Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa joins Democratic race to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott
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. Full Story
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![Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, speaks on the phone at her desk on the House floor on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
In South Texas, Allred and Talarico compete for Latino voters by vowing to fight for working class
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. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred shakes hands with PSJA North High School students at their homecoming football game in Pharr on Oct. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Dallas County GOP’s push to hand-count 2026 ballots could upend voting for Democrats
The move could require a shift away from countywide polling sites and delay primary election results. Full Story
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![Republican Primary ballot boxes wait to be hand counted by poll workers in Fredericksburg on March 5, 2024.]()
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How the Texas GOP’s bid to block lawmakers from the ballot defies a century of court precedent
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. Full Story
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![DALLAS, TX - SEPTEMBER 20, 2024: A voting machine for voters with disabilities at a public verification test of the voting system at the Dallas County Elections Department building in Dallas, Texas on Friday, September 20, 2024. The test allows participants to validate the voting process by using ballots containing the same races and proportions as the upcoming elections in November. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP to consider blocking lawmakers from 2026 primary ballot in first test of new censure rule
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. Full Story
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![Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George speaks during a rally at the Tarrant County Republican Party Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, January 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Photo by Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP lawyer and former FEC chair Trey Trainor announces run for Chip Roy’s seat in Congress
The longtime GOP operative has spent decades as a lawyer for Texas Republicans and conservative causes. Full Story
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![Rep. Jonathan Stickland's attorney, Trey Trainor waits for House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics to resume on Sep 15, 2015. Stickland has been accused of breaking the law by listing witnesses who were not in Austin as supporters of his legislation during a House Transportation Committee in late April.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt announces run for U.S. Senate, joining Cornyn, Paxton in primary
The Houston congressman is giving up his safe seat after just two terms, scrambling the contest between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, speaks at a Trump campaign rally for then-Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 11, 2024 in Reno, Nevada.]()
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Republican Carlos De La Cruz announces run for redrawn 35th Congressional District
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. Full Story
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![Carlos de la Cruz, brother of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, has announced he's running for the newly-redrawn, Republican-leaning 35th congressional district.]()
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Talarico outraises Allred with massive fundraising haul to kick off Senate Democratic primary
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. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. James Talarico are Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent John Cornyn.]()
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Democratic Rep. Jon Rosenthal will run for Texas Railroad Commission
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. Full Story
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![Texas Democrats Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston and Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, l, get 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. Man at right is unidentified.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Can Texas use its new congressional map for 2026? A trio of judges will decide.
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. Full Story
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![A newly released redistricting map of Texas is visible on a laptop during a Senate session on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democratic Party’s move to Dallas prompts top staff exodus, roils organization ahead of 2026
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. Full Story
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![Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder addresses attendees at an event in Brownsville on April 12, 2025.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Houston businessman Andrew White launches Democratic challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott
The son of the late former Gov. Mark White vowed to run as an independent in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Full Story
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![Then-Democratic candidate for governor Andrew White is interviewed in his home in Houston on Friday, April 20, 2018.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Cornyn nabs endorsements from 15 former GOP members of Congress in primary vs. Paxton
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. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn takes part in a tour of a well site in Midland on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP may be banking on low Hispanic turnout in new map
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. Full Story
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![Presiding judge Dina Patel checks her watch as she waits for polls to open at Parker Elementary on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Houston.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Lina Hidalgo, Harris County chief executive, won’t seek reelection
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. Full Story
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![Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks at the first general session at the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso on June 7, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
James Talarico’s progressive take on Christianity made him an online sensation. Will it translate to his Texas Senate bid?
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. Full Story
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![State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, sits for a portrait in his office on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.]()
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Longtime GOP Rep. Michael McCaul says he will not seek reelection to Congress
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. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 6, 2024.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Democratic voters favor undeclared candidates O’Rourke and Crockett in hypothetical Senate primary, poll finds
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. Full Story
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![