Politics & Policy
November 24, 2021
Who’s To Blame for Astroworld? Anybody but Us, Say Houston Officials.
In the wake of the deadly Travis Scott concert, Bayou City and Harris County politicians have formed a circular firing squad.
Politics & Policy
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
Politics & Policy
November 23, 2021
Julián Castro Was Once the Texas Democratic Party’s Future. Now He’s Adjusting to Life on the Sidelines.
The former mayor of San Antonio talks about his political future, Beto O’Rourke’s gubernatorial bid, and why Democrats are losing ground in South Texas.
Politics & Policy
November 19, 2021
Louie Gohmert Watch
The congressman ghosts a radio show appearance at which he promised to announce his attorney general campaign.
Politics & Policy
November 18, 2021
Republicans Cheered Greg Abbott’s Pick for Secretary of State. Surprisingly, Some Democrats Did Too.
John Scott, a conservative attorney who briefly represented the Trump campaign in a Pennsylvania lawsuit, says he does not believe voter fraud affected the results of the 2020 election.
Politics & Policy
November 16, 2021
Robert Santos Warned That the 2020 Census Would Be Sabotaged. Now He’ll Oversee the Bureau.
The first Latino selected to lead the agency talked about how the Trump administration might have affected last year’s count and how the census handles race and ethnicity questions.
Politics & Policy
November 15, 2021
Exclusive: Beto O’Rourke Is Running for Governor
The former congressman from El Paso talked to Texas Monthly about why he thinks he can beat Greg Abbott, whether he regrets his 2020 presidential campaign, and whether his politics are too liberal for Texas.
Hunting & Fishing
November 9, 2021
Your Red Snapper Filet Might Have Been Caught by Drug Runners
Federal agencies have long struggled to stop illegal fishing and drug smuggling in the Gulf of Mexico. In recent years, it’s only gotten worse.
Politics & Policy
November 8, 2021
Ted Cruz Takes on Big Bird
It's not the first time the big yellow Muppet has been in the crosshairs of the GOP.
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
November 3, 2021
The Supreme Court Might Rule Against Texas’s Restrictive Abortion Law This Week, but the Measure’s Advocates Have Already Won
In the two months since the virtual ban took effect, the number of abortions in the state has plummeted.
Politics & Policy
October 29, 2021
Kinney County Has Embraced Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Like Nowhere Else. It’s Fueling the Hysteria of Some Locals.
No county in Texas has arrested more migrants under the governor’s plan to crack down on the border, and it’s created a judicial crisis.
Politics & Policy
October 28, 2021
Greg Abbott’s Pandemic Approach Almost Worked. Then He Launched a Crusade Against Vaccines.
In the beginning, Greg Abbott took a hands-off approach that kept Texas ahead of other large states in mitigating cases and deaths. But when he tried to appease right-wing Republicans, the story changed.
Politics & Policy
October 26, 2021
My Unplanned Pregnancy in Texas Before Roe
When I got pregnant in the summer of 1969, abortion wasn’t an option, and neither was keeping the baby. The trauma that followed is still with me today.
Border & Immigration
October 21, 2021
Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on the Crisis in Texas and Why Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Concerns Him
The Del Rio–raised law enforcement official chatted with ‘Texas Monthly’ about the situation in his hometown and immigration enforcement across the state.
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
October 13, 2021
Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis Are Competing to Be Trump. Who’s Winning?
The first edition of our GOP primary scorecard.
Politics & Policy
October 7, 2021
Your Questions About Texas’s New Abortion Law, Answered
Who can be sued under Senate Bill 8? What is the “shadow docket”? When will the Supreme Court rule on the merits of the law?
Politics & Policy
October 7, 2021
Going, Going, Gone: How Abortion Rights Were Eroded in Texas
Any Texas woman who thought her right to a safe, legal abortion would last forever sorely underestimated the opposition. For decades.
Politics & Policy
October 7, 2021
A Migrant Appears to Have Been Lynched in South Texas
The incident serves as a reminder that, over the past two centuries, hundreds of migrants and Texans of Mexican descent have been murdered.
Politics & Policy
October 6, 2021
In East Texas, Cleveland ISD Needed Money. The State Sent Charter Schools Instead.
In many of Texas’s rapidly growing exurbs, such schools have been fast-tracked to keep pace with exploding student populations.
Politics & Policy
October 4, 2021
Mike Collier Thinks Republican Legislators Would Be Relieved If He Beat Dan Patrick
The certified public accountant is running for lieutenant governor again and hopes Beto O’Rourke will top the ticket.
Politics & Policy
October 1, 2021
Biden Pledged to “Follow the Science.” Now He’s Following These Three Texans.
