Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
The county’s decision to open eight locations for round-the-clock early voting drew workers too busy to vote during the day—and others eager to send a message about voter suppression.
Three years ago, Candace Valenzuela was a college counselor. Now, she’s hoping to ride anti-Trump sentiment in the Dallas suburbs to a seat in Congress where, if elected, she’d be the first Afro-Latina.
In North Dallas, Genevieve Collins challenges Colin Allred, whose win two years ago proved that Democrats could compete in the Texas suburbs.
The last year has featured bizarre scandals, lots of bickering, and troubling signs that Tuesday could be rough on the state’s Republican juggernaut.
The state’s minority party hasn’t had this big an opportunity to shake off its loser mentality in a long, long time.
In Texas's Second Congressional District, challenger Sima Ladjevardian sees an opportunity in the representative’s COVID-19 response.
The conservative incumbent has alienated members of his own party, leaving room for challenger Wendy Davis to pick off centrist voters in Texas’s Twenty-first Congressional District.
Graduates say the 14-week program illuminates challenges that cops face, but glosses over issues of brutality and racism. Records show the alumni association enlists members as public advocates for APD.
When longtime GOP congressman Kenny Marchant announced his retirement, his seat representing the district surrounding DFW Airport became a prime pickup target for his party’s opponents.
We’re number one! We’re number one! For now, anyway!
The campaign to lead city hall in rapidly diversifying Pearland has been injected with national partisan politics, as Donald Trump claims Democrats want to “demolish” the suburbs.
“Bonkers” is, of course, a technical term.
In the district just west of Houston, Republican challenger Wesley Hunt's campaign has focused on his opposition to the Green New Deal.
They're not disengaged—they’re waiting to be heard, and fully understood.
An ambitious politics cover package ahead of the 2020 election wouldn't have been possible without these key players.
A short history of overoptimistic predictions about the always-imminent liberal takeover of the Lone Star State.
The incumbent rarely faced competitive races before labor lawyer Mike Siegel’s challenge in 2018. Now, winning a rematch is no sure thing for McCaul.
The election has yet to be decided, but one result can already be called: the Texas Republican party has lost its ability to speak to much of the electorate. And Democrats are poised to reap the benefits.
We surveyed a range of Texas politicians in competitive races to see how they’re addressing the demands of the movement.
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?
An all-virtual election bid might be the right thing to do. But will it cost some Democrats their races?
He’s as red as a rose; she’s as blue as the state flower. And now the two congressional candidates are locked in a throwdown in a district that is neither.
South Texas queens who put on a wig, makeup, and heels are rebelling against a culture that has long been steeped in machismo.
State leaders have long tried to correct for the problem of too much democracy. But voters may get the last laugh this election.
Gina Ortiz Jones lost by fewer than 1,000 votes to popular retiring Republican Will Hurd in 2018 in the sprawling southwest Texas district. Now, she faces a less well-known rival in Tony Gonzales.
As a lifelong Republican—and, more recently, dedicated Never Trumper—it’s clear to me that the state GOP desperately needs to enter the twenty-first century.
His friends, both Black and white, confront the reality of police brutality in their quiet hometown.
The Texas attorney general has called his 2015 indictment for securities fraud a “witch hunt.” Now, seven of his aides accuse him of corruption.
The Republican touts his bipartisanship in an appeal to this increasingly blue congressional district northeast of Dallas, but he’s been a reliable vote for Donald Trump’s policies during his first term.
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.
As Mexico lags on sending what it owes to U.S. reservoirs and farmers on both sides of the border protest, experts say the 1944 agreement is not suited for today’s agricultural landscape.
‘Ready or Not’ is an affectionate portrait of Marcel McClinton, a teen activist and mass shooting survivor who challenged incumbent councilman Michael Kubosh.
This election will be highly unusual. Here’s what you need to know before voting.
But in a state where violations are many and consequences are few, reporting reckless neighbors might not make a difference.
Sheriff Troy Nehls won his primary as a Trump ally, but has distanced from the president in his race against Democratic challenger Sri Preston Kulkarni.
Once a Democratic stronghold, then gerrymandered to be a Republican one, the district includes a large swath of Austin and part of southern Tarrant County near Fort Worth.
It looks like they had fun making it!
The Dallas salon owner who rose to fame for defying shutdown orders is still campaigning to “reopen” Texas.
After some Houstonians had to wait in six-hour lines to vote in the March primary, new county clerk Chris Hollins is determined to help every eligible Houstonian cast a ballot this fall.
In the 2018 midterms, many lifelong Republican women voted Democratic. Will the urgent issues driving this election keep them there?
Instead of wasting time on tiresome culture wars, Texas’s political leaders ought to be thinking big. They could start by saving Houston from disaster.
Can a batch of new books, a documentary, and Donald Trump’s calamitous administration resuscitate the legacy of our 43rd president—and his illustrious family?
There's still a lot we don't know about the spread of COVID-19 on college campuses.
As COVID-19 spreads, some Hispanic San Antonians are relying on sage, psychics, and prayer.
In the spring, racial-justice activism flourished on the affluent campus. Now, as the fall semester kicks off, Black students and alumni are hoping to see change.
Facing down a potential Democrat-controlled Texas House, the governor has made a hard push to reframe the November election on his terms.
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.
