John Cornyn and Ted Cruz join united Republican opposition to federal voting rights bills
Democrats’ options for passing a voting rights bill dwindle as tensions escalate in the Senate. Full Story
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![U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz at a press conference on border security at the Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission on Jan. 10, 2019. The senators accompanied President Donald Trump on his trip to the southern border earlier in the day.]()
Credit: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times via REUTERS -
Ken Paxton violated law and must release records related to Jan. 6 Trump rally, district attorney says
The Travis County district attorney, a Democrat, says the Republican attorney general has four days to provide communications, multiple Texas news outlets first reported. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on October 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Probe of Texas National Guard border mission demanded over suicide attempts, abysmal conditions and delayed pay
The call for action from Texas Democrats comes as another service member based in the city of Pharr survived a suicide attempt on Sunday, according to an incident report obtained by Army Times and The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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![A group of migrants waits to turn themselves over to National Guard and Customs and Border Protection officials at the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio on July 22, 2021.]()
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Oath Keepers founder arrested in Texas for role in Jan. 6 insurrection, charged with sedition
Stewart Rhodes is accused of conspiring to oppose the transfer of presidential power by force. He and 10 others are the first to face charges of seditious conspiracy in connection with the 2021 siege. Full Story
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![Oath Keepers founder, Stewart Rhodes, speaks during the Patriots Day Free Speech Rally in Berkeley, California, on April 15, 2017.]()
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Court reverses rebuke against state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt for wearing “pussyhat,” mocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s disability
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct had admonished Eckhardt in 2020 for her actions as Travis County judge. Full Story
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![State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, questions one of her colleagues during a floor debate on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas politicians can change their minds. But it helps if the public goes first.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends. Full Story
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![A recently harvested marijuana flower hangs up to dry at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says critics are "playing politics" over Texas National Guard suicides
Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.” Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard set up a shade structure while they guard a gate along the border wall in Del Rio on September 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
COVID-19 kept Texas Democrats off the campaign trail in 2020. Not this time.
In 2020, Democrats took their campaign efforts virtual. But they later admitted that the lack of in-person campaigning hurt them at the polls. Full Story
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![Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a campaign rally in San Antonio on Nov. 16, 2021.]()
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State Rep. Celia Israel announces run for Austin mayor
Former Austin mayor and Democratic state Sen. Kirk Watson has also expressed interest in running for the position, as has City Council member Kathie Tovo. Two candidates have formally announced their candidacy: Jennifer Virden, a Realtor and former Austin city council candidate, and Erica Nix. Full Story
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![State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, waits to announce her plan to run for Austin mayor at Parque Zaragoza in Austin on Jan. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Watch: The Abbott vs. O’Rourke battle begins
The two-term Republican governor likely faces off against a Democratic challenger. Watch as we go behind the scenes. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke are major contenders for the upcoming governor race in Texas.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A Texas election in the shade of government’s third branch
Challenges to new Texas laws on voting, political districts and abortion are all pending in court, as is the state’s challenge to federal vaccine mandates. But until the courts rule, those laws remain in place — and they provide political fodder for the incumbents who support them. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, 2021. Today, the Supreme Court will hear cases regarding abortion in Texas.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP’s voting meme shows how Trump-style messaging wins internet’s attention
The Republican Party of Texas’ meme that linked COVID-19 test wait times with waiting in line to vote is the latest example of a growing — and successful — political social media strategy, experts say. Full Story
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![A Republican Party of Texas tweet compared people waiting in line to be tested for COVID-19 to waiting in line to vote. The state Legislature in 2021 passed new voting restrictions, including limits on local initiatives meant to make it easier to vote.]()
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Abbott, O'Rourke lead off election year with visits to border cities
The Republican governor officially announced his reelection campaign Saturday in McAllen, while likely Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke campaigned in El Paso. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso.]()
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TribCast: Is the omicron wave in Texas nearing its peak?
In this week's episode, Matthew speaks with Karen and Patrick about the pandemic and Ted Cruz taking heat from conservatives over his comments about the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Full Story
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![Healthcare worker Carlos Perales prepares to test a sample for COVID-19 on Jan. 5, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Shelley Luther, anti-lockdown activist and GOP candidate, said Chinese students should be banned from Texas universities
Luther became nationally known at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 when she refused to shut down her Dallas salon in defiance of emergency orders. She was sentenced to a week in jail but was released after only a few days. Full Story
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![Dallas hair salon owner, Shelly Luther expresses the need for business to open up in Texas. She reassures everyone that her salon takes proper precautions at all times.]()
Credit: Jessica Nicole Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s your Texas 2022 March primary ballot
The Texas 2022 primary will take place March 1. See the full list of candidates statewide and find out who's on your ballot based on where you live. Full Story
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![Voting stickers for the 2022 primary ballot page in Texas.]()
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Texas lawmakers deplore mistreatment of National Guardsmen sent to border duty
Legislative leaders overseeing the Texas Military Department say they are looking into reports of suicides, habitual pay problems and poor working conditions on Gov. Greg Abbott's highly touted border mission. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard, seen here on Dec. 8, work 12- to 13-hour shifts guarding the Texas border wall, construction crews and materials near Del Rio. Thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to Del Rio after an increase in migration at the southern border.]()
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Analysis: Texas candidates run for the border
Texas candidates are talking all kinds of things right now, but one set of issues floats to the top, as it has in state elections for decades: border security and immigration. Full Story
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![A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle along the border fence between El Paso and Juarez on Feb. 10, 2019, in El Paso.]()
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Ted Cruz called the Jan. 6 riot a “terrorist attack.” Now he says he misspoke.
After conservative backlash, Cruz took to a FOX News show — whose host also lambasted him — to backpedal from comments he made during a congressional hearing. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks as FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the January 6th insurrection, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 2, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott plans 60 reelection campaign stops, fewer than 60 days before the GOP primary
Republicans including former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and former Texas GOP chair Allen West are challenging Abbott for the Republican nomination. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to supporters at a meet and greet at a University Draft House in Edinburg on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune