at a rally in South Texas. Full Story
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![Students and faculty walk past the Peter T. Flawn Academic Center at The University of Texas while early voting takes place Oct. 25.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
Donald Trump energizes South Texas voters ahead of early voting as Republicans predict red “tsunami”
Trump rally attendees said they were basing their midterm votes on issues such as the economy and the border and were hopeful Trump would run for president again. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Robstown, a western suburb of Corpus Christi, on Oct. 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Lucas Boland/Caller-Times USA Today Network -
Greg Abbott widens lead over Beto O’Rourke with likely voters in latest UT poll
The 11-point margin is one of the wider advantages Abbott has registered among likely voters in a public survey yet. Abbott had a smaller 5-point advantage in the last UT poll, which was done in August, though that was among registered voters. Full Story
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![Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke speaks to a packed auditorium during a stop on his College Tour campaign at Texas State University on Oct. 5, 2022, in San Marcos.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Dan Patrick targets rural Texas in media-shy bus tour
Patrick’s campaign strategy in rural Texas may suggest he’s trying to shore up the party’s most reliable base of voters in an area that both Beto O’Rourke and Mike Collier have spent considerable resources to win over this election cycle. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, up for reelection in November, started a bus tour of mostly rural Texas in late August, making stops in small towns all over the state. Advance work announcing the visits has been local at best, bypassing the statewide press corps.]()
Credit: Dan Patrick campaign website -
In campaign ad, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggests mandatory 10-year sentence for gun-related crimes
New mandatory sentences could be a big policy shift for Texas. But Patrick isn’t providing any details of his one-sentence proposal so it’s hard to gauge its significance. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks to reporters at a press conference on Feb. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
1836 Project promotes sanitized version of Texas history, experts say
The Texas Tribune reviewed the 15-page document, which will be handed out to new drivers, and asked historians to comment on how accurately and thoroughly it chronicles the state’s history. Full Story
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![The Texas and U.S. flag wave in the wind outside of the John Reagan State Office building on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Comptroller, railroad commissioner, lieutenant governor: What do Texas state officials actually do?
For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them. Full Story
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![A graphic that reads, "Texas Office Glossary" above a collection of voting stickers.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht for the Texas Tribune -
Democrat Mike Collier embraces his GOP past as he tries to unseat Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
In his second attempt to oust the incumbent, Collier is actively courting Republican voters who are turned off by the Legislature’s hard-right turn in recent years. Full Story
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![Mike Collier, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks at campaign event at Whitestone Brewery on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 in Cedar Park.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding for The Texas Tribune -
Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. endorses Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for reelection
The endorsement comes after Patrick’s Democratic opponent, Mike Collier, received endorsements from two Republicans, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo. Full Story
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![State Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, on the Senate floor on May 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Not so fast: Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans face a complex election landscape after abortion ruling, Uvalde shooting
Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke hope to define the election on issues viewed as favorable to their own parties. Full Story
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![Rita Economos and her 4-year-old June prepare their vote in a booth at the Lochwood Branch Library in Dallas on Feb. 25, 2022, the last day of early voting in the Texas primary. Dallas County voting centers’ hours were extended till 10 P.M. on the last day of early voting to make up for early closures due to icy weather.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Two Republican foes of Dan Patrick support Democrat Mike Collier for lieutenant governor
Both Republicans have been at odds with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and neither of them are running for reelection. Full Story
Credit: Tarrant Co. website; Texas Senate -
What issues matter most to you this election? Help us cover Texans’ top concerns.
Help us prioritize the policy issues and election questions we should report on ahead of the November midterms. Full Story
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![A sheer image of voters behind a large logo that reads "VOTE 2022" next to a Texas Tribune icon.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht -
After Uvalde shooting, Texas leaders will spend more than $100 million on school safety, mental health
Almost half the money is going toward bullet-resistant shields for school police officers, a move that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called on fellow state leaders to support. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at Uvalde High School on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 in Uvalde. Twenty one people were killed after a gunman after a high school student opened fire inside Robb Elementary School on Tuesday where two teachers and 19 students were killed.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas is unlikely to adopt key provision of bipartisan gun bill — a red flag law to take guns away from people deemed dangerous
Red flag laws likely remain a nonstarter among Republican leaders in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott already faced a conservative backlash after he asked the Legislature to consider them four years ago. Full Story
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![Guns at McBride's Guns in Austin on March 26, 2013.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
University of Texas selects new director — and new name — for its conservative institute
The University of Texas at Austin selected Justin Dyer to run The Civitas Institute, formerly referred to as the Liberty Institute. The center raised concerns among faculty after The Texas Tribune reported UT-Austin worked with conservative donors and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to bring the institute to the flagship UT campus. Full Story
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![Justin Dyer has been named the executive director of the newly formed Civitas Institute.]()
Credit: Courtesy Justin Dyer -
Texas House speaker pitches spending more than $100 million for mental health, school safety programs
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had asked House leaders to support his push for arming school police officers with bulletproof shields after the Uvalde shooting. House Speaker Dade Phelan is also asking for more money for mental health and school safety programs. Full Story
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![Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, center, speaks with Gov. Greg Abbott, right, and State Rep. Ben Leman, R-Anderson, left, on the House floor on Sunday, May 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls for spending $50 million to buy bulletproof shields for school police
Patrick said he wants police in as many Texas schools as possible to have bulletproof shields before the fall. He’s asked other state leaders to move around money in the state budget to make it happen. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sits down at a press conference at Uvalde High School on May 25, 2022, in Uvalde. A gunman killed twenty-one people after a high school student opened fire inside Robb Elementary School on Tuesday where two teachers and 19 students were killed.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, says it’s a “slap in the face” to be left off committee responding to shooting
Gutierrez, a Democrat who has been critical of the state’s response to past shootings, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also snubbed state senators whose districts were affected by shootings in El Paso and Santa Fe. Full Story
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![State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, whose district includes Uvalde, interrupted a news conference held by Texas Governor Greg Abbott at Uvalde High School, three days after a gunman killed nineteen children and two adults in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, on May 27, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Marco Bello -
A gun and a prayer: How the far right took control of Texas’ response to mass shootings
The “God-given right” to self-defense has become a rallying cry in Texas politics, further cementing gun ownership as a holy cause and political identity. The state’s Republican leadership has spent decades carrying the banner. Full Story
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![People walk into the NRA Annual Meeting as people protest behind them Friday, May 27, 2022, at George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Trump and Cruz propose “hardened” one-door schoolhouses. Experts say that’s not a credible solution.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans argue that gunmen can be stopped by locking all but one door and posting guards at schools. School officials and safety experts say that’s not realistic. Full Story
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![UVALDE, TX-MAY 25: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to members of the media outside Robb Elementary School on Wednesday, May 25, 2022 in Uvalde, TX. Twenty one people were killed after a gunman after a high school student opened fire inside Robb Elementary School on Tuesday where two teachers and 19 students were killed.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune
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