Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
In this exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming ‘The Man Who Ran Washington,’ two veteran political correspondents recount how the future Reagan and Bush cabinet member's family legacy, a personal tragedy, and a friendship forged on the Houston Country Club’s tennis courts put a restless middle-aged lawyer on the path to
Both parties’ conventions sidelined politicians from the nation’s second biggest state. They might have had good reason.
Siena, Italy, crams 30,000 people into the amount of space occupied by a five-stack interchange in the Bayou City.
The Harris County judge has frequently pushed for bolder pandemic policy than Houston’s mayor, adopting a new style of politics her critics say Texans aren’t ready for.
Terence O'Rourke has spent a decade warning officials that a storm making landfall directly in Galveston Bay could be much worse than even Harvey.
The world’s most endangered sea turtle has made an impressive comeback, attracting thousands of visitors to North Padre Island, but now advocates say it may be at risk again.
SU Kappa Alpha brothers believe they were disciplined for the content of a social media post; the national organization says they violated protocol.
On The National Podcast of Texas, the legendary Democratic strategist on whether Texas is swingable and what it’ll take for Joe Biden to win.
A jobless Texan on life without the $600 federal unemployment payments.
The former city manager talks about a dead rat in a gift basket, a poop sandwich, and her timely new memoir, ‘Greedy Bastards.’
UT-Austin hit students with a request that at any other time would have seemed ridiculous: before classes start, would they please spend 14 days in self-quarantine?
Kevin Fink, Chris Shepherd, and others are lobbying lawmakers to pass the $120 billion grant program that has bipartisan support.
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.
Travis County offered the electric car giant a package of tax incentives worth about $1,200 a year for each of the five thousand jobs it promises to create at its new factory.
The death rate from COVID-19 in deep South Texas is more than twice the state average.
New polling indicates that the governor’s office is lagging behind mainstream opinion of the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
When Texas Republicans gather for their biennial convention, it's usually an impressive show of force. This time, it was an embarrassment.
The COVID-19 crisis is the predictable result of the governor muddling through things.
An APD tweet went viral after internet sleuths theorized that the cards were a police stunt. We got ahold of documents to find the truth.
MJ Hegar defeated Royce West in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Troy Nehls crushes Kathaleen Wall in Fort Bend County, and other key results.
After running second in the Democratic primary to a progressive challenger, Moore argues that her critics haven’t done their homework.
Access to mail-in ballots has been restricted by the courts, but Texans might be able to vote from their car.
Jim McCloskey, the godfather of the innocence movement, changed the way we think about crime and punishment.
A sleepy Democratic primary runoff against challenger Sara Stapleton-Barrera heated up last week when a mailer, using a nickname for the incumbent, incited numerous political allies to rally behind him.
Republican primary runoff candidate Renee Swann has circled around her opponent’s implication in the Ukraine scandal, perhaps worried that any attacks might not play well in a bright red district.
On the National Podcast of Texas, the pioneering vaccine scientist explains why he believes the White House has put Texans in grave danger.
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.
He was a high school band director and the cornerstone of a lively music scene in southeast Texas—and then a Saturday night gig exposed him to the coronavirus.
Facing a runoff to become the GOP candidate for a congressional district south of Houston, Wall is putting her personal wealth—but not much shoe leather—into her campaign.
Recent attempts to abolish the holiday have failed. But things might be different when lawmakers return to Austin in January.
Some politicians fully embrace the conspiracy theory while others say they’re embracing it just to get attention.
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.
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.
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 initially deferring to city and county leaders on COVID-19 response, Governor Abbott has renewed his battle with local government.
It’s an unusual and risky campaign strategy: Jackson is trying to appeal primarily to Trump, in the hopes that the voters will follow.
After a lifetime of wanting to taking the oath, the moment finally came in a quick, socially distanced ceremony in San Antonio.
Holland Taylor’s renowned one-woman play about the late Texas governor is now airing as a part of PBS’s ‘Great Performances.’
Greisa Martinez Rosas tells Texas Monthly about her feelings on the decision, and the future of the immigrant rights movement.
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.
Unless the courts rule decisively, Texas voters could face a terrible choice: risk their health at the polls, or risk prosecution by using a mail-in ballot.
Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield has been through more ups and downs than just about anyone in the business. This bust, he says, will change everything—forever.
It's March 2021 and Democrats are in power again, the state budget is a bloodbath, and the coronavirus stalks the Capitol.
No, Medicaid expansion isn’t a perfect solution. But it’s the best way to ensure more workers can return to their jobs.
A social media “rant” from a deputy constable led to a flurry of comments about ramming demonstrators, but the action went on without incident.
From bringing down the “Duke of Duval” to becoming the first FBI director to be fired, Sessions was a lawman to his core.
As new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations reach their highest levels yet, the state is relying less on restrictions and more on individual decisions.
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.
The UT professor sees echoes of the past—and hope for the future—in the demonstrations rocking the nation.
