Republican candidate and former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. is projected to win the Texas House District 80 race, flipping the seat red for the first time in over 20 years.

In Texas, the primary election takes place on March 5. The general election happens across the U.S. on Nov. 5.

Rosie Cuellar, former Webb County tax assessor and the sister of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, confirmed to The Texas Tribune on Thursday she intends to run in the Democratic primary for House District 80.

King was first elected to the House in 1994.

Numerous vigils and memorials in Uvalde marked one year since the massacre at Robb Elementary School. In what became the deadliest school shooting in Texas, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers and injured 17 others.

The defections have sparked feelings of betrayal and promises of retribution, particularly as Republicans in the Legislature have presented a unified front.

The bill aims to create a water supply four times the size of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest reservoirs. But it may still be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the state’s needs.

A Texas lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have revived a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 before it was ultimately withdrawn.

The legislation would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms but likely wouldn’t have been a hindrance to the Allen gunman obtaining a weapon. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the Legislature.

The families of Uvalde shooting victims waited hours to testify at a House committee hearing in support of House Bill 2744, which would raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21.

The House Select Committee on Community Safety is scheduled to hear testimony on bills that would change how people buy firearms and how authorities report those purchases. One of these bills would raise the minimum age to 21 years old to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles.

Many bills that would limit access to firearms or ammunition likely won’t become law anytime soon. But people who advocate at the Texas Capitol see emerging signs that there’s appetite for finding some middle ground.

The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House.

Voters would have the final say on whether the state sets aside billions of dollars to acquire new water sources and invest in aging infrastructure.

Many relatives of Uvalde victims back bills that state Rep. Tracy King and Sen. Roland Gutierrez are pushing in the Legislature. But limits on gun access don’t fare well at the Capitol.

So far there has been an average of six boil-water notices a day across Texas in 2023.

Both state lawmakers who represent Uvalde want Gov. Abbott to call a special session, as well as two more Republicans