A Year of “Protecting Children” in Texas
State leaders have campaigned in 2022 on "saving" Texas children from threats real and imagined. All the while, we've been selling them out.
Politics & Policy
May 26, 2022
At a Right-wing Comedy Night, the Hosts Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank
Former Texas legislator Rick Green has built a marketplace for conservative stand-up—and proselytizing.
Politics & Policy
May 25, 2022
Anti-Trans Politics Has Won in the Texas GOP, But Its Main Figurehead Lost
. . . and other key Texas Lege results from the primary runoffs.
Politics & Policy
May 20, 2022
Texas Republicans Suddenly Want to Tell CEOs What They Can and Can’t Do
The state GOP long opposed new regulations on corporations. Then Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick launched a crusade against “woke” businesses.
Politics & Policy
May 16, 2022
Donald Trump Had Nothing New to Say in Austin. His Fellow Speakers Did.
The former president played the usual hits at a rally Saturday, but rock musician Ted Nugent found new lows.
Politics & Policy
May 11, 2022
Don’t Be Certain the Draft Decision Ending Roe Will Drive Texas Turnout
Democratic leaders have predicted that the leaked draft decision will get Texas liberals to the polls. History provides caution.
Politics & Policy
May 9, 2022
Rick Perry, Drug Pusher
How did the former governor become a leading advocate for psychedelics?
Politics & Policy
April 26, 2022
Cancel Culture Comes for Beto O’Rourke
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate says he wants to have a dialogue with Texans of all persuasions. But in one rural community, Republicans worked to make sure he would have no place to talk or listen.
Politics & Policy
April 13, 2022
Is Our Children Learning Too Much?
There’s a long tradition in Texas of moral panics over what schools are teaching kids. The newest iteration is particularly quaint.
Books
April 11, 2022
How a Texas Monthly Writer Wound Up Writing Billy Graham’s Biography
William Martin’s journey from Rice professor to Billy Graham expert began with a simple assignment, one that would alter his life for decades to come.
Politics & Policy
April 2, 2022
Texas Log Cabin Republicans Will Settle for a Slightly-Bigger-Tent GOP
At an event of the group of “GLBT” conservatives in Houston, speakers studiously avoided discussion of their party’s anti-trans policies.
Politics & Policy
March 10, 2022
Texas Democrats Have a Recruitment Problem
Beyond Beto O’Rourke, the candidates on the party’s statewide slate are short on experience in elective office and in statewide campaigns.
Politics & Policy
February 23, 2022
How the West Campaign Was Lost
Former Texas GOP chair Allen West is a darling of the right wing. But the grassroots in Texas is not the kingmaker it used to be.
Politics & Policy
January 10, 2022
The Republican Race for Attorney General Will Be the Weirdest, Wildest—And Most Telling—Texas Election in 2022
Scandal-plagued incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton faces a Bush, a congressional performance artist, and a former state Supreme Court justice.
Politics & Policy
November 3, 2021
What Do the 2021 Texas Election Results Tell Us About Next Year’s Midterms?
Mainly what we already knew: Democrats will have problems in the state in 2022 and Austin is liberal.
Politics & Policy
October 14, 2021
Critical Race Fury: The School Board Wars Are Getting Nasty in Texas
A loud minority of parents is making life miserable for Texas school officials—and shouting down the kids who speak in favor of lessons about the history and persistence of racial discrimination.
Politics & Policy
September 23, 2021
Beto O’Rourke Is the Democrats’ Least Bad Option to Challenge Greg Abbott
He isn’t as strong a candidate in 2021 as he was in 2018, but Beto O’Rourke is still the Democrats’ least bad option to challenge Greg Abbott.
Politics & Policy
September 7, 2021
Who Killed Criminal Justice Reform in Texas?
Texas was once a model of how to safely and economically move away from mass incarceration. Now the old politics of “law and order” are back.
Politics & Policy
July 13, 2021
The Democratic Quorum Break Puts Greg Abbott in a Bind
Primary challengers say Texas’s governor is weak. The failure to pass new restrictions on voting, a GOP priority, will add fuel to their criticism.
Politics & Policy
July 13, 2021
Killing Reagan: How American Conservatives Replaced Their Heroes With Trump
At a conservative gathering in Texas, two Florida Men are the winners, while the movement itself seems adrift.
Politics & Policy
July 8, 2021
Texas Republicans Are Already Declaring for 2022. Democrats Are Dazed and Confused.
GOP challengers have announced bids against Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and Sid Miller, while a forlorn Democratic party casts its eyes on Matthew McConaughey.
Politics & Policy
July 8, 2021
The QAnon Movement Isn’t Dead. From What I Saw in Dallas, It’s Just Evolving.
The outlandish conspiracy theory has made legions of believers into political activists. And the Texas GOP benefits from that.
Best and Worst Legislators
June 15, 2021
2021: The Best and Worst Legislators
A wild year begat an even wilder legislative session. Lawmakers faced blackouts, a pandemic, and their own worst impulses. Amid the chaos, we plucked out the leaders—and the losers.
Business
May 12, 2021
Elon Musk Is Turning Boca Chica Into a Space-Travel Hub. Not Everyone Is Starstruck.
Residents of the South Texas beach town say SpaceX’s billionaire owner is ruining their “little piece of heaven.”
Politics & Policy
May 2, 2021
Austinites Ban Public Homeless Camps, While San Antonio Voters Protect the Police’s Ability to Collectively Bargain
Plus, Lubbock becomes Texas's largest "sanctuary city for the unborn."
Politics & Policy
April 1, 2021
Meet “Big Dan” Rodimer, the Jersey Guy Who Wants to Be a Texas Cowboy (and Congressman)
You ain’t a cowboy till your stunt double’s been bucked off.
Politics & Policy
February 25, 2021
Who’s Responsible for the Texas Blackouts?
Our governor and lawmakers want to blame everyone but themselves for the February blackouts, the latest crisis of their own making.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
Californians Could Ruin Texas—But Not the Way You Might Think
Lone Star State leaders have worried about transplants importing West Coast values and politics here. But they’ve largely ignored the more pressing challenges newcomers are bringing with them.
Politics & Policy
January 12, 2021
The Serious Stuff, the Loud Stuff, the Money Stuff: A Preview of the 87th Texas Lege
Lawmakers will have their hands full with a budget deficit and the pandemic. Here's what else to watch for this session.
Politics & Policy
January 8, 2021
American Democracy Survived Ted Cruz’s Demagoguery—This Time
Texas’s junior senator shares responsibility for inciting the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol. That’s brought him scorn from much of the country—but might win him fresh support from Trump Republicans.
Politics & Policy
December 19, 2020
The Shelley Luther Reality Show Is Canceled After Just Seven Months
The rebel salon queen beat Governor Greg Abbott once, but on Saturday, he had the last laugh.
Politics & Policy
December 11, 2020
Ken Paxton Takes His Texas Grifting to the National Stage
Facing a bribery allegation and criminal fraud charges, the Texas attorney general is tossing his supporters fresh red meat by leading an attempt to overturn the will of American voters.
Politics & Policy
November 16, 2020
What Does MAGA Look Like After Trump? This Weekend’s Protests Offer Clues.
In Dallas, the “Stop the Steal" events were more of a celebration than a wake.
Politics & Policy
November 9, 2020
How Did a Florida Man Become the Face of the Texas Republican Party?
Texas GOP chairman Allen West is at war with the governor and in love with the camera.
Politics & Policy
November 9, 2020
What Price Will Texas Democrats Pay for Their Failure, and for How Long?
GOP control of redistricting will cost Democrats for a decade, and out-of-state donors might well decide their money is best spent elsewhere.
Politics & Policy
November 3, 2020
Can Big, Bland John Cornyn Coast to a Fourth Term in the Senate?
Cornyn's race against MJ Hegar has been relatively sleepy, but that is to the senior senator’s advantage.
Politics & Policy
October 28, 2020
How the Texas GOP Went Off the Rails in 2020
The last year has featured bizarre scandals, lots of bickering, and troubling signs that Tuesday could be rough on the state’s Republican juggernaut.
Politics & Policy
October 28, 2020
Texas Democrats Went Missing for Decades. Can They Come Back Tuesday?
The state’s minority party hasn’t had this big an opportunity to shake off its loser mentality in a long, long time.
Politics & Policy
October 13, 2020
The Biggest Fight in the State? Control Over the Texas House.
For the first time in a decade the Texas House—and influence over redistricting—is in play. Will it slip out of the Democratic party’s grasp once again?
Politics & Policy
October 8, 2020
What If They Held an Election and Everyone Came?
State leaders have long tried to correct for the problem of too much democracy. But voters may get the last laugh this election.
Politics & Policy
October 5, 2020
The Calls of Impropriety Are Coming From Inside Ken Paxton’s Office
The Texas attorney general has called his 2015 indictment for securities fraud a “witch hunt.” Now, seven of his aides accuse him of corruption.
Politics & Policy
October 3, 2020
Greg Abbott’s Voter Suppression Methods Have Become More Subtle—But They’re Still Transparent
The governor’s most recent order on ballot drop-off locations follows a long history of efforts by him and his party to lower voter turnout, and could have an outsized effect on the battle for control of the state House.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2020
Greg Abbott’s “Back the Blue” Posse Can’t Shoot Straight
Facing down a potential Democrat-controlled Texas House, the governor has made a hard push to reframe the November election on his terms.
Politics & Policy
August 31, 2020
If Texas Is a Battleground, Biden and Trump Aren’t Acting Like It
Both parties’ conventions sidelined politicians from the nation’s second biggest state. They might have had good reason.
Politics & Policy
July 30, 2020
Congressman Gohmert Has Had a Louie of a Week
The East Texas Republican tested positive for the coronavirus after refusing to wear a mask—which almost made us forget about his supporters allegedly beating up his opponent’s campaign manager.
Politics & Policy
July 22, 2020
After the Protests: Four Perspectives on the State’s Criminal Justice System
While demonstrators marched in cities and towns across the country, a police union rep, an activist, a legislator, and an attorney sat down to discuss how to break the deadlock and bring about better policing.
Politics & Policy
July 21, 2020
The Texas GOP Held Its Convention on Zoom—and It Was a Comic Disaster
When Texas Republicans gather for their biennial convention, it's usually an impressive show of force. This time, it was an embarrassment.
Politics & Policy
July 17, 2020
Greg Abbott’s Penchant for the Path of Least Resistance Has Led Texas to the Brink of Disaster
The COVID-19 crisis is the predictable result of the governor muddling through things.
Politics & Policy
July 9, 2020
The Primary Runoffs Have Finally Arrived. Here’s What to Watch For.
Originally scheduled for May and pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic, the elections feature a few key races, some scandal-ridden candidates, and many old friends.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 2020
A Socially Distanced Senate Runoff Debate Finally Got MJ Hegar and Royce West to Throw Down
The race to choose a Democratic challenger to John Cornyn has been overshadowed by other news, but it finds the Texas Democratic Party bitterly divided.