Rep. Ray Lopez of San Antonio will not seek reelection to Texas House
The San Antonio Democrat was first elected to the Legislature in 2019. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio, followed by Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, gets off a charter bus from the Austin airport outside the State Archives building on the east side of the Texas Capitol upon their return to Austin following a two-week quorum break, on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats return to Capitol, ending walkout over redistricting plan
After two weeks out of state, Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, paving the way for Republicans to pass their proposed congressional map. Full Story
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![Texas Democrats, who left the state earlier this month in protest of proposed congressional maps, return to the Capitol on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House, Senate panels again advance redrawn congressional map
A second special session that has made approving the map a priority started Friday, shortly after the first one ended. Full Story
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![State Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, listens to testimony during a special Senate virtual hearing on Texas redistricting at the Texas Capitol on July 29, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas megadonor Alex Fairly will fund legal bid to keep GOP lawmakers on the primary ballot
The Amarillo businessman said he would tap into the $20 million political action committee he launched last year to preserve ballot access for censured Republicans. Full Story
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![Alex Fairly attends a board of directors meeting for the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation on Monday, April 21, 2025, in Amarillo.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Riding political wins, a once-restrained Gov. Greg Abbott is increasingly steamrolling foes
The third-term governor appears determined to win any battle — even if it means scorched-earth primary crusades or trying to boot duly elected legislators from office. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott responds to a reporter during a press conference at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville on Saturday June 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Illinois court rejects Texas request to enforce arrest warrants against House Democrats
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. Full Story
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![Democratic Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds speaks during a press conference with members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus at IBEW Local 701 in Warrenville, Ill., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. More than 30 Democratic Texas lawmakers fled the state the day before to block a quorum and delay a redistricting plan backed by former President Donald Trump. They regrouped in Illinois to prevent the Legislature from advancing a mid-decade congressional map that could shift several seats to Republican control.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Will 13 Democrats be expelled from the Texas House?
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor ask University of Houston law professor David Froomkin to help them break down the legal cases seeking to remove 13 Democrats from the Texas House. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ramón Romero, D-Fort Worth, speaks at a press conference with members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus at Painters District Council 30 in Aurora, Ill., on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott vows to immediately call Texas lawmakers back to work if special session ends without new maps
The leaders of both chambers said they would adjourn for the session Friday if Democrats do not return, while the governor said he might add more items to his agenda. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a bill signing ceremony at the Capitol in Austin on April 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court won’t rule for weeks on GOP requests to expel Democrats who left the state
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. Full Story
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![Supreme Court of Texas justices sit at the bench for a Q & A after hearing oral arguments for two civil cases at the University of Houston Law Center in Houston on Oct. 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
Judge blocks Beto O’Rourke from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the state
The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O’Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.” Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke speaks during a Fight the Trump Takeover rally outside the South Steps of the Capitol on Thursday, July 24, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton asks Texas Supreme Court to expel 13 House Democrats over redistricting standoff
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. Full Story
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![Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, D-Houston, speaks during a press conference alongside dozens of fellow Texas lawmakers and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. Members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus announced they fled the state to block a quorum and halt a Trump-backed redistricting effort. The lawmakers regrouped in Illinois to prevent the Texas Legislature from advancing a mid-decade congressional map.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton, Burrows ask Illinois court to enforce Texas arrest warrants against Democrats who left the state
The attorney general is calling on the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says states should typically honor each other’s judicial proceedings. Full Story
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![Flanked by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, state Rep. and caucus chair Gene Wu speaks at a press conference at the DuPage County Democratic Party headquarters in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Cornyn says FBI will help locate absent Texas Democrats, but scope of feds’ role unclear
The Republican senator, who is facing a tough primary challenge, previously asked FBI Director Kash Patel for the agency’s help in tracking down the House lawmakers. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the basement of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday, July 31, 2025.]()
Credit: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
House Democrats helped Dustin Burrows win the gavel. Their departure from the state marks a pivotal moment for him.
The situation is an opportunity for the speaker to bolster his credibility with the right, but he has limited tools to combat a prolonged Democratic absence. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows address the press with a host of Republican members behind him during the Texas House session on August 4, 2025 where less than 100 members registered failing to reach a quorum with the departure of dozens of Democrats out of state.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee discusses flood bills despite standstill
Only one Democrat taking part in the quorum break was absent from the panel as the group discussed five bills and the chair vowed their work would go on. Full Story
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![Texas Repersentives gather for a committee hearing regarding flood relief in the Capitol Extension on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
The Texas redistricting fight spurring a legislative standoff: What you need to know
Texas Republicans are trying to redraw congressional districts to pick up five additional U.S. House seats. Democrats face financial and political risk in their bid to block the GOP plan. Full Story
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![Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks during a press conference alongside dozens of fellow Texas lawmakers and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts. Full Story
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![during the Texas House session on August 4, 2025 where only 90 members registered failing to reach a quorum with the departure of dozens of Democrats out of state.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Dems say a bomb threat made at their hotel and other redistricting updates
Texas Democrats left the state to stop a Republican-led effort to change the state’s congressional boundaries, setting off a national conversation. Full Story
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![Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., center, stands with other Democratic members of Congress and Texas House Democrats during a press conference at IBEW Local 701 in Warrenville, Ill., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Denying quorum has been a Texas political strategy since 1870
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. Full Story
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![At least 50 House Democrats that Texas left the state held a press conference in Washington D.C. The democrats broke quorum and stopped Republicans from taking up GOP priority bills on July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Seven House Democrats making day trip to New Mexico amid redistricting battle
With a quorum break on the table for the minority party as a way to thwart a GOP bid for more congressional seats, members travel out-of-state for a third time. Full Story
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![New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) speaks during the Democratic Party of New Mexico Election Night Watch Party at the Isleta Casino and Resort on Nov. 5, 2024 on the Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico.]()
Credit: Sam Wasson/Sipa USA via REUTERS