Ken Paxtonโs vote harvesting investigation in South Texas renews questions over politiqueras
Since the 2020 election, Texas Republicans have dramatically rewritten the stateโs voting laws, which have made some long-standing practices illegal.
About 40% of Texas election administrators leave their job each presidential election cycle, report finds
Texasโ turnover rate has held steady at 40% since 2014. Thatโs slightly above the new national average.
Tax cuts, teacher pension increases at stake after misinformation-led challenge to 2023 election
Tax cuts were a major legislative priority for Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor cannot certify the election results until the challenges are resolved.
Eliminating countywide voting in Texas would make the process harder on voters, cost more money, election leaders say
Currently, more than 80% of Texas voters can vote anywhere in their home county, a model that originated in Lubbock County. If lawmakers approve new legislation, that would change.
Texas Senate moves to end countywide voting on Election Day
Voters in nearly 100 counties โ mostly rural โ can vote at any polling site in their county. The sponsor, without offering evidence, said the practice was not secure despite years of successful elections in Texas with the system.
GOP Harris County judge candidate contesting her loss after Election Day problems at polling sites
Democratic County Judge Lina Hidalgo beat Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer by more than 18,000 votes. An assessment of Election Day problems at polling sites โhas not yet revealedโ whether any voters were turned away.
After recount, Democrat remains winner of battleground South Texas Senate seat
Republican Adam Hinojosa conceded Friday after a recount that included three counties in Senate District 27, the most competitive senate district in the state.
After disappointing midterms, Texas GOP votes unanimously for a new national leader
Ronna McDaniel has kept the RNC aligned with former President Donald Trump, who some Republicans have blamed for the partyโs underwhelming performance in the midterm elections.
John Scott, Texasโ top elections official, to step down at end of year
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Scott as secretary of state in October 2021, and he served in an interim capacity pending Senate confirmation. He is stepping down right before the legislative session in which his appointment would have come up for debate.
Republican requests recount after loss in battleground race for state Senate seat in South Texas
Adam Hinojosa finished 659 votes behind Democrat Morgan LaMantia in a race that garnered 175,415 total votes.
Harris Countyโs election missteps fuel GOP lawsuit and calls for investigation
Scattered paper ballot shortages and late openings of polling places were among the glitches that prompted calls for scrutiny from statewide Republican officials.
Texas voter turnout fell from 2018. It was still higher than other midterms.
In Texas, 45.7% of the 17.7 million registered voters cast ballots in the 2022 midterm election. Thatโs 7.3 percentage points lower than the stateโs total turnout in 2018 but higher than in every other midterm election in the last 20 years.
State Sen. Dawn Buckingham wins bid to manage the Alamo, disaster relief funds and more as Texasโ next land commissioner
The land commissioner manages public land, enforces mineral rights leases, controls the Texas Permanent School Fund, distributes natural disaster relief funding and is responsible for the Alamo.
Texas Supreme Court ruling opens possibility that late Harris County ballots wonโt be counted
After several Harris County polling places opened late, a state district judge ordered voting locations there to stay open until 8 p.m. But the stateโs highest civil court blocked that ruling.
Texas votes: Abortion, border security and marijuana energize voters on Election Day
Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the stateโs grid and the Uvalde shooting.
Itโs Election Day. Hereโs what you need to vote in Texas.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Hereโs whatโs on the ballot, what youโll need to vote, how to get help and how to find election results.
U.S. Justice Department will again have election monitors in Texas
Federal monitors will be on the ground in Harris, Dallas and Waller counties on Election Day as part of the departmentโs regular deployment for major elections.
State Rep. John Lujan hopes to beat Frank Ramirez and finally represent Bexar County in a legislative session
Lujan has twice won special elections to the Texas House โ but he has never served while the Legislature met.
โIโm in no rushโ: Voter apathy takes hold of early voting ahead of Texas midterm election
Republicans may be waiting to vote on Election Day after former President Donald Trump pushed voting in person on Nov. 8 at a rally in South Texas.
Just over a third of Texasโ registered voters turned out early this year, falling short of 2018 numbers
The high turnout seen in 2018 may have been an anomaly rather than the start of a long-term trend.
Texas Republicans in tight races open to rape and incest exceptions to abortion ban
In some battleground state legislative races, Republicans have been making overtures to those who believe the ban as too extreme. They have said they are open to revising the ban to include the exceptions โ and even voiced confidence that the Legislature will do so when it reconvenes in January.
