Politics & Policy
April 13, 2020
A User’s Guide to How Texas’s Top Elected Officials Are Handling the Coronavirus
In the best of times, our politicians can be a frustrating bunch. How are they doing in an unprecedented crisis?
Politics & Policy
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
News & Politics
April 13, 2020
The State’s Ban Isn’t Stopping Texans From Getting Abortions
Governor Greg Abbott's order, closing abortion clinics through April 21, has sent many out of state to seek the procedure—in the middle of the pandemic.
Politics & Policy
April 13, 2020
How to Erase a Neighborhood
The East End neighborhood of Freeport was once a thriving community. Today, the few remaining residents are about to be pushed out by the port. What happened?
Politics & Policy
April 10, 2020
Still Fearing Violence, Migrants Subject to Trump’s Remain in Mexico Policy Are Now Bracing for a Pandemic
With nearly 2,500 asylum seekers living in close quarters in a Matamoros migrant camp, doctors say the conditions are ripe for an outbreak.
Politics & Policy
April 9, 2020
Dental Procedures, Groceries, and Dart Boards: How Texans Plan on Spending Their Stimulus Checks
To combat economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS is sending Americans money. Many struggling Texans say it won’t be enough.
Politics & Policy
April 9, 2020
Bull Session: Ted Cruz Says the Press Is “Giddy With Glee” Over Pandemic
Plus, Texas pols take pains to prove they’re still working, Rick Perry finds a new calling, and more.
Politics & Policy
April 8, 2020
Evictions Have Stopped, But Texas Renters Will Face a Crisis in the Months Ahead
As the state's unemployment numbers skyrocket, many Texans don't know how they'll be able to honor their leases without rent relief.
Politics & Policy
April 7, 2020
Seeking to Represent Sugar Land, Kathaleen Wall Decides to Run Against China
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.
Politics & Policy
April 3, 2020
Greg Abbott Promised to Get Masks for Texas. Many Doctors Say They Are Still Facing Shortages.
Family care physicians say they still don’t have enough personal protective equipment. So they’re seeking other solutions.
News & Politics
April 3, 2020
Don’t Read Too Much Into Data-Driven Attempts to Explain the Coronavirus Right Now
Attempts to make sense of the spread of the virus can lead to some misunderstandings.
Politics & Policy
April 3, 2020
Struggling Texas News Outlets Try to “Keep the Ship Afloat in the Apocalypse”
Layoffs, furloughs, closures: news organizations across the state face a moment of reckoning.
Politics & Policy
April 2, 2020
Bull Session: We Could All Use a Distraction
Texas politicians, from Ted Cruz to Briscoe Cain, are riding out the coronavirus with movies and TV, like the rest of us.
News & Politics
March 27, 2020
Why Is Texas So Far Behind Other States in Responding to the Coronavirus?
While other governors have taken an aggressive approach to curbing COVID-19, Greg Abbott has favored smaller measures.
Politics & Policy
March 26, 2020
Bull Session: John Cornyn Will Just “Blah Blah Blah” His Way Through This
Plus, Chip Roy demands this pandemic set an end date already.
Politics & Policy
March 25, 2020
Clay Jenkins Is Leading the COVID-19 Response While Governor Abbott Stalls
The Dallas County judge drew national acclaim for his Ebola response. The coronavirus is proving to be a bigger challenge.
Politics & Policy
March 24, 2020
Dan Patrick to Dan Patrick: Drop Dead
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.
News & Politics
March 23, 2020
How Hurricane Harvey Prepared Houston for the Coronavirus
We’re going to need that same neighborly, can-do spirit to get us through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Politics & Policy
March 23, 2020
Texas’s Coronavirus Response Is Leaving Homeless People Stranded
Lack of hygienic access, overcrowded shelters, and limited funding for social services all threaten the state's homeless population.
Politics & Policy
March 20, 2020
How Will Texas Conduct Elections in the Wake of the Coronavirus?
Governor Greg Abbott is letting counties decide whether to postpone certain May elections. For the general, expanded vote by mail may be necessary.
Politics & Policy
March 19, 2020
Bull Session: Not Even a Pandemic Can Change John Cornyn or Louie Gohmert
The Texas senator and congressman, along with Chip Roy, remain incorrigible in the face of the coronavirus.
News & Politics
March 18, 2020
Is Climate Change Denial Thawing in Texas?
Surprising statements by oil industry leaders have grabbed headlines. But the bigger change is underway more quietly, among young Republicans.
Politics & Policy
March 18, 2020
Where Will Vulnerable Texas Schoolchildren Find Their Meals During Coronavirus?
Many closed schools are continuing meal service for low-income students, but challenges to securing nutrition remain for vulnerable children across the state.
News & Politics
March 17, 2020
How Will the Oil Bust and the Coronavirus Affect the Texas Budget?
Historically, the Lege has met shortfalls with tax increases or spending cuts. Whether Dems or the GOP are in power makes all the difference.
News & Politics
March 16, 2020
Non-Immigration Lawyers Are Helping Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico
For the 25,000 migrants awaiting hearings and subject to Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols, representation can be hard to come by.
Politics & Policy
March 12, 2020
Bull Session: Ted Cruz and Louie Gohmert Split Over the Coronavirus
Plus, Michael Cloud takes on the disease of California, and what’s Rodney Ellis doing with that squirrel?
News & Politics
March 11, 2020
Let’s Count the Ways Texas’s Dismal Health-Care Landscape Could Make the Coronavirus Worse
A high uninsured rate, hospital closures, and poor elder care leave Texas especially vulnerable to a COVID-19 epidemic.
