
Lawmakers will have their hands full with a budget deficit and the pandemic. Here's what else to watch for this session.
Jan 12, 2021 — By Christopher Hooks
Lawmakers will have their hands full with a budget deficit and the pandemic. Here's what else to watch for this session.
Jan 8, 2021 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Dec 19, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The rebel salon queen beat Governor Greg Abbott once, but on Saturday, he had the last laugh.
Dec 11, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Nov 16, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
In Dallas, the “Stop the Steal" events were more of a celebration than a wake.
Nov 9, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Texas GOP chairman Allen West is at war with the governor and in love with the camera.
Nov 9, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
GOP control of redistricting will cost Democrats for a decade, and out-of-state donors might well decide their money is best spent elsewhere.
Nov 3, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Cornyn's race against MJ Hegar has been relatively sleepy, but that is to the senior senator’s advantage.
Oct 28, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The last year has featured bizarre scandals, lots of bickering, and troubling signs that Tuesday could be rough on the state’s Republican juggernaut.
Oct 28, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The state’s minority party hasn’t had this big an opportunity to shake off its loser mentality in a long, long time.
Oct 13, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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?
Oct 8, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
State leaders have long tried to correct for the problem of too much democracy. But voters may get the last laugh this election.
Oct 5, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The Texas attorney general has called his 2015 indictment for securities fraud a “witch hunt.” Now, seven of his aides accuse him of corruption.
Oct 3, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Sep 11, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Facing down a potential Democrat-controlled Texas House, the governor has made a hard push to reframe the November election on his terms.
Aug 31, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Both parties’ conventions sidelined politicians from the nation’s second biggest state. They might have had good reason.
Jul 30, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Jul 22, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Jul 21, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
When Texas Republicans gather for their biennial convention, it's usually an impressive show of force. This time, it was an embarrassment.
Jul 17, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The COVID-19 crisis is the predictable result of the governor muddling through things.
Jul 9, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Jun 30, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Jun 29, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
With Donald Trump’s approval rating dropping among his formerly reliable white evangelical base, the administration dispatched the vice president to Robert Jeffress’s First Baptist Church.
Jun 26, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Jun 24, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
It’s an unusual and risky campaign strategy: Jackson is trying to appeal primarily to Trump, in the hopes that the voters will follow.
Jun 18, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
A month and a half after telling local officials they couldn't mandate masks, the Texas governor congratulated a local official on realizing that, actually, they could.
Jun 18, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
It's March 2021 and Democrats are in power again, the state budget is a bloodbath, and the coronavirus stalks the Capitol.
Jun 11, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
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.
Jun 10, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The UT professor sees echoes of the past—and hope for the future—in the demonstrations rocking the nation.
Jun 6, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
On Saturday, a diverse crowd of 150 showed up in Vidor, once known as a Klan stronghold, to turn their backs on the town's past.
May 20, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
With a virus-infected economy and an oil bust to boot, the Texas model is facing an unprecedented crisis.
May 15, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The resignation of a key election official serves as a warning about the dangers of conducting elections in person during the coronavirus pandemic.
May 8, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The Shelley Luther saga gave Texas politicians an excuse to change the conversation, and deflect blame.
Apr 24, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Despite the loud protests, very few Americans are ready to go back to work.
Apr 13, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
In the best of times, our politicians can be a frustrating bunch. How are they doing in an unprecedented crisis?
Apr 7, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The candidate is running in a district that’s home to more Asian Americans than anywhere else in Texas. Her newest campaign ad blames the People's Republic for the coronavirus pandemic.
Mar 24, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The Texas lieutenant governor is among a growing number of politicians who are willing to trade lives to save the economy. It’s a false choice.
Mar 18, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Surprising statements by oil industry leaders have grabbed headlines. But the bigger change is underway more quietly, among young Republicans.
Mar 11, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
A high uninsured rate, hospital closures, and poor elder care leave Texas especially vulnerable to a COVID-19 epidemic.
Mar 3, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
At a honky-tonk in Dallas, the Democratic party made its move against Bernie—finally.
Feb 19, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Led by a twentysomething Latina, Democrats now run Harris County, offering a glimpse at what things might look like—for better or for worse—if the party finds itself back on top across Texas.
Feb 18, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The departure of the longtime Austin senator—for the greener pastures of higher education—will set off a fierce race for his seat.
Feb 5, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
This year is going to feature a lot of confident pronouncements from experts who will be proved wrong again and again.
Jan 29, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Beto & co. came up embarrassingly short, but the result probably doesn’t say all that much about November.
Jan 22, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The author and UT professor believes our country is falling apart—and he has a plan to fix it.
Jan 13, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
The governor’s decision makes no sense from a practical perspective, and ultimately, it can’t be explained as a policy choice at all.
Jan 7, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick were quick to find a self-serving narrative in the shooting at a church last week.
Jan 2, 2020 — By Christopher Hooks
Castro’s presidential ambitions have ended, but Texas has likely not heard the last of him.
Dec 30, 2019 — By Christopher Hooks
The Austin director’s war film is notable for its near-total absence of politics.
Dec 26, 2019 — By Christopher Hooks
We stumble down memory lane, gawking at the madness and the mayhem of 2010–2019—and looking for an off-ramp.
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