The five-term state lawmaker from Austin has homed in on education issues in the Texas House, becoming a primary foil to Abbott on school vouchers.
The two leading Senate Democratic candidates have made it a point to spend time along the border early in the cycle, a sign of the region’s importance in 2026.
The Texas GOP will vote Saturday to possibly bar some state legislators from running in the 2026 primary, despite repeated Texas Supreme Court rulings saying they cannot.
The state party’s governing board will meet Saturday to decide whether 10 Texas House Republicans tried to thwart GOP priorities during this year’s legislative session.
The longtime GOP operative has spent decades as a lawyer for Texas Republicans and conservative causes.
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz's brother is the latest to enter a GOP primary field vying for the San Antonio-area district newly gerrymandered to favor Republicans.
The Austin state lawmaker took in $6.2 million in the three weeks since he launched his bid, outpacing the $4.1 million Allred raised over the last three months.
The day after the four-term Houston lawmaker launched his statewide bid, his former chief of staff, Odus Evbagharu, announced he was running to succeed his former boss in the Texas House.
The same plaintiffs who are challenging the state’s 2021 maps have asked the court to block the new GOP-approved districts from being used in the fast-approaching midterms.
Party insiders said the way the move was handled undercuts Chair Kendall Scudder’s rhetoric about winning back working class voters, who lurched to the right in 2024.
It’s a further sign of how the Washington establishment has consolidated behind the senior Texas senator, who is being backed by the Senate GOP’s campaign arm in his primary.
Republicans note that some of the districts they intend to flip were redrawn to become majority-Hispanic. Democrats say the GOP made sure to add Hispanic Texans who are unlikely to vote.
The progressive Democrat’s upset win at the age of 27 established her as a rising star. But her ascent was stunted in recent years amid clashes with fellow Democrats and unwavering GOP scrutiny.
The Austin lawmaker says his faith fuels his vision of a Democratic Party that “fights back” against billionaires. Republican critics say his stances are at odds with Scripture.
The Austin lawmaker, first elected in 2004, chaired the influential House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees. He is the second Texas Republican this week to bow out of Congress.
The survey found many Texas voters are either undecided or would support candidates who haven’t actually entered the race. It also showed GOP Sen. John Cornyn leading Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Houston-area Republican’s departure continues the drain of tenure from Texas’ GOP delegation, which was already poised to add several freshmen in the midterms.
The statewide survey found that more voters disapprove of the mid-decade redraw than support it, fueled by overwhelming opposition from independent and Democratic voters.
The Austin Democrat has made a name for himself with his viral social media presence. His entry to the race pits him against former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred in the increasingly crowded primary.
Allen, known for her focus on public education issues, announced her retirement after 20 years in the House. She endorsed her son, Lawrence Allen Jr., to succeed her.
Despite explosive growth turning Tarrant into a racially diverse swing county, two new political maps will leave it with whiter, more Republican representation.
The governor was expected to sign off on the new district lines, which passed the Legislature last week and aim to flip five Democratic seats in the 2026 midterms.
A faction of Hidalgo County Democrats has raised concerns over how the party is spending money and blocking the group from doing business for several months.
Lujan, a Republican, represents a state House district that covers southern and eastern portions of San Antonio, overlapping with the new congressional seat.
Herrera, a gun rights activist with millions of online followers, said he was “disgusted” to be mentioned by the shooter. Herrera is challenging U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in the Republican primary.
Flores, who was going to challenge Rep. Henry Cuellar, is returning to her old district after a newly passed map improves Republicans’ chances of ousting Gonzalez.
Legislation pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott would bar voters at the polls from immediately casting a ballot based on a last-minute update to their address.
Aaron Reitz and Chip Roy, positioning themselves as Paxton’s ideological heirs, have served as top aides for both the attorney general and Cruz.
Republican lawmakers pushed the map through over fierce Democratic opposition, positioning the GOP to net up to five additional seats in Texas.
Casar moved quickly to coalesce Austin Democrats, launching his campaign for the 37th Congressional District Monday with endorsements from 42 current and former Texas elected officials.
