With more competitive races than usual, Texas saw deluge of outside spending
A hotly contested U.S. Senate race and an expanded congressional battlefield attracted a flood of super PAC spending to Texas in the general election. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht -
Livestream: Watch Texas midterm election results roll in with The Texas Tribune and KXAN
The Texas Tribune and KXAN-TV in Austin are partnering to provide live, on-air results and analysis on the 2018 Texas midterm elections. Tune in Tuesday night. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots in midterm elections in Houston, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Here's how Texas voted in every U.S. Senate election since 1961
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz won re-election in 2018 against Democrat Beto O'Rourke by about 2.6 percentage points. Here's a look at the margins of victory for every U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1961. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Rodolfo Gonzalez: O'Rourke/Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Cruz -
Cruz, O'Rourke blitz state in final weekend of campaigning
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso, made their closing arguments Saturday as they embarked on their last weekend of campaigning in the hotly contested race. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, both campaigning on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, O'Rourke in Dallas, Cruz in Victoria.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson: O'Rourke/Bob Daemmrich: Cruz -
Texas voter turnout in 2018 races toward presidential election year levels
At the end of early voting on Friday, turnout in the state's largest counties already surpassed the entire turnout of the 2014 midterm elections. Full Story
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![A long line of voters wait to cast their ballots at the Wonderland of the Americas Mall in San Antonio late Friday afternoon, Nov. 2, the last day of early voting.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke entered Congress at the same time. Here’s what they have accomplished.
Over their six years in Congress, what have Cruz and O'Rourke gotten done? We dug into their legislative histories and asked both men for their top accomplishments in the Capitol. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato: O'Rourke/Shelby Knowles/Capitol Hill/Ulysses Romero: Cruz -
Beto O'Rourke camp says spending highlighted in Project Veritas video went to charity, will be "appropriately reported"
After a controversial conservative group released an undercover video featuring O’Rourke’s staffers, his campaign said that those staffers "took it upon themselves" to use campaign funds to donate supplies to an El Paso nonprofit. Full Story
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![Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Beto O'Rourke speaks at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 29, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
How a super PAC helping Beto O'Rourke by bashing Ted Cruz can hide who's funding it
A super PAC called Texas Forever has spent more than $1.29 million on anti-Cruz TV ads just in the past two weeks, but it won't have to disclose its donors until after the election. Full Story
![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Rodolfo Gonzalez: O'Rourke/Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Cruz -
Ted Cruz hasn't distanced himself from Steve King — once a valuable ally — in final days of race against Beto O’Rourke
King has long made inflammatory comments on race, ethnicity and immigration. Full Story
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![Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, greets Sen. Ted Cruz at King's annual pheasant hunt at the Hole N' the Wall Lodge in Akron, Iowa on Saturday, October 31, 2015.]()
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Beto O'Rourke's 1998 DWI arrest featured in Republican super PAC TV ad
A GOP super PAC, ESAFund, has gone on TV with a commercial invoking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke's 1998 drunk-driving arrest. Full Story
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![Beto O'Rourke's early voting rally in San Jacinto Plaza and walking through downtown to vote at the county courthouse in El Paso on Mar. 2, 2018.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
In getting out the vote, Cruz turns to Abbott's infrastructure while O'Rourke builds his own
It's get-out-the-vote time in the U.S. Senate race, and both sides are going different routes to turn out their voters. Full Story
![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Rodolfo Gonzalez: O'Rourke/Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Cruz -
Beto O’Rourke is betting big on Facebook ads: He’s spent more than $6 million in six months.
U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s spending in particular on the site suggests Facebook is playing a bigger role in his race this year than in any other in Texas — and possibly the country. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), is challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera: O'Rourke/Bob Daemmrich: Cruz -
Ted Cruz’s lead over Beto O’Rourke narrows to 3.6, UT-Tyler poll says
The UT-Tyler poll follows a number of other polls which show Cruz's lead over O'Rourke diminishing. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (left) and U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, at their first debate, in Dallas, on Sept. 21, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz targets conservative Hispanics in deep-blue Rio Grande Valley
The Rio Grande Valley has long been a Democratic stronghold. But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is trying to tap into an often overlooked conservative base in this stretch of the border in his re-election bid against U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to a crowd during a campaign stop in Laredo on Monday, Oct. 9, 2018.]()
Credit: Ulysses Romero for The Texas Tribune -
Groups with neutral-sounding names launch Facebook ads against Texas Republicans
Names like “The Voter Awareness Project” and “Breaking News Texas” are being used by political groups for negative campaign ads on the platform. Full Story
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Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke are fighting over America’s most conservative large county
Cruz and O'Rourke's U.S. Senate race highlights how the GOP stronghold in North Texas is a statewide battleground between Republicans and Democrats. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (left), and U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, campaign in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Abby Livingston/The Texas Tribune -
In U.S. Senate race, both sides take heart in massive early voting numbers
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep Beto O'Rourke, each believe high voter turnout holds promise for their respective campaigns. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, left, faces U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in debate at the KENS 5 Studios in San Antonio on October 16, 2018.]()
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How the battle between Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke became a $103 million race
Cruz and O'Rourke have, together, raised $103 million in their battle for a U.S. Senate seat, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of both campaign's accounts. Check out our updated deep dive into their fundraising. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz shakes hands with U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, prior to the start of a debate at McFarlin Auditorium at SMU in Dallas on Friday, September 21, 2018.]()
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Senate race tops $100 million with latest filings from Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his Democratic opponent, Beto O'Rourke, have now raised more than $100 million combined. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (left) and U.S. Rep Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad: Cruz/Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson: O'Rourke -
Ted Cruz leads Beto O’Rourke by 6 in Texas Senate race, UT/TT poll finds
Republican incumbents lead their Democratic challengers in the top four races on the general election ballot, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Credit: Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News/POOL / Emily Albracht for the Texas Tribune