Politics & Policy
March 27, 2023
In Waco, Donald Trump Parties Like It’s 1993
The rhetoric at the former president’s rally hearkened back to the fringe, anti-government messaging of the nineties Texas right wing.
Donald Trump
Politics & Policy
March 24, 2023
Why Is Donald Trump Kicking Off His 2024 Campaign in Waco?
During the thirtieth anniversary of the Branch Davidian tragedy, no less.
By
Dan Solomon
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Politics & Policy
March 21, 2023
A Republican Lawmaker Wants (Certain) Texans to Have a Lot More Babies
Taking a cue from authoritarian leaders, state representative Bryan Slaton has proposed property tax relief for some large families. White, straight, property-owning couples would be the primary beneficiaries.
Politics & Policy
November 3, 2022
Gen Z Is More Liberal Than Older Generations. The Texas Right Has a Plan to Change That—One Local Race at a Time.
Amid a crowded field of conservative youth organizers, Run GenZ is supporting young candidates for local office across the state.
Politics & Policy
November 2, 2022
Inside the Movement to Root Out Nonexistent Election Fraud in Texas
Weston Martinez can’t provide evidence for his claims of fraud in the 2020 election, but he is drawing crowds of right-wing activists across Texas.
Politics & Policy
October 24, 2022
Wherever Donald Trump Goes, There You Are
The former president’s rally in Robstown was just like all his others in Texas, but he still commands state leaders’ attention.
Politics & Policy
August 8, 2022
In Dallas, Donald Trump Provided a Violent Blueprint for Seizing Power
In a week marked by militant rhetoric at CPAC—including Ted Cruz’s promise to “fight the barbarians”—the former president vowed to inflict a “crippling defeat” on his enemies.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 2022
The Proud Boys Want to Enlist a New Recruit: Bucky the Beaver
The lovable Buc-ee’s mascot appears to be the latest victim of “hatejacking,” when an extremist group adopts a popular brand to advance its agenda.
Politics & Policy
May 19, 2022
Jeb to the Rescue? George P. Bush Gets a Cash Infusion from His Family’s Donor Network
Please clap.
Politics & Policy
May 16, 2022
Donald Trump Had Nothing New to Say in Austin. His Fellow Speakers Did.
The former president played the usual hits at a rally Saturday, but rock musician Ted Nugent found new lows.
Politics & Policy
February 14, 2022
Will the Bush Dynasty Die With George P. Bush?
Jeb’s son is running for his political life in the Texas attorney general’s race. But Donald Trump may get the last laugh.
Politics & Policy
February 9, 2022
Retiring Kel Seliger Hopes Someone Else in the Texas GOP Will Stand Up To Dan Patrick
The old-school conservative spoke with us about partisan gerrymandering, Patrick’s hold on the state Senate, and Donald Trump.
Politics & Policy
January 30, 2022
Texas Republican Candidates Need Donald Trump More Than He Needs Them
At the former president’s Saturday evening rally in Conroe, even candidates whose opponents he’d endorsed were out in full force.
By
Ben Rowen
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Politics & Policy
January 17, 2022
Sheriff A.J. Louderback Is a Fox News Staple. Now He’s Running for Congress.
The Jackson County lawman is running to represent southeast Texas on a Trump-style “America First” platform. There’s only one problem: Trump endorsed his opponent.
Politics & Policy
January 6, 2022
Troy Nehls Defended the House Floor From Rioters. Then He Got to Work Defending Trump.
The representative from the Houston suburbs faced down the mob on January 6, then voted along with its desires.
Politics & Policy
January 6, 2022
Texas Contributed More Than Just Rioters to the January 6 Insurrection
Our leaders aided and abetted Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the election more than those in any other state.
News & Politics
November 19, 2021
The Austin Law Firm Battling Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell Over the “Big Lie”
Charlie Cain and Steve Skarnulis were used to litigating East Texas oil and gas disputes. Then a terrified voting-machine company employee, falsely implicated in the 2020 election’s biggest conspiracy theory, came calling.
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.
Film & TV
July 2, 2021
It’s Too Soon for ‘The Forever Purge’
The horror franchise attempts to skewer Trumpism, but the result makes for uncomfortable viewing.
By
Cat Cardenas
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Politics & Policy
May 2, 2021
The “Trump Effect” Helped One Republican Beat 22 Other Candidates in Texas Last Night
After Donald Trump’s endorsement, Susan Wright separated from the pack in the crowded congressional special election.
Politics & Policy
April 21, 2021
A Section of Trump Border Wall in South Texas Cost $27 Million a Mile. It’s Being Foiled by $5 Ladders.
“Ladders and walls go together like peas and carrots,” says one McAllen Border Patrol agent.
Politics & Policy
April 19, 2021
An Anti-Trump Republican Dares to Run for Congress in North Texas
Michael Wood, a Marine reserve major, believes enough voters in the Fort Worth area share his views to push him into the runoff in a very crowded field.