The president has named academics from UT and A&M, as well an Austin CEO, to his science and technology advisory council.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 2021
Explaining the Most Bizarrely Shaped Districts in Texas’s Proposed Congressional Map
Not only does TX-33 in Dallas look like a snake eating its own tail, it also packs non-Anglo voters into one district more tightly than before.
Politics & Policy
September 27, 2021
Sissy Farenthold Was a Melancholy Rebel
Sissy Farenthold, who died Sunday, believed persistence and anger could change Texas.
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 21, 2021
How Might Texas Get Gerrymandered?
GOP mapmakers have two new congressional seats to play with as the redistricting process commences, but ensuring they both go—and stay—Republican will be challenging.
Politics & Policy
September 21, 2021
Why Democrats and Republicans in the Lege Formed a Rare Alliance on Child Welfare
Lawyers say changes to Texas's embattled foster care system that took effect this month are "revolutionary."
Border & Immigration
September 18, 2021
The Biden Administration Says It’s Repairing Levees. Some South Texans Say It’s Building a Border Wall.
Barriers reminiscent of the Trump era are sprouting up in Hidalgo County.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2021
Why Democrats Are Losing Texas Latinos
The party assumes people of color will turn the state blue. But most Tejanos consider themselves white. And more are voting Republican.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2021
Nearly Everyone in Dimmit County Is Infected or Vaccinated. Now What?
Despite one of the state’s highest vaccination rates, the rural South Texas county is struggling to reach the goal of herd immunity.
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
September 5, 2021
Meet the Legal Strategist Behind the Texas Abortion Ban
Attorney and former Texas Solicitor General Jonathan F. Mitchell is known for his ability to identify legal loopholes where no one else does.
Education
September 2, 2021
Who Is Bud Brigham, the Man Behind UT’s “Liberty Institute”?
With taxpayer money now committed to the project, alongside private pledges, the oil billionaire’s push to create a conservative think tank on the Austin campus nears the goal line.
Politics & Policy
August 24, 2021
Matthew Dowd Says He Won’t Run Against “Craven” Greg Abbott, but “Cruel” Dan Patrick? Wait and See.
The former Bush adviser pledges to help Texas Democrats win in 2022—including, possibly, by putting his hat in the ring.
Politics & Policy
August 21, 2021
Opponents of “Critical Race Theory” Are Winning a Culture War in Montgomery County
School board meetings in Texas's most Republican large county have devolved into shouting matches about curriculum, leaving many teachers worried about the academic year ahead.
Politics & Policy
August 20, 2021
The 2020 Census Shows Texas Metros Are Booming. The Guv and the Lege Keep Getting in Their Way.
Our diverse big cities and suburbs are driving the state forward. Our leaders need to let Houston be Houston and Beaumont be Beaumont.
Politics & Policy
August 13, 2021
Texas Democrats Are Relying On Politicians Who Lost in 2020 to Carry Them in 2022
Three failed candidates, including Beto O’Rourke, lead ambitious voter-registration efforts. And they're assuming no changes are needed in their positions.
Politics & Policy
August 10, 2021
Inside the Texas Democratic Legislators’ Hectic Month in Washington, D.C.
COVID outbreaks, covert vacations, anger at President Biden, and the other rich subplots in House Democrats’ attempt to block a restrictive state voting law.
Politics & Policy
August 4, 2021
“I Don’t Believe Anything”: Among the Unvaccinated in One Central Texas Community
Bell County struggles with misinformation and conspiracy theories as the deadly Delta variant spreads like wildfire.
Politics & Policy
July 27, 2021
Greg Abbott’s Border Fence Is Rising in Bits and Pieces
Local officials in South Texas are scrambling to figure out what the governor is building in their communities.
Politics & Policy
July 26, 2021
The Texas Election Bill Contains a New Obstacle to Voting That Almost No One Is Talking About
Buried in the GOP proposal is a requirement that could—whether by intention or just sloppy legislative work—disenfranchise thousands of voters.
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 12, 2021
Behind the Scenes of the Latest Walkout by Texas Democrats Over Proposed New Restrictions on Voting
Out of options in Austin, House Democrats fly to Washington, D.C., where they plan to press Congress to pass federal legislation protecting ballot access.
Politics & Policy
July 9, 2021
New Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi Is Likely to Keep the Heat on Greg Abbott and Other Republicans
The next party leader could continue to wage war on errant Republican elected officials or oversee a détente.
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.
Politics & Policy
June 17, 2021
Meet the Two Latinas From the Rio Grande Valley Guiding Biden’s Political Strategy
Texas Democrats felt slighted by the president’s campaign in 2020, but Emmy Ruiz and Natalie Montelongo have given them a voice in the White House.
Energy
June 15, 2021
Did Lawmakers Fix Texas’s Electric Grid?
Governor Greg Abbott said the Lege has done everything necessary to prevent future blackouts. We ask four experts whether that’s true.
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.