INSIDER
Lawmakers filed dozens of bills that would increase transparency around spending in elections and strengthen penalties for campaign and lobbying violations. None are poised to pass.
The bill would cap out-of-state political donations to a candidate or lawmaker to $5,000 for a statewide election, $2,500 for a district office and $1,000 for a county office.
Texas’ newest Republican megadonor Alex Fairly got a look under the hood of Texas’ far-right political machine, and didn’t like what he saw. Here are six takeaways from his exclusive interview with The Texas Tribune.
Fairly, an Amarillo businessman, backed many candidates aligned with conservative West Texas billionaire Tim Dunn’s political operation in 2024. Now he’s disavowing what he says are dishonest and aggressive campaign tactics while pondering his path forward.
The bill faced fierce opposition from hardline conservatives who say it is policing speech and could allow the state to jail people over silly political memes.
There were only so many chair positions to go around, with 30 committees for 88 Republicans, making it inevitable that some would miss out on plum appointments.
A pair of lawsuits filed by allies of West Texas megadonor Tim Dunn shut down laws that banned outside spending in the House leadership race, allowing for more political mudslinging and raising questions about ethics rules.
The aggressive Republican agenda’s success depends on how well the three leaders harmonize their tactics and goals for the legislative session.
Paxton’s latest tour is the continuation of his efforts in the past year to get political revenge on House Republicans who supported his impeachment.
In a Q&A, Burrows said he’s still confident he’ll win. But he says the leadership race is bigger than any one person and his supporters are trying to protect the integrity of the House.
Days after the Texas House GOP caucus backed Cook, Abbott made clear that he expects Republican representatives to do the same.
Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, had previously insisted he had enough votes to thwart a challenge from the right led by state Rep. David Cook of Mansfield.
The two-term Republican caught many Capitol observers off guard when he emerged as the standard-bearer for a coalition that wants to depose Phelan and reshape how the House operates.
School voucher supporters say they have the votes to get a bill across both the Texas Senate, led by Patrick, and the House, which has repeatedly blocked such proposals.
Across a dozen of the most competitive House races, Republicans raked in more than $11 million over the last month, compared to the nearly $3.5 million collectively raised by their Democratic counterparts.
Democrats — riding a wave of enthusiasm sparked by Kamala Harris’ nomination — think they can flip just enough House seats to stop Republicans from passing school vouchers.
Phelan appears to lack support from the majority of House Republicans, but he could still win with some Democratic support.
Four GOP state representatives suspended their bids to challenge Phelan and 48 Republicans backed Cook, which could threaten Phelan’s shot at a third term.
Frank said he would work to bring better communication, member empowerment and management of the flow of legislation if he became the chamber’s leader.
Reps. Tom Oliverson and Shelby Slawson, both members of House Republican leadership, became the first two candidates to challenge Phelan’s speakership.
The Texas House speaker race is becoming increasingly crowded. Phelan, who is under fire from his right, says he plans to seek the leadership position again.
Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is blasting his political opponents for letting Louisiana become the first state to require public schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments.
The censured members said they had been punished for campaigning against “liberal incumbents” alongside statewide elected officials like Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The state party plans to limit primaries to registered Republicans and keep elected officials it censured off the ballot. It’s unclear if it can without legislative approval.
House Speaker Dade Phelan has stuck to the tradition of appointing chairs from the opposing party, drawing fierce pushback from the GOP’s right wing.
After coming in second in the primary, Phelan was at a disadvantage heading into the runoff. With record breaking cash infusions, Phelan blanketed airwaves and hired an army of campaign staffers.
Neither of the Texas GOP’s dueling factions landed a clean knockout blow during a grueling primary season that only seemed to set up further chaos and strife.
Six of eight GOP incumbents lost their races. Gov. Greg Abbott declared he “now has enough votes to pass school choice.”
Business-minded Republicans spent millions trying to save Phelan, whose far-right opponent had the backing of Donald Trump, Ken Paxton and Dan Patrick. Phelan won by 366 votes, according to unofficial returns.
Texans are heading to the polls Tuesday to make their final selections for which Democrats and Republicans will run for various seats in the November election.
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas has won his primary over a gun-rights activist who forced the border congressman into a runoff and threatened to unseat a House incumbent.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton are looking to settle political scores within their own party in the upcoming primary runoff elections, in which voters will decide nearly three dozen unresolved races from the state’s March 5 primary.
Phelan’s primary has emerged as a last stand for the Republican Party’s business-minded establishment against an insurgency primarily motivated by social and cultural issues.
The Beaumont Republican issued his interim charges even as it remains unclear whether he’ll be reelected.