What you need to know about the county and school district seats on your Nov. 8 ballot
Texans will be choosing more than a governor and members of Congress in the midterm elections. Hereโs a look at what the officials elected to several local offices oversee.
Ahead of elections, Asian American and Pacific Islander organizers try to break down language barriers
One of the stateโs fastest-growing demographics, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders often lack information in their languages that would make the political process more accessible.
Asian Americans are one of Texasโ fastest-growing demographics. But they feel ignored by politicians.
Asian American and Pacific Islander voters said that candidates donโt often reach out โ and that their elected officials donโt adequately represent their interests.
Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg vie for open land commissioner seat overseeing the Alamo and disaster relief funds
The land commissioner manages the Texas General Land Office, which manages the Alamo, administers natural disaster relief funding and helps fund public education. The seat is open after incumbent George P. Bush lost his primary bid for attorney general.
Beto OโRourke raises $25 million from July through late September
His campaign said the massive amount came at a faster clip than his previous, record-breaking haul. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has not released his latest fundraising figures yet but had a large cash-on-hand advantage over OโRourke at the end of June.
Texans make the case for why voting matters
The Texas Tribune spoke to Texans across the political spectrum and asked them to make their case for why voting matters this year. The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 11. Early voting runs from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4.
The Texas voter registration deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 11. Hereโs how to check your status and register.
How do I find out if Iโm registered to vote? How do I register to vote in the first place? Who is eligible to register to vote?
Texas A&Mโs early voting location was popular during general elections before it was moved off campus
The Brazos County commissioner who represents the precinct where the university is located cited low turnout as a partial reason for relocating the polling location.
Conspiracy theorists and 16-hour days: Inside the stress elections officials face ahead of the midterms
Running elections in Texas has never been easy. But since 2020, the scrutiny elections administrators face has grown โ even in small Republican-controlled counties that former President Donald Trump carried.
Brazos County wonโt restore Texas A&M early-voting location despite studentsโ pushback
County commissioners decided Tuesday that A&M still wonโt have an on-campus early-voting location for the 2022 elections, despite admitting it was a mistake to eliminate it for the first time in years.
Sarah Stogner, former GOP candidate for railroad commissioner, backs Democratic nominee in Novemberโs election
Stogner, who lost in a Republican primary runoff to incumbent Wayne Christian, said sheโs endorsing Luke Warford.
Beto OโRourke shrugs off polling deficit, promises he wonโt let down Democrats in South Texas
The Democratic nominee for governor said during The Texas Tribune Festival that heโs counting on a big turnout of voters energized by the U.S. Supreme Courtโs overturning of Roe v. Wade.
District director for U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores resigns amid sexual harassment allegations
Floresโ district director, Aron Peรฑa, was accused of touching and kissing an intern without her consent. He denies any wrongdoing.
Gov. Greg Abbott leads Beto OโRourke by 5 percentage points in new poll
The latest survey also gave Republican incumbents single-digit leads in two other statewide races. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led Democrat Mike Collier by 7 points, and Attorney General Ken Paxton registered a 5-point advantage over Democrat Rochelle Garza.
Mysterious group targeting Gov. Greg Abbott reserves $6 million in TV ads ahead of November election
The sudden TV spending by Coulda Been Worse LLC comes as Abbott battles for a third term against Democratic challenger Beto OโRourke.
Democrat Mike Collier embraces his GOP past as he tries to unseat Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
In his second attempt to oust the incumbent, Collier is actively courting Republican voters who are turned off by the Legislatureโs hard-right turn in recent years.
Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. endorses Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for reelection
The endorsement comes after Patrickโs Democratic opponent, Mike Collier, received endorsements from two Republicans, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo.
Not so fast: Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans face a complex election landscape after abortion ruling, Uvalde shooting
Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto OโRourke hope to define the election on issues viewed as favorable to their own parties.
Families of the Uvalde shooting victims denounce Gov. Greg Abbottโs inaction on gun reform
The governor has made a vocal enemy in the families of Robb Elementary shooting victims. They are demanding a special legislative session to reach a compromise on the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic rifles.
Progressive fundraising group raising $25 million to boost Democrats this November and beyond
The list of the Texas Future Projectโs beneficiaries includes groups like Annieโs List and Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, which work to elect more Democratic women who support abortion rights.
