Politics & Policy
November 9, 2020
How Did a Florida Man Become the Face of the Texas Republican Party?
Texas GOP chairman Allen West is at war with the governor and in love with the camera.
174 Articles
Politics & Policy
November 9, 2020
What Price Will Texas Democrats Pay for Their Failure, and for How Long?
GOP control of redistricting will cost Democrats for a decade, and out-of-state donors might well decide their money is best spent elsewhere.
Politics & Policy
November 3, 2020
Can Big, Bland John Cornyn Coast to a Fourth Term in the Senate?
Cornyn's race against MJ Hegar has been relatively sleepy, but that is to the senior senator’s advantage.
Politics & Policy
October 28, 2020
How the Texas GOP Went Off the Rails in 2020
The last year has featured bizarre scandals, lots of bickering, and troubling signs that Tuesday could be rough on the state’s Republican juggernaut.
Politics & Policy
October 28, 2020
Texas Democrats Went Missing for Decades. Can They Come Back Tuesday?
The state’s minority party hasn’t had this big an opportunity to shake off its loser mentality in a long, long time.
Politics & Policy
October 13, 2020
The Biggest Fight in the State? Control Over the Texas House.
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?
Politics & Policy
October 8, 2020
What If They Held an Election and Everyone Came?
State leaders have long tried to correct for the problem of too much democracy. But voters may get the last laugh this election.
Politics & Policy
October 5, 2020
The Calls of Impropriety Are Coming From Inside Ken Paxton’s Office
The Texas attorney general has called his 2015 indictment for securities fraud a “witch hunt.” Now, seven of his aides accuse him of corruption.
Politics & Policy
October 3, 2020
Greg Abbott’s Voter Suppression Methods Have Become More Subtle—But They’re Still Transparent
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.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2020
Greg Abbott’s “Back the Blue” Posse Can’t Shoot Straight
Facing down a potential Democrat-controlled Texas House, the governor has made a hard push to reframe the November election on his terms.
Politics & Policy
August 31, 2020
If Texas Is a Battleground, Biden and Trump Aren’t Acting Like It
Both parties’ conventions sidelined politicians from the nation’s second biggest state. They might have had good reason.
Politics & Policy
July 30, 2020
Congressman Gohmert Has Had a Louie of a Week
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.
Politics & Policy
July 22, 2020
After the Protests: Four Perspectives on the State’s Criminal Justice System
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.
Politics & Policy
July 21, 2020
The Texas GOP Held Its Convention on Zoom—and It Was a Comic Disaster
When Texas Republicans gather for their biennial convention, it's usually an impressive show of force. This time, it was an embarrassment.
Politics & Policy
July 17, 2020
Greg Abbott’s Penchant for the Path of Least Resistance Has Led Texas to the Brink of Disaster
The COVID-19 crisis is the predictable result of the governor muddling through things.
Politics & Policy
July 9, 2020
The Primary Runoffs Have Finally Arrived. Here’s What to Watch For.
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.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 2020
A Socially Distanced Senate Runoff Debate Finally Got MJ Hegar and Royce West to Throw Down
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.
Politics & Policy
June 29, 2020
Mike Pence Preaches to a Maskless Choir in Dallas
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.
Politics & Policy
June 26, 2020
The COVID-Related Death of a Local Republican Official Points to the Risks of an In-Person Texas GOP Convention
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.
Politics & Policy
June 24, 2020
Ronny Jackson Was Trump’s Doctor. Now He Wants to Be the President’s Best Friend in Congress.
It’s an unusual and risky campaign strategy: Jackson is trying to appeal primarily to Trump, in the hopes that the voters will follow.
Politics & Policy
June 18, 2020
Greg Abbott Invites You to Figure Out What His Coronavirus Executive Orders Allow
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.
Politics & Policy
June 18, 2020
The Next Legislature Will Meet Amid an Economic Nightmare. What Could Go Wrong?
It's March 2021 and Democrats are in power again, the state budget is a bloodbath, and the coronavirus stalks the Capitol.
Politics & Policy
June 11, 2020
The Texas GOP Gives Itself a Tough Task: Rooting Out Racism in the Party
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.
