Politics & Policy
March 14, 2024
A Deposed Texas Republican’s Lament About Slander and Corruption
Glenn Rogers ran afoul of Governor Greg Abbott and billionaire oilmen Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. It cost him his job.
Greg Abbott
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Politics & Policy
March 8, 2024
The Far Right in Texas Crashed Through Its Last Guardrail
The GOP primary has yanked the lower chamber, once again, to the right—a huge victory for Greg Abbott and lieutenant governor Dan Patrick.
Politics & Policy
March 6, 2024
Why Is Texas the Epicenter of Christian Nationalism?
Billionaires here are funding right-wing politicians to knock down barriers between church and state. But a small countermovement is now rising to meet them.
Politics & Policy
March 5, 2024
Texas Primary Elections Results and Analysis
Donald Trump and Joe Biden cruised to victory, the Democrats chose Colin Allred to challenge Ted Cruz, and Dade Phelan is heading to a runoff.
Politics & Policy
March 4, 2024
The Election That Few Democrats Seem to Care About
The primary is where most everything is decided in Texas, but early voting turnout has been abysmal, particularly among Democrats.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2024
Dade Phelan Was Uninvited From His Own Party. He’s Trying to Crash His Way Back In.
The Speaker governs as an old-school conservative—a crime for which right-wing Republicans are determined to banish him.
Politics & Policy
February 27, 2024
The “Border Crisis” Is the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Greg Abbott
The Texas governor should be reeling from a humiliating defeat on his biggest policy priority. Instead, he’s at the height of his power.
Border & Immigration
February 23, 2024
What Does Religious Freedom Mean in Ken Paxton’s Texas?
Texas’s attorney general is suing to revoke the license of a Catholic migrant aid center in El Paso. Leaders of such aid groups say they’re simply practicing their faith.
Politics & Policy
February 20, 2024
How the Texas House Could Become More Radical
A constellation of right-wing special interests and vengeful state officials is striving to shape the Texas House in its image, in part by targeting independent-minded Republican lawmakers.
Border & Immigration
February 1, 2024
Border Patrol and Texas Troopers Were Once the Best of Friends. What Happened?
For almost three years, Texas DPS agents worked hand in hand with the feds, but their partnership has unraveled into a bitter standoff in Eagle Pass.
Politics & Policy
February 1, 2024
Is the Texas Secession Movement Getting Serious?
It’s unlikely Texas will depart from the union. But with Governor Greg Abbott spouting secessionist rhetoric over border security, talk of a “Texit” is getting a fresh look.
Politics & Policy
January 31, 2024
Greg Abbott’s Voucher Push and Ken Paxton’s Revenge Tour Fall Flat in the First Lege Election
House leadership–backed Jill Dutton defeated anti-impeachment voucher proponent Brent Money in a special Texas House election.
Politics & Policy
January 30, 2024
What If They Held an Election and Every Special Interest Came?
Competing factions of the GOP have turned a small-stakes Texas House runoff into an all-out proxy war.
Meanwhile, in Texas
January 19, 2024
Meanwhile, in Texas: Look, Up in the Sky—It’s Very Old Man!
A brief and highly selective look at what just happened, from a centenarian plummeting to earth on purpose to a hot-air ballooner who did so against his will.
Politics & Policy
December 19, 2023
Greg Abbott Promised to Pardon Her Son’s Killer. Now She’s Seeking Justice.
A self-described lifelong Republican voter, Sheila Foster accuses the governor of playing politics over the murder of her son, Garrett, at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 2023
Texas Ranks Last in Personal Freedoms, According to the Libertarian CATO Institute
The think tank, founded by a conservative billionaire who supports Greg Abbott, ranks Texas 39 places behind California.
Politics & Policy
November 30, 2023
The Texas House Chamber Is the Latest Victim of the War on Christmas
Traditionally, the capitol building has housed a gigantic tree. This year's is much more meager.
Politics & Policy
November 22, 2023
Why Bumble Is Joining a Lawsuit That Challenges Texas Abortion Laws
This week, the women-focused dating app joined dozens of other Texas companies that say ambiguity around life-saving medical care is bad for business.
Politics & Policy
November 20, 2023
Greg Abbott Had Great Ambitions. Donald Trump Had Other Plans.
Long thought of as a presidential contender, the Texas governor has endorsed the former president—and supplicated for his favor.
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2023
Greg Abbott’s New Mexico Border Barrier Isn’t Doing Much—Besides Amusing Locals
Residents of El Paso and Sunland Park, New Mexico, agree illegal immigration is a problem, but the Texas governor’s newest effort is little more than a PR stunt.
Politics & Policy
October 20, 2023
The Texas Legislature Keeps Trying to Ban Vaccine Mandates for Private Businesses. This Time It Might Actually Be Successful.
Republicans need a win after a summer of infighting. But party leaders are ignoring several potential consequences in moving hastily on this issue.
Politics & Policy
October 16, 2023
What’s Behind the Fact-Challenged Freak-out Over Colony Ridge?
The Houston exurb offers cheap land to hardworking families. But some in the GOP see the benefit in demonizing the migrants who’ve moved there.
Politics & Policy
October 4, 2023
Greg Abbott Failed to Persuade Lawmakers on School Vouchers. Now He’s Threatening Them.
Ahead of a special legislative session, the governor has implied there will be political consequences for those who get in his way.
Politics & Policy
September 22, 2023
Winners and Losers in the Ken Paxton Impeachment Saga
The attorney general’s acquittal affects an upcoming legislative session on school vouchers—and the civil war within the Texas GOP.
Border & Immigration
September 12, 2023
Who Wore It Best? We Rate Politicians on Their Border Photo Ops
Rick Perry rides a gunboat. Ted Cruz goes militiaman. Ron DeSantis and George P. Bush try their best.
Politics & Policy
August 23, 2023
Greg Abbott Raised an Astonishing $15.6 Million in 23 Days
The governor attracted strong support from small-dollar donors, but a large chunk of his haul came from multimillionaires and billionaires who quietly cut six-figure checks.
Business
August 14, 2023
Texas Is Number One in Business! (Or Are We?)
Elon Musk is just one of the big-deal CEOs moving to the Lone Star State. But some are reluctant to join him.
Energy
August 14, 2023
We’re Number One in Renewable Energy and Nonrenewable Energy
Why Texas is the past, present, and future when it comes to fueling the world.
Border & Immigration
July 27, 2023
Residents of Eagle Pass Grow Wary of Greg Abbott’s Militarized Border
Confronted with human suffering and death, as well as disruption of their small town, some former supporters of Operation Lone Star have started to sour on the program.
Politics & Policy
July 27, 2023
Greg Abbott’s Border Policy Is at Once Cruel and Ineffective. Many State Leaders Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way.
The Texas GOP, which once advocated for a more humane immigration policy, is wedded to Operation Lone Star despite its exorbitant costs and failures.
Politics & Policy
July 24, 2023
“I Don’t Want to Live in This State of Terror Anymore”: Some Families With Trans Children Are Leaving Texas
After Governor Greg Abbott signed a law blocking gender-affirming care for minors, some have fled the state. Others have no choice but to stay.
Politics & Policy
July 11, 2023
Could Texas Really Eliminate Property Taxes?
The Legislature took a big step Monday, but further efforts could come with great costs: a sky-high sales tax, decimated public schools, and defunding the police.
Politics & Policy
July 6, 2023
How to Lose Friends and Alienate the Legislature
The governor has long suffered from the reputation that he’s a policy lightweight. He’s turning it around this year in five easy steps.
News & Politics
June 27, 2023
Great Moments From the Texas Country Jamboree in Hambriston Throughout Its 123 Years
The Texas Country Jamboree doesn't exist, and Garth Brooks wasn't booed off its stage. That didn't deter Greg Abbott.
Best and Worst Legislators
June 13, 2023
2023: The Best and Worst Legislators
Our scorecard of the Eighty-eighth Texas Legislature’s noisy scoundrels and quiet heroes.
Politics & Policy
May 11, 2023
Since the Lege Has Been in Session, There’ve Been Eighteen Mass Shootings in Texas
The gun bills most likely to pass aren’t restrictions but those that further protect firearm ownership.
Border & Immigration
May 10, 2023
If All the Officers Assigned to the Texas-Mexico Border Stood Side By Side, How Far Apart Would They Be?
Hint: if one of them were Baker Mayfield, he could pass a football to the folks on either side of him.
Politics & Policy
May 8, 2023
Whenever Texans Die in Mass Shootings, Greg Abbott Likes to Talk About Immigration
After the latest bloodbaths in Allen and Cleveland, the governor turned to a familiar playbook of deflection.
Politics & Policy
April 10, 2023
One Angry Man
Governor Greg Abbott wants to overrule a jury’s conviction of Daniel Perry, who murdered a man at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.
Politics & Policy
April 4, 2023
Texas Has Declared War on Fentanyl. Drug Experts Say It’s Making the Same Old Mistakes.
Fentanyl killed more than 5,000 Texans last year. The Legislature is taking the epidemic seriously, but first responders and policy experts are skeptical.
Politics & Policy
March 31, 2023
Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, and Ken Paxton All Invoked George Soros in Denouncing Trump’s Indictment. Here’s Why That’s a Problem.
The Jewish billionaire has long been the target of antisemitic attacks from the far right. What are Republican leaders signaling when they single him out as the main force behind the former president’s woes?
Politics & Policy
March 29, 2023
“It Smells of Despair”: What’s Going On Inside the Harris County Jail?
After 28 men and women died in custody last year, officials are throwing money at the overcrowded facility. Advocates for inmates say reforms are needed.
Politics & Policy
March 22, 2023
Texas Jails Are Crowded, Understaffed, and Dangerous. The Legislature Is Poised to Send Them More Inmates.
Two bipartisan bills would make it easier for judges to incarcerate defendants before trial. Criminologists say that’s bad for public safety.
Politics & Policy
March 16, 2023
Preaching to the Choir: Greg Abbott Tours Private Christian Schools (Exclusively) to Make the Case for Vouchers
The governor has promoted “school choice” at seven religious academies around the state. Why there?
Politics & Policy
March 15, 2023
Texas Lege Watch: A GOP Bill Would Put Greg Abbott in Charge of Houston Flood Control. What Could Go Wrong?
Senator Paul Bettencourt’s proposal would hand the Harris County Flood Control District over to unelected bureaucrats appointed by the governor.
Politics & Policy
March 13, 2023
Tracking All the Ways Texas Republicans Are Trying to Further Restrict Abortion
After banning almost all abortions in the state post-Roe, GOP lawmakers have proposed eighteen new ways of limiting access to the procedure.
Politics & Policy
March 9, 2023
How the Texas GOP Became the Party of Big Government
Under Governor Greg Abbott and a Republican-dominated Legislature, Texas has experienced an unprecedented expansion of state power over municipalities.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2023
Cars Spun Doughnuts in Austin, And Greg Abbott Got Furious, Fast
Why has the governor lasered in on teenagers doing donuts and causing a ruckus in the capital city?
Politics & Policy
February 16, 2023
No Media, No Cellphones, No Questions: Greg Abbott Finds a Safe Space for His State of the State Speech
In an address that resembled a campaign ad, the governor issued seven priorities for the Legislature, including a push for “school choice.”
Politics & Policy
February 16, 2023
What’s Driving the Texas Right’s Campaign Against Transgender Youth and Their Parents
A handful of bills target gender-affirming medical care. Some families have fled the state and others are ready to follow.