Beto OโRourke swears at Greg Abbott supporter who heckled him over Uvalde shooting
OโRourke confronted a heckler at a campaign event Wednesday who laughed while he was talking about the Uvalde school shooting, telling the person, โIt may be funny to you, motherfucker, but it is not funny to me.โ
Greg Abbott agrees to one debate with Beto OโRourke, but OโRourke wants more
The governor said Tuesday he has agreed to debate OโRourke, his Democratic opponent, on Sept. 30 in the Rio Grande Valley.
To stay in Congress, Mayra Flores bets Democratic South Texas is ready for an outspoken conservative
A Mexican immigrant who worked in cotton fields to pay for school supplies, Flores is a source of hope for Republicans looking to gain ground in the Rio Grande Valley. But her staying power will be put to the test this November.
Texas AG Ken Paxton bans staff lawyers from speaking at state bar events, escalating feud sparked by 2020 election
The bar, which licenses lawyers and offers training sessions, is suing Paxton in an attempt to sanction him for trying block the certification of Joe Bidenโs victory over Donald Trump.
Republicans, bullish on South Texas, weigh how hard to compete for a state Senate seat there
Republicans are starting to pay more attention to Texas Senate District 27 โ the only competitive Senate seat in November โ but whether they will go all in remains an open question.
With $27.6 million haul, Beto OโRourke sets a new fundraising record in Texas politics
Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott entered this year with a much larger war chest and still has the financial upper hand in the race. He raised $24.9 over the same time period.
Jill Biden apologizes for calling Latino community โunique as the breakfast tacosโ in San Antonio
She made the comment during a speech Monday in San Antonio to a Latino civil rights group.
John Cornynโs disapproval among Texas voters worsened dramatically as he negotiated a bipartisan gun bill, new poll shows
The Republican U.S. senator shepherded landmark gun legislation through the Senate last month. Between April and June, his disapproval rating went from 39% to 50%, according to a Texas Politics Project poll.
Gov. Greg Abbottโs lead over Beto OโRourke narrows to 6 points, poll finds
The Republican incumbentโs lead over his Democratic challenger shrank last month, according to a Texas Politics Project poll. The 6-point gap is smaller than when Republican George W. Bush ousted Democrat Ann Richards in 1994.
Gov. Greg Abbott unloads nearly $20 million in ad buys in race against Beto OโRourke
The Republican governor is stressing one of his biggest advantages โ money โ as he faces a competitive challenge for reelection.
Republican Texas House candidate in Collin County charged with impersonating public servant
Frederick Frazierโs runoff opponent accused him of posing as a city code compliance officer to get campaign signs taken down. Frazier said his opponent is to blame in the case.
Texas Republicans cheer end of Roe v. Wade while Democrats vow to fight back in November
Attorney General Ken Paxton declared on Twitter that he would be closing his office and โmaking it an annual holidayโ in honor of the Supreme Court decision.
Henry Cuellar wins Democratic primary to keep his South Texas congressional seat, recount finds
A separate recount found that Michelle Vallejo won the partyโs nomination for another congressional seat.
Jessica Cisneros, Ruben Ramirez demand recounts in two close-call South Texas runoff races
The state Democratic Party confirmed Monday that Ramirezโs opponent, Michelle Vallejo, won by a slim margin.
Republicans flood South Texas special election as national Democrats keep distance
The GOP is spending big to capture an open congressional seat in South Texas โ if only for a few months โ as they try to create momentum toward a November election where they are newly targeting the region.
Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg will face off to be Texasโ next land commissioner in November
Republican Dawn Buckingham and Democrat Jay Kleberg won their primary runoffs. The winner of Novemberโs general election will replace George P. Bush as head of the Texas General Land Office.
Jasmine Crockett secures Democratic nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson
The state representative beat Jane Hope Hamilton in the primary runoff for the congressional seat based in southern Dallas.
Wayne Christian secures GOP nomination for another term on the commission regulating Texasโ oil and gas industry
Christian beat Sarah Stogner in the Republican primary runoff for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission after she accused him of corruption during the campaign.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton easily defeats George P. Bush in GOP primary runoff
Bush, who has served for seven years as the stateโs land commissioner, campaigned on restoring integrity to the attorney generalโs office and hit Paxton for his legal and ethical troubles.
End of the Bush era? Democratic men in trouble? 5 things to watch during Texasโ primary runoffs
Tuesdayโs elections will solidify the major partiesโ statewide tickets and have national political implications.