A mailer, paid for by the Jeff Yass-bankrolled Club for Growth Action PAC, falsely depicted Phelan in a hug with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The two dozen Republican signatories called on the next House leader to commit to their list of conservative demands that served as a repudiation of Speaker Dade Phelan.
Straus, who is Jewish, publicly confirmed the conversation for the first time Thursday. It had previously been reported by Texas Monthly.
The Beaumont Republican’s foes are trying to paint him as soft on the border, even after last year’s passage of far-reaching laws and record border funding.
The Tribune reported last year that a company called Influenceable LLC was paid to recruit influencers to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton over his impeachment.
With his impeachment and securities fraud case behind him, Paxton’s political stock is on the rise.
Abbott has so far been silent as Phelan battles for political survival in a tough primary runoff.
The May 28 runoff promises to be an expensive, high-profile contest that will help reshape the political dynamics of the Texas House.
The two state leaders and other prominent Republicans, like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former president Donald Trump, endorsed challengers in dozens of races citing the incumbents’ disloyalty to the party.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton beat impeachment, and now he wants political revenge.
Facing heat for presiding over the impeachment of the attorney general, Phelan is addressing the issue head-on and citing an alleged Paxton extramarital affair.
In a University of Houston poll, nearly half also signaled they didn’t support Republican incumbents who voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and former President Donald Trump are accusing Phelan of being a “RINO,” even as Phelan has overseen the passage of some of the most conservative bills in recent history.
Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Daniel Troy Leblanc earlier this month after the Orange County resident made “terroristic threats” on social media.
In the wake of a scandal tying them to white supremacists, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks started a new PAC to support far-right candidates
The attorney general has gone on an endorsement spree since his acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial last year, backing primary challengers to the House Republicans who voted to impeach him.
The card insinuates that Phelan wants to wish his constituents a happy Ramadan instead of a merry Christmas. Muslim Texans say it’s Islamophobic and some Republicans say it doesn't reflect Christian values.
The latest casualties were Senate Bill 5, which would spend $800 million on school safety measures through 2025, and Senate Bill 6, which would change the timeline of a trial after an election contest is filed by a citizen or group.
The decision to end work Tuesday leaves long odds for bills to boost school safety funding and make sure that election challenges don’t delay the implementation of property tax cuts, teacher pension raises and infrastructure spending.
If elected next year, Woodfill also plans to run for House speaker. His campaign accuses his 2024 opponent, conservative state Rep. Lacey Hull, of conspiring with incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan to work against conservatives.
The governor announced the fourth special session would start an hour after the previous session adjourned.
Journalists covering the Texas Capitol discussed what came out of this year’s third special session and what is still to be resolved.
The governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker generally agree on building more border barriers and making illegal border crossings a state crime. But disagreements over strategy and personal animosity mean those measures face long odds this special legislative session.
Gov. Greg Abbott just announced he’d reached a deal with the House to advance school vouchers, but with less than a week before the Legislature must adjourn the lower chamber took no action on the governor’s priority legislation.
A deal between the governor and House would be a breakthrough after months of talks. But whether they actually have a deal is unclear.
Violations could bring a $50,000 fine under an amendment adopted Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor said the ban would be the strongest in the nation.
Vouchers are the governor’s top legislative priority. But he has signaled opposition to a proposed House compromise that would tie them to increased funding for public schools.
Republicans showed a more clear divide, giving the Senate higher marks than the House for how the attorney general’s impeachment was handled.
More than two weeks after the influential PAC’s leader met with a Hitler admirer, Lt. Gov. Patrick said the GOP must ”root out” antisemitism. Patrick had initially said he’d keep the PAC’s money.
The Senate’s Republican bill would let state leaders grow the program by taking money from other agencies without the Legislature’s approval. The House bill would bar the practice.
The group has funded candidates and groups like the Texas GOP who have pushed fellow Republicans to take a harder line against things like illegal immigration and transgender people.
House Speaker Dade Phelan called on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other officials to redirect any money they received from the PAC. Patrick called on Phelan to resign.
greg-abbott-texas-legislature-school-choice-vouchers This third special session comes as a rift between the Texas House and the Senate grew following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, raising questions about the chambers’ ability to compromise on education issues.
On the day the House impeached Ken Paxton, Smithee delivered a 20 minute speech, criticizing the impeachment process as opaque, rushed and unfair to the accused.
House Speaker Dade Phelan wrote an op-ed for his hometown newspaper, saying the “fix was in from the start,” while other Republican officials are calling for Phelan’s resignation.
The Texas House and Senate were already far apart on “school choice.” Anger over the impeachment trial might make it even harder to find common ground.
Paxton’s far-right supporters doubled down on their promises for swift retribution against fellow Republicans who supported his removal from office.
