John Cornyn defeats MJ Hegar to retain U.S. Senate seat
Hegar called Cornyn and conceded within minutes of the race being called, according to both campaigns. Cornyn gave a victory speech shortly after 9 p.m. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, visited College Station on Oct. 28, 2020, as part of his statewide bus tour. Cornyn was also joined by Rick Perry and Pete Sessions at this campaign stop.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
President Donald Trump defeats Joe Biden in Texas
The Republican incumbent was poised to win Texas’ 38 electoral votes after an unexpectedly tight statewide race for the White House. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Fayetteville Regional Airport in North Carolina on Nov. 2, 2020.]()
Credit: Andrew Craft/USA Today Network via REUTERS -
Five things to watch on Election Day 2020 in Texas
Texas is playing host to a series of high-stakes contests up and down the ballot, from a presidential race that could be the state’s closest in a generation to the fight for the Texas House majority. Full Story
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![A polling location in the Performing Arts Center at Texas State University in San Marcos during early voting on Oct. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Two more senior aides fired from Texas attorney general’s office in wake of criminal accusations against Ken Paxton
David Maxwell and Mark Penley, top law enforcement aides at the agency, were fired after being on paid leave for weeks. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016.]()
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Analysis: In Texas, the end of a grinding election, and another already on the horizon
As a grueling election cycle comes to a close, there is no rest for the weary: Candidates are already talking about what's on the Texas ballot in 2022. Full Story
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![George P. Bush gives a eulogy during the funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston on Dec. 6, 2018.]()
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As Texas Republicans center campaigns on city crime, anti-police brutality activists say the party's messaging is racist
GOP campaign ads paint cities as lawless places and Democrats as enablers of crime. But people pushing for criminal justice reform say those portrayals sidestep the systemic racism that prompted this year’s protests against police brutality. Full Story
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![State troopers stand guard at the state Capitol grounds to prevent protesters from entering during a protest over the death of George Floyd.]()
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Texas has added 1.8 million registered voters. Where they are shows how the state has become more competitive.
Most of the new voters registered in the state's fast-growing urban counties or suburbs. Full Story
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![Some voters waited for more than three hours to cast their ballot at a shopping center in South Austin on the first day of early voting.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
During Texas visit, Kamala Harris urges Democrats to turn out as election approaches and races remain tight
Harris spoke in Fort Worth during the first stop of a daylong tour of Texas. Her message: The Democratic presidential ticket isn’t ceding Texas to the GOP this year. Full Story
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![U.S. Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Edinburg on Oct. 30, 2020.]()
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Texas Democrats think a seat on the oil and gas regulating board could be their best chance of winning statewide in two decades
With attention on Texas races up and down the ballot, a virtually unknown Republican candidate and big-time donations to the Democratic nominee, Democrats think they have a shot of winning a seat on the Railroad Commission. Full Story
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![Seal of the Railroad Commission of Texas.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
What you should watch — and what you should ignore — while the votes are being counted in Texas
It's been an election season like no other. Brace yourself for a results process that lasts longer than in recent elections. Full Story
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![Day one of early voting in El Paso at the Sunland Park Mall indoor voting site on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A Texas election with a decade of politics at stake
A nine-seat change in the Texas House could affect the balance of power in the Texas Capitol, but also in Congress. Texas lawmakers will draw political maps next year that could remain in place until the 2030 census. Full Story
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![The floor of the house on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Houston appeals court won't let Ken Paxton criminal trial move to Collin County, for now
Prosecutors had argued they couldn't get a fair trial in Collin County, where Paxton is deeply connected politically. The decision is likely to herald more delays in the five-year-old case. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to the Gun Owners of America assembly in 2018.]()
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Worried your mail-in ballot still hasn't arrived? Here's how to be sure your vote counts
If you're concerned that you haven't received your mail-in ballot, there are ways to be counted by showing up in person. Officials say ballots are still being sent out with less than a week before Election Day. Full Story
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![Harris County election workers process and sort mail-in ballots at NRG stadium on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
All seven of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's whistleblowers have resigned, been fired or put on leave
The last of the seven whistleblowers, Ryan Bangert, said he resigned Wednesday. Two others had already resigned, two more were fired last week, and two were put on leave earlier this month. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a press conference on Jan. 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
In Lubbock, pandemic fatigue sets in as hospitalizations rise
Experts and officials say people are exhausted with coronavirus restrictions and have begged them to don face coverings, socially distance and take “personal responsibility” for keeping themselves and their neighbors safe. Full Story
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![A line forms outside of Mesquites Bar and Grill in Lubbock on Oct. 17.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Michael Bloomberg to spend $15 million on TV ads for Biden in Texas and Ohio after seeing tight polling
The move comes as some polls show the Biden-Harris ticket within striking distance — and, in some surveys, ahead — in the traditionally Republican state. Full Story
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![Democratic presidental candidate Michael Bloomberg at his rally at Central Machine Works in East Austin on Jan. 11, 2020.]()
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Analysis: Democrats or Republicans could win the Texas House this year. But what if they tie?
The next speaker of the Texas House will come from the majority party, whether that’s the Republicans or the Democrats after the election. But there’s an outside chance the parties will have the same number of members. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives chamber on Nov. 20, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Pointing to pandemic and election controversies, Democrats make their case for Texas Supreme Court
Democrats argue the high court's pandemic-related decisions show GOP incumbents should be unseated in November. Republicans say the virus is another argument for sticking with the status quo. Full Story
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![Candidate campaign materials at the Texas Justice Tour event in Cedar Park on Feb. 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Judge rules Ken Paxton's 5-year-old criminal case can be heard in his hometown of Collin County
The Harris County judge’s order reverses a decision that the state’s top lawyer should not face a jury in the North Texas region where he and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, are deeply connected in political circles. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference in front of the Supreme Court on June 9, 2016.]()
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Texas’ massive early voting numbers have persisted, leading to predictions of overall turnout unseen in years
Experts are predicting that as many as 12 million people could vote in Texas this year. Full Story
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![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at the Sunland Park Mall in El Paso on the first day of early voting in Texas on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune