Matt Rinaldi has led the state Republican Party far to the right. His successor is likely to keep driving in that direction.
The GOP primary has yanked the lower chamber, once again, to the right—a huge victory for Greg Abbott and lieutenant governor Dan Patrick.
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.
The primary is where most everything is decided in Texas, but early voting turnout has been abysmal, particularly among Democrats.
The Speaker governs as an old-school conservative—a crime for which right-wing Republicans are determined to banish him.
The attorney general and the senator have beef. For now, it’s confined to social media.
The Texas congressman’s party-defying votes have earned him four right-wing challengers who say the race is America’s last stand.
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.
Tim Dunn may not be a household name, but staff writer Russell Gold explains why he is someone Texans should know.
Most November elections in the state are meaningless. But primaries present liberals with an opportunity to exert their electoral influence.
The state’s most powerful figure, Tim Dunn, isn’t an elected official. But behind the scenes, the West Texas oilman and lay preacher is lavishly financing what he regards as a holy war against public education, renewable energy, and non-Christians.
Party leaders want to close primaries to preclude Democrats from crossing over to vote for the more-centrist Republican candidates. But the data shows that few do so.
Politicians have labeled the battle over Ken Paxton’s impeachment as one between centrists and the far right. It’s not, according to our analysis of legislators’ voting records.
For a long time, Texas Republican chairman Matt Rinaldi couldn’t win elections. Now he wants to decide them—by exacting revenge on opponents within his party.
After right-wing activist Jonathan Stickland hosted Nick Fuentes in his office, many in the GOP have attacked Stickland’s critics.
Countless right wingers could do the attorney general's job more effectively, but none would so reliably serve the interests of one faction in the Texas GOP's civil war.
Phelan’s office called Paxton’s late-Tuesday statement a ploy and “a last-ditch effort to save face.”
Amid a crowded field of conservative youth organizers, Run GenZ is supporting young candidates for local office across the state.
The Texas governor’s plan has been adopted by Ron DeSantis in Florida, and it has grown crueler as it spreads.
After the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, state Republicans near-unanimously lined up behind the former president—before details of the investigation left them silent.
Democrats are bracing for attacks on contraception, in vitro fertilization, and other reproductive and sexual rights.
Observers cite the party’s convention as evidence that state Republicans have gone “full MAGA.” But if anything, MAGA folks are following Texas.
Former Texas legislator Rick Green has built a marketplace for conservative stand-up—and proselytizing.
By chasing an early retirement and triggering a special election, veteran Rep. Filemon Vela of Brownsville has opened up a big opportunity for Republican candidate Mayra Flores.
At an event of the group of “GLBT” conservatives in Houston, speakers studiously avoided discussion of their party’s anti-trans policies.
The next party leader could continue to wage war on errant Republican elected officials or oversee a détente.
GOP challengers have announced bids against Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and Sid Miller, while a forlorn Democratic party casts its eyes on Matthew McConaughey.
The Dallas businessman has a talent for alienating powerful Republicans, but he’s running on a platform that embraces their scorn.
He challenged a reporter to perform the calisthenics, then decided to do them himself.
A House bill doesn’t identify the capital city by name, but would make it the lone municipality in Texas whose noise ordinances are set by the Lege.
With state government more firmly in Republican hands, the next year will feature a return of the Republican civil war. Here are the skirmishes to watch for.
Texas GOP chairman Allen West is at war with the governor and in love with the camera.
The last year has featured bizarre scandals, lots of bickering, and troubling signs that Tuesday could be rough on the state’s Republican juggernaut.
The election has yet to be decided, but one result can already be called: the Texas Republican party has lost its ability to speak to much of the electorate. And Democrats are poised to reap the benefits.
When Texas Republicans gather for their biennial convention, it's usually an impressive show of force. This time, it was an embarrassment.
Some politicians fully embrace the conspiracy theory while others say they’re embracing it just to get attention.
Days after he attended his county party convention, Bill Baker was hospitalized with COVID-19. In three weeks, more than 7,000 Republicans will descend on Houston.
After GOP leaders in 12 counties posted racist responses to the George Floyd protests, top Republicans declared war on bigotry in their party. It’s not going to be easy.
Like so much in American conservative politics these days, everything begins and ends with Trump.
Dan Patrick, John Cornyn, and Ted Cruz stood by at the president’s Thursday night rally in Dallas as he ridiculed them and claimed Hurricane Harvey made the state “a fortune.”
After Trump’s stunning win, Texas’s Republican leaders still face a critical choice.
After this disorienting election season, what path is left for Texas conservatives? Who is leading the party? And what on earth to make of Donald Trump? A few insights from the state Republican convention.
How long can the Republican party endure the civil war that is raging between tea party conservatives and mainstream conservatives?
This is another bad idea from Wayne Christian, who has no shortage of them: Require Republican candidates to support the party platform (which he was in charge of writing) or run the risk of retribution. Here are the provisions that seek to bind candidates to support the platform. The State
Political parties have not been major players in recent Texas politics. The Democratic party apparatus is essentially a collection of major county chairs, and the Republican party hasn’t been a force since Fred Meyer was ousted as chairman. The election of Steve Munisteri as GOP chairman at the state convention
Here’s the e-mail, dated March 11: We expected and prepared for anything at yesterday’s Senate hearing on Voter ID legislation. Let me tell you — the liberal Democrats in Austin did not disappoint on that front. Hundreds of concerned Texans showed up as early as 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning
