Border & Immigration
February 2, 2023
The Case for Busing Migrants
Governor Greg Abbott’s scheme to transport asylum seekers to Democrat-run cities has been called a cynical PR stunt. It is—but if tweaked, it could be a good idea.
Greg Abbott
Politics & Policy
January 18, 2023
Opinion: Texas Should Accept Medicaid Expansion
By not doing so, the state is jeopardizing the health of its most vulnerable populations and leaving billions of savings on the table a year.
Politics & Policy
January 12, 2023
The Lege Sets Its Sights on Voting Rights (Again)
Republicans in the Texas House and Senate have filed a blizzard of bills seeking to crack down on alleged voter fraud and increase state control over elections. Here’s an annotated guide.
Border & Immigration
January 9, 2023
In El Paso, Joe Biden Embraces Trump’s Border Policies
The president’s brief trip to the Texas border city Sunday inflamed critics of his immigration policies on both the left and right.
Politics & Policy
January 3, 2023
Is Ron DeSantis the Most Powerful Republican in Texas?
Forget Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick. Florida’s governor will be calling the shots when the Texas Legislature returns in January.
Politics & Policy
December 28, 2022
Every Texan Gets $900! And Other Ideas for Spending the State’s Massive Surplus
What should we do with our $27 billion windfall? We asked a variety of Texans for their brightest ideas.
Politics & Policy
December 20, 2022
The Migration Crisis in El Paso Could Soon Grow Worse—Much Worse
The looming disaster has thrown both Governor Abbott’s and President Biden’s failed border policies into sharp relief.
Bum Steers
December 12, 2022
The 2023 Bum Steer Awards
The dopes, villains, and terrible ideas that bedeviled our beloved state over the past twelve months. (This time, with slightly less Ted Cruz!)
Bum Steers
December 12, 2022
2023 Bum Steer of the Year Runner-up: Floperation Lone Star
Greg Abbott’s $4 billion program to deter migration . . . doesn’t seem to be deterring migration.
Politics & Policy
December 9, 2022
Texas’s Abortion “Bounty” Law Just Lost Its First Test. Here’s What That Means.
The plaintiff was found to lack legal standing to bring the case. That has big implications—and not just for abortion laws.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
December 1, 2022
Harris County Botched Another Election. The GOP Senses Opportunity.
After an election marred by malfunctioning machines, long lines, and a shortage of paper ballots, Republicans are contemplating big changes in the next Legislature.
Politics & Policy
November 2, 2022
The Mysteries of Texas’s Midterm Elections
Republicans are pursuing South Texas Latinos. Democrats are counting on the Dobbs abortion decision. Nobody knows who’s going to turn out to vote. And the polls are all over the place.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
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
October 20, 2022
Why the Truth About Uvalde May Not Be Known for Years, If Ever
DPS director Steve McCraw could legally release mountains of evidence tomorrow. Instead, he is hiding behind a veil of secrecy.
Politics & Policy
October 14, 2022
Some Texas Lawyers Think Greg Abbott’s Border Initiative Is Unconstitutional—But They’re Afraid to Challenge It
As the federal judiciary has shifted to the right, many who represent migrants are wary of bringing Operation Lone Star before the nation’s highest courts.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 2022
Friday Night Sound Bites: The Debate Between Beto O’Rourke and Greg Abbott Happened, but Did It Matter?
It’s become a Texas tradition to hold brief gubernatorial debates during high school football prime time.
Politics & Policy
September 28, 2022
Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke Are Finally Debating. Here’s What They Need to Be Asked.
Ahead of Friday’s gubernatorial debate, Texas Monthly’s news and politics team came up with hard questions for both candidates.
Politics & Policy
September 21, 2022
Texas Moms Champion Beto With a Giant Roadside Reminder of the Uvalde Shooting
Uvalde-based activist group Fierce Madres partnered with Moms Against Greg Abbott to erect the anti-Abbott signage.
Politics & Policy
September 19, 2022
What’s Driving Greg Abbott’s Escalating Migrant Busing Scheme?
The Texas governor’s plan has been adopted by Ron DeSantis in Florida, and it has grown crueler as it spreads.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2022
What Makes Beto Run—Again?
On his summer barnstorming tour of Texas, Beto O’Rourke argued that Republicans are waging war against Texas values.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
August 25, 2022
Opinion: What the 1836 Project Leaves Out in Its Version of Texas History
The Legislature established a committee last year to “promote patriotic education.” Drafts of one of its pamphlets reveal an effort to sanitize the state’s long struggle with racial issues.
Politics & Policy
August 19, 2022
A Presbyterian Minister Is Leading the Opposition to Anti-Transgender Texas Policies
Remington Johnson has become a touchstone for the families of transgender children.
Politics & Policy
August 12, 2022
The Trump Raid’s Newest Victim: The Texas GOP
After the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, state Republicans near-unanimously lined up behind the former president—before details of the investigation left them silent.
Politics & Policy
August 5, 2022
In Dallas, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Got a Standing Ovation From the Trump Faithful
“The globalists can all go to hell,” the authoritarian populist said at CPAC. “I have come to Texas.”
Politics & Policy
July 19, 2022
A January 6 Fugitive Was Arrested on a Property Connected to the Kinney County Attorney
Lucas Denney was staying on a ranch that documents suggest is connected to an official who helped pen the border county’s recent “invasion” declaration.
Politics & Policy
June 29, 2022
The Tragedy in San Antonio Was Part of a Historic Migrant Death Crisis
Border crossers are perishing in trucks, in the Rio Grande, in falls from border walls, and in remote locations. And neither Greg Abbott nor Joe Biden has a serious solution.
Politics & Policy
June 20, 2022
Yes, the 2022 Texas GOP Platform Is Extreme. But Little of It Is New.
Observers cite the party’s convention as evidence that state Republicans have gone “full MAGA.” But if anything, MAGA folks are following Texas.
News & Politics
June 17, 2022
Will We Ever Know the Truth About Uvalde?
Texas authorities bungled the facts about the law enforcement response at Robb Elementary School. Then they went silent.
Politics & Policy
June 14, 2022
What Does the Senate’s Gun Safety Deal Mean for Texas?
John Cornyn helped wrangle other senators from both parties to advance a spate of provisions. But will the Texas Legislature follow his lead?
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
June 7, 2022
Greg Abbott Once Promised to End School Shootings, but After Uvalde His Tone Has Changed
After ten Texans were murdered at Santa Fe High School in 2018, the Legislature passed seventeen school safety bills. They didn’t work.
Politics & Policy
June 3, 2022
Making Sense of Greg Abbott’s Reaction to the Uvalde Shooting
The governor has long struggled with crisis management, in part because he always strives to avoid taking political risks.
By
Mimi Swartz
![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
News & Politics
May 27, 2022
Why Does the Official Story of the Uvalde School Killings Keep Changing?
The state’s account of how law enforcement responded to the massacre at Robb Elementary School has shifted as it’s been contradicted by witnesses and video.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
May 27, 2022
Most Texas Republican Politicians Avoided the NRA Convention in Houston. But Democrats Poured In.
John Cornyn and Dan Patrick pulled out after Uvalde. Greg Abbott appeared by video. As Ted Cruz spoke, Beto O’Rourke led a protest.
Politics & Policy
May 27, 2022
What Texas GOP Leadership Has (and Has Not) Said in the Days Following Uvalde
“We need to stop the bad guys.” —Ted Cruz
Politics & Policy
May 27, 2022
“It Will Happen Again”: Texas Leaders Have No Plans to Prevent the Next Uvalde
Defenders of limitless guns are out of ideas but full of excuses.
Politics & Policy
May 26, 2022
A Year of “Protecting” Children in Texas
State leaders have campaigned in 2022 on saving Texas children from threats real and imagined. All the while, we’ve been selling them out.
Politics & Policy
May 24, 2022
The “Incomprehensible” School Shooting in Uvalde
Governor Abbott’s comments showed just how lost our leaders are when it comes to gun violence.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
May 11, 2022
Don’t Be Certain the Draft Decision Ending Roe Will Drive Texas Turnout
Democratic leaders have predicted that the leaked draft decision will get Texas liberals to the polls. History provides caution.
Politics & Policy
April 29, 2022
Are Texas Republicans on the Verge of Winning Hispanic Majorities?
Greg Abbott says yes. New polling tells a different story.
Politics & Policy
April 20, 2022
Greg Abbott Tried to Act Presidentially. He Might Have Run Afoul of the Law.
A legal expert says the governor’s effective blockading of the border could have violated the U.S. Constitution.
Politics & Policy
April 15, 2022
Greg Abbott’s Unintentionally Warm Welcome of Asylum-Seekers
The governor’s move to bus migrants to D.C. may be an attempt to stick it to Joe Biden, but it’s playing out in ways he didn’t anticipate.
Politics & Policy
April 13, 2022
Is Our Children Learning Too Much?
There’s a long tradition in Texas of moral panics over what schools are teaching kids. The newest iteration is particularly quaint.
Politics & Policy
April 11, 2022
Who Is Greg Abbott?
After a quarter century in statewide office, Texas’s most popular politician remains an enigma—even to the folks who keep electing him. But the truth about the governor is hiding in plain sight.
By
Mimi Swartz
![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
April 7, 2022
Greg Abbott’s Latest Border Theater
The governor's plans to bus migrants to D.C. and ramp up vehicle inspections at ports of entry have little to do with federal immigration policy.
Politics & Policy
April 5, 2022
A Texas County Welcomed a Border Militia Last Fall. Now Some Officials Have Grown Weary of It.
The Patriots for America answered Kinney County's call for help cracking down on immigration. The group's methods concern civil liberties groups.
Politics & Policy
March 8, 2022
Republicans and Democrats Are Both Claiming Victory Based on South Texas Primary Turnout. Who’s Right?
Trying to use March voter counts to predict results in November, as many politicos have done over the past week, is fraught.
Politics & Policy
March 7, 2022
Is It Illegal to Have a Transgender Child in Texas?
Answers to your questions about the state's new rules targeting transgender kids.
By
Dan Solomon
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Politics & Policy
March 2, 2022
Results: Texas Primary Election 2022
Greg Abbott wins the GOP nomination outright, Ken Paxton is heading to a runoff against George P. Bush, and democratic socialists running for U.S. House have a good night.
Politics & Policy
February 23, 2022
How the West Campaign Was Lost
Former Texas GOP chair Allen West is a darling of the right wing. But the grassroots in Texas is not the kingmaker it used to be.
Politics & Policy
February 12, 2022
Don Huffines Won the War of Ideas. Did It Cost Him a Chance to Unseat Greg Abbott?
He decided to mount a GOP primary challenge when COVID-19 policy was animating Texas’s right wing. But the governor stole his thunder.
By
Ben Rowen
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