The National Podcast of Texas
March 10, 2020
Podcast: Mayor Steve Adler on SXSW and the ‘Inevitability’ of COVID-19 in Austin
On the National Podcast of Texas, Adler Insists that although SXSW is canceled, Austin is open for business.
Politics & Policy
March 10, 2020
Bloomberg Promised His Texas Staff Jobs Till November, Then Fired Them All Anyway
Young people took jobs they thought would help turn Texas blue.
Politics & Policy
March 5, 2020
The Bernie Sanders Movement Isn’t Winning Down-Ballot Primaries
Jessica Cisneros is the latest AOC-backed, Bernie-style candidate to fall short.
Politics & Policy
March 5, 2020
Bull Session: Did Biden Win Texas by Courting the Whataburger Vote?
Plus, Beto’s bandmate blasts his Biden endorsement, Mike Bloomberg comprende Tejas, Dan Crenshaw vs. Pete Davidson, and Dan Patrick vs. shirts.
Politics & Policy
March 4, 2020
We Regret to Inform You That Liking Whataburger Is Not a Personality
Dear candidates: Please stop with the pandering.
Politics & Policy
March 4, 2020
Roundup: 2020 Texas Primary
We weigh in on the most important Super Tuesday races, recent results, and what it all means.
The National Podcast of Texas
March 3, 2020
Fox News Analyst Jehmu Greene on Her Not-So-Secret Plan to Swing “The Movable Middle” Toward the Left
On the National Podcast of Texas, the former DNC chair candidate handicaps Super Tuesday and explains why she’s looking forward to a contested Democratic National Convention.
Politics & Policy
March 3, 2020
“The Oldest, the Lowest, the Slowest”: Why Voting Isn’t Easy for Homeless People in Texas
The Legislature added an option for voters without valid IDs per a court order, but for the homeless population it might not be enough.
Politics & Policy
March 3, 2020
The Biden Unity Party Last Night Was a Music Hall Putsch
At a honky-tonk in Dallas, the Democratic party made its move against Bernie—finally.
Politics & Policy
March 3, 2020
San Antonio Says It’s Prepared for the Coronavirus. Are Federal Officials Ready to Listen?
The city, which trained for a flu pandemic as recently as November, is ground zero for military medicine.
Politics & Policy
March 2, 2020
I’ve Been Agonizing for Two Years Over Which Democrat to Support for President
Like a lot of Democratic primary voters, I am still in a black hole of indecision, with the clock running down.
Politics & Policy
March 2, 2020
What the Early Vote in Texas Might Tell Us About the Rest of 2020
Nearly all of the new early voters in Collin County participated on the Democratic side, and blue vote totals were up across the state.
Politics & Policy
February 27, 2020
Bull Session: Pete Davidson Isn’t Sorry About Dan Crenshaw After All
Plus, the return of Robert Morrow, Bloomberg hires the “homeless Wi-Fi” guy, and Ronny Jackson reveals the secret to Trump’s excellent health.
Politics & Policy
February 27, 2020
Henry Cuellar’s Constituents Are Restless, But Are They Ready for AOC Ally Jessica Cisneros?
Voters in the Laredo-based border district will choose between the eight-term conservative Democrat and a young, progressive immigration attorney who is running an unabashedly left-wing campaign.
Politics & Policy
February 26, 2020
Bloomberg Paves the Way for Bernie to Win Texas, According to the Polling
A new poll asks the question that previous ones strongly suggested.
Politics & Policy
February 26, 2020
Most Politicians Don’t Court Muslim Voters. Bernie Is Betting on Them in Texas.
Ahead of Super Tuesday, the Sanders campaign has reached out to Muslim voters unlike any campaign before.
Politics & Policy
February 25, 2020
Mike Bloomberg’s Pitch to Turn Texas Blue in November Sounds Too Good to Be True—and It Might Be
Idealistic young people in the Bloomberg campaign believe they'll stay in Texas through November. But that's not what top staff are saying.
Politics & Policy
February 20, 2020
Bull Session: Ted Cruz Says Keep Your Laws Off His Body
Dan Patrick calls the Paw Patrol, and Dan Crenshaw sticks it to Nickelback
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2020
Criminal Justice Reform Moves Pretty Fast. Just Ask Harris County DA Kim Ogg.
Four years ago, Ogg won election by promising to reform the county’s justice system. Now she’s getting primaried by two of her former prosecutors, who say she hasn’t done enough.
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2020
Lina Hidalgo’s Year of Living Dangerously
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.
Politics & Policy
February 18, 2020
Kirk Watson Escapes Dan Patrick’s Senate
The departure of the longtime Austin senator—for the greener pastures of higher education—will set off a fierce race for his seat.
Politics & Policy
February 16, 2020
Midland Oilman Clayton Williams (1931-2020): Winner in Business, Not in Politics
The colorful mogul lost the 1990 gubernatorial election after making a joke about rape and admitting to not paying some income taxes.
Politics & Policy
February 14, 2020
20 Other Texas Sayings According to Mike Bloomberg
The presidential candidate thinks ”as scared as a cat at a dog pound” is a thing that Texans say. So we’ve got a few more for him.
Politics & Policy
February 13, 2020
Bull Session: Dan Crenshaw and Briscoe Cain Make Election Season Weird
Plus, lessons in personal branding from Ted Cruz, and Pete Olson