Politics & Policy
March 2, 2021
Ted Cruz’s Attempt to Court Trump’s Base Meets a Predictable Obstacle: Trump
In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Texas’s junior senator tossed red meat but was overshadowed by the former president.
Politics & Policy
February 26, 2021
He Rioted at the Capitol. Then for Weeks He Lived in Luxury While Hiding From the FBI.
Luke Coffee, a director and actor who appeared on NBC’s ‘Friday Night Lights,’ found QAnon during the pandemic and then spent a month trying to evade the consequences of the path it led him down.
Politics & Policy
February 6, 2021
Ted Cruz Is Courting Trump’s Base. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says He’s Doomed to Fail.
Supporters of the 45th president might not forget his contentious history with Texas’s junior senator.
Politics & Policy
January 22, 2021
Who Were the Texans Who Traveled to the Capitol to Challenge the Election Results?
A list of some of those from the Lone Star State who gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 6.
By
Sierra Juarez
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and
Peter Holley
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2021
After Standing Up to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, Congressman Chip Roy Faces an Uncertain Future in the Texas GOP
Some Republicans expect Roy to pay a political price for upholding the Constitution, and Cruz to emerge stronger than ever.
Politics & Policy
January 15, 2021
Amid a Spate of Late-Term Trump Pardons, Reality Winner’s Name Remains Conspicuously Absent
The president called the five-year sentence for the former National Security Agency translator, convicted for leaking documents about Russian election interference, “unfair,” but he has not granted her clemency.
Politics & Policy
January 7, 2021
These Texas Congressmen Fought off the Mob. Then They Voted With Trump.
Several members of the Texas delegation stayed on the House floor to help defend against rioters, who they say had nothing to do with the righteous case of overturning the election.
Politics & Policy
December 16, 2020
Gladden Pappin Wants to Make Conservatism Great Again
The University of Dallas professor is urging Republicans to build a post-Trump, big-tent, big-spending party that’s economically populist and socially conservative.
Politics & Policy
December 14, 2020
Texas Electors Cast Votes for Trump—and for Tossing Out the Results in Key Battleground States
A resolution calling on four other state legislatures to override the will of their voters passed after electors in those states had already confirmed Biden’s win.
By
Ben Rowen
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Politics & Policy
December 14, 2020
Asylum Seekers in Matamoros Celebrated Joe Biden’s Victory. But the Final Weeks of the Trump Administration Are Bringing Fresh Anxiety.
Following the election, many migrants were hopeful the incoming president would quickly ease the U.S. immigration process, but he has to unravel new restrictions imposed by his predecessor.
By
Cat Cardenas
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Politics & Policy
November 16, 2020
What Does MAGA Look Like After Trump? This Weekend’s Protests Offer Clues.
In Dallas, the “Stop the Steal" events were more of a celebration than a wake.
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 6, 2020
Beto O’Rourke Kicked the Hornet’s Nest in 2018. Republican Votes Spilled Out.
After a too-close-for-comfort Senate race two years ago, the Texas GOP went into overdrive to ensure the state would not be won in 2020 by newly hopeful Democrats.
Politics & Policy
November 4, 2020
Roundup: Texas Elections 2020
Donald Trump wins the state, John Cornyn defeats MJ Hegar, and Democrats fail to make substantial gains in Congress or the Legislature.
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 19, 2020
A Houston Suburb’s Mayoral Race Has Become a Texas Bellwether
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.
Politics & Policy
October 14, 2020
Even if Trump Wins Texas, the GOP Is Facing a Historical Reckoning
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.
Politics & Policy
September 23, 2020
Women in the Suburbs Reckon With Trump, the Pandemic, and the Movement for Racial Justice
In the 2018 midterms, many lifelong Republican women voted Democratic. Will the urgent issues driving this election keep them there?
By
Mimi Swartz
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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 11, 2020
Trump’s Impeachment Drove Pete Sessions to Run for Congress Again. Then He Got Tangled Up in the Inquiry.
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.
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 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 19, 2020
“It Felt Like We Could Finally Take a Deep Breath”: A DACA Recipient on Thursday’s Supreme Court Ruling
Greisa Martinez Rosas tells Texas Monthly about her feelings on the decision, and the future of the immigrant rights movement.
By
Cat Cardenas
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Politics & Policy
May 28, 2020
Texas Is Screwed More by the Electoral College Than Any Other State, Despite Our Size
The disparity is even more stark when you consider that Wyoming is just one of 35 states with a smaller population than the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex alone.
By
Dan Solomon
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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.
Health
April 24, 2020
How FDA Chief Stephen Hahn Found Himself Between a Rock and a Hard Place
President Trump elevated him from MD Anderson Cancer Center to the FDA just in time for the untested federal official to face a global pandemic.
By
Jason Heid
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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.