Politics & Policy
June 10, 2020
Black Studies Scholar Peniel Joseph on the Significance of the BLM Protests
The UT professor sees echoes of the past—and hope for the future—in the demonstrations rocking the nation.
Politics & Policy
June 6, 2020
Black Lives Matter Comes to Vidor—Yes, Vidor
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.
Politics & Policy
May 20, 2020
Can the ‘Texas Miracle’ Survive?
With a virus-infected economy and an oil bust to boot, the Texas model is facing an unprecedented crisis.
Politics & Policy
May 15, 2020
Why Does Attorney General Ken Paxton Want to Make Voting a Death-Defying Act?
The resignation of a key election official serves as a warning about the dangers of conducting elections in person during the coronavirus pandemic.
Politics & Policy
May 8, 2020
Showdown at the Salon: How Hairdressing Became the Thing We Fight About in the Middle of the Pandemic
The Shelley Luther saga gave Texas politicians an excuse to change the conversation, and deflect blame.
Health
April 24, 2020
The Majority Agrees: Lifting Stay-Home Orders Won’t Bring Normalcy (But It Will Get People Killed)
Despite the loud protests, very few Americans are ready to go back to work.
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
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
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.
Politics & Policy
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 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.
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
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 5, 2020
The Iowa Caucuses Taught Us Once Again That No One Knows Anything
This year is going to feature a lot of confident pronouncements from experts who will be proved wrong again and again.
Politics & Policy
January 29, 2020
How Much Does the Democrats’ Big Flop in Tuesday’s Special Election Matter?
Beto & co. came up embarrassingly short, but the result probably doesn’t say all that much about November.
Books
January 22, 2020
Michael Lind Wants to Put America Back Together
The author and UT professor believes our country is falling apart—and he has a plan to fix it.
Border & Immigration
January 13, 2020
Greg Abbott’s Rejection of Refugees is Baffling—and Boneheaded
The governor’s decision makes no sense from a practical perspective, and ultimately, it can’t be explained as a policy choice at all.
Politics & Policy
January 7, 2020
The White Settlement Shooting and When It’s Okay to Politicize a Tragedy
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick were quick to find a self-serving narrative in the shooting at a church last week.
Politics & Policy
January 2, 2020
Miss Me When I’m Gone: Now That His Campaign Is Over, Julián Castro Is Extremely Popular
Castro’s presidential ambitions have ended, but Texas has likely not heard the last of him.
Film & TV
December 30, 2019
Terrence Malick’s ‘A Hidden Life’ Is Inspiring But Hard to Learn From
The Austin director’s war film is notable for its near-total absence of politics.
Politics & Policy
December 26, 2019
The Last Decade’s Ten Worst Years in Texas Politics
We stumble down memory lane, gawking at the madness and the mayhem of 2010–2019—and looking for an off-ramp.
Politics & Policy
December 18, 2019
Red Scare: Can Donald Trump Rescue the Texas GOP? Or Is He Part of the Problem?
Like so much in American conservative politics these days, everything begins and ends with Trump.
Politics & Policy
December 11, 2019
Weird Candidates and Fifteen-Way Races: The Texas Primary Ballot Is Madness
Now that races for the March primary are (mostly) set, here are a few things worth keeping an eye on.
Politics & Policy
December 9, 2019
Who Gets to Live and Die When the State Relies on False Testimony in Death Penalty Cases?
A.P. Merillat helped send at least 15 people to death row. On Wednesday, Travis Runnels will become the third this year to be executed, even though a former prison official calls Merillat’s testimony “bullshit.”
Politics & Policy
December 4, 2019
Rick Miller’s Racist Remarks About “Asians” Were Not Part of the GOP Plan for Fort Bend County
Now that the Texas GOP is trying to present a more diverse face this year, it can't afford to alienate voters in places like Fort Bend County.
Politics & Policy
November 15, 2019
Cocaine Is a Hell of a Drug, But Then So Is Partisanship
What Poncho Nevarez’s cocaine problem tells us about corruption and impunity at the Texas Capitol.