As speaker, Phelan oversaw passage of numerous conservative priorities, but he gave up the gavel under pressure from the far right over the House’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Houston-area district, currently occupied by Democratic Rep. Al Green, is being redrawn by GOP lawmakers to favor Republicans and cover almost entirely new territory.
Republican lawmakers are pursuing the unusual mid-decade redistricting plan amid pressure from President Donald Trump to protect the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House.
In a statement, the House Democratic Caucus said its lawyers had advised returning “to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle” against the GOP’s map.
The contest would unearth brewing Democratic tensions over age and experience, forcing Austin politicos to choose between two well-liked progressives.
Judge Scott Larson ruled that the Texas speaker and attorney general had “failed to present a legal basis for the court” to take up the issue.
Democrats' absence has halted work in the Texas House, which must also approve the new boundaries, for more than a week.
The governor and attorney general have asked the court to find that Democratic lawmakers abandoned their seats when they left Texas to delay a new congressional map.
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.
Herrera, who came within 400 votes of ousting Gonzales in a 2024 runoff, is once again positioning himself to the right of the incumbent.
Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.
The Democratic state lawmaker has inquired about Senate television ad rates, two sources told the Tribune.
The annual summer break is a critical window for Texas’ senior senator, whose allies are blitzing the airwaves with ads courting primary voters — and President Donald Trump.
While the Democrats could technically derail the GOP’s redistricting map, such efforts have been largely symbolic and had limited success blocking past legislation, experts say.
Legal experts say it’s “inconsistent with the Texas Constitution” to argue that leaving the state to halt legislative action qualifies as abandoning an office.
The former El Paso congressman also contributed to House Democrats’ 2021 quorum break. A PAC backed by Democratic donor George Soros is also involved in this year’s effort.
The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.
The first draft of the lower chamber’s new redistricting map targets Democratic members of Congress in the Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas.
The money could be used to cover the $500-a-day fines lawmakers would incur under House rules set to discourage members from absconding after Democrats fled the state in 2021.
The prospect of Eric Flores’ candidacy has excited Republicans in Texas and Washington, due in part to his military and law enforcement credentials.
Democratic members slammed the process, questioning why hearings were happening before maps were available for review. Chair Cody Vasut said follow-up public hearings will be scheduled once maps are filed.
The governor eventually agreed to include redistricting on his special session agenda after discussing the matter with the president on a phone call.
With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster, delay hearings and even break quorum.
Cornyn will need to use his deep coffers to overcome an early polling deficit to Paxton, who is looking to deny the GOP incumbent’s bid for a fifth term.
The contest coincides with the state’s November uniform election, when voters across Texas will already be at the polls to decide local offices and ballot measures.
In dueling lawsuits, current and former employees of the attorney general’s office sling allegations that threaten to intrude on Paxton’s U.S. Senate bid.
Casar, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, thinks economic populism and “authentic candidates” can win back recently converted GOP voters.
The North Texas district opened up last week when Republican Kelly Hancock resigned from the upper chamber to take over as the state’s acting comptroller.
In her announcement, Huffman framed herself as the most experienced candidate, pointing to her time as a prosecutor, judge and chair of key Senate committees.
Democrats will need to sort through a pileup of potential candidates who see an opportunity to harness backlash to the Trump administration in next year’s midterms.
Storey Rubio plans to launch her campaign by attacking the Republican incumbent as a “spineless moderate” who has not taken a hard enough line on border security.
Paul is the first candidate out of the gate to succeed incumbent Mayes Middleton in an open seat running from Galveston to the outskirts of Houston.
Middleton is the second Republican to join what is expected to be a growing field of candidates angling to succeed Attorney General Ken Paxton as the state’s top legal official.
Hours after the announcement, the Flores team said that the new candidate had been hospitalized and is now recovering. There were no details about her condition.
The federal criminal investigation into corruption allegations was the most serious inquiry Paxton faced. Its end nearly clears his slate of numerous legal battles.