Underdog Jane Hope Hamilton angling for an upset against Jasmine Crockett in Dallas-area congressional primary
Crockett is running on her experience as a legislator, a civil rights attorney and as the incumbentโs hand-picked successor. Hamilton is running on her more than 20 years as a behind-the-scenes congressional staffer and campaign adviser.
With renewed attention on abortion, Democrats in attorney general runoff vow to defend reproductive rights
Rochelle Garza sued the Trump administration in 2017, seeking access to an abortion for an undocumented teenager. Joe Jaworski, a former Galveston mayor and a trial attorney for over three decades, presents himself as the more experienced candidate.
South Texas Democrats fight to shape their partyโs future in primary runoffs
Democratic primary runoffs for two congressional districts and two legislative seats in South Texas highlight the candidatesโ divergent visions for the party in a region the GOP is heavily targeting.
In Texas visit, Donald Trump rallies Republican voters to deliver a GOP wave in November midterms
The former president criticized Democrats, who control Congress and the White House, on a number of issues. He also praised Texas Republicans heโs endorsed in this monthโs primary runoff.
Largely aligned on policy, candidates in Democratic runoff for lieutenant governor push their experience
The winner will face a tough challenge against Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Hereโs how two Texas constitutional amendments could lower some property taxes
The propositions on the May 7 ballot would lower property taxes by shifting more public school costs to the state. But the measuresโ language can be hard to understand.
Analysis: The case for big ideas in Texas government
Texas political leaders usually settle for caution. The big stuff is risky, but itโs also possible โ and even inspiring โ to see leaders ignoring the small stuff and aiming higher.
In Democratic runoff for South Texas congressional seat, nonprofit backing a candidate is accused of campaign finance violations
Michelle Vallejo faces Ruben Ramirez in a runoff for the Democratic nomination in the 15th Congressional District. A nonprofit that supports Vallejo is accused of breaking campaign finance rules.
Analysis: Texas lawmakers listen to the voters who show up
Politicians are always listening to voters โ but the ones who actually select the stateโs elected officials have a lot more clout than those who stay home. You can see it in the way lawmakers govern.
Analysis: Gerrymandering has left Texas voters with few options
Texans who donโt vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November.
Two Democrats, two Republicans will compete in special election for South Texas congressional seat that GOP wants to flip
The winner of the special election will replace former U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, who resigned last month to work for Akin Gump.
Analysis: Texas schools need support from politically distracted state leaders
Public education in Texas โ like everywhere in the country โ is hurting after more than two years of pandemic. But many in the political class are preoccupied with reforms that have more to do with social issues than with education.
How a Plano toy inventor helped push U.S. Rep. Van Taylor out of office
Josh Malone funded a super PAC that spent over $400,000 working to defeat the Plano congressman, who got forced into a primary runoff and then admitted to an affair and ended his campaign.
Analysis: Texas candidatesโ silence allows persistent foster care problems to fester
Candidates hardly ever talk about improving the safety net for kids โ unless the holes in the safety net have become big enough to get the attention of voters.
Ethics scandal emerges as latest test for rising star Democrat Lina Hidalgo
Hidalgo, the Harris County judge, says a criminal probe into a contract her office awarded is a political hit. But as a potential future statewide candidate, does the episode expose a flaw in her approach to politics?
More than 12% of mail-in ballots were rejected in Texas under new GOP voting rules, final tally shows
Figures released by the Texas secretary of state show that more than 24,000 Texas voters had their ballots rejected in the March primary. The rejection rate is a significant increase over previous elections.
โUnwinnable raceโ: State Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson ends reelection bid, citing redrawn political map
Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white.
U.S. Rep. Filemon Velaโs resignation announcement sparks a sudden special-election scramble in hotly contested South Texas
A special election will determine who finishes Velaโs term, and while the winner will only serve for a short period, Republicans are already eyeing the contest to show momentum in South Texas.
Beto OโRourke touts his oft-overlooked background โ small-business owner โ as Greg Abbott attacks him as job-killer
Abbottโs campaign has argued OโRourke would โdestroy the Texas miracle.โ OโRourke argues heโs the one who has run a business.
Analysis: When 1 in 8 Texas mail ballots gets trashed, thatโs vote suppression
Nearly 23,000 Texans voted in this monthโs party primaries and saw their mail ballots rejected by election officials, evidently an aftershock from new state laws that were supposed to make voting easier and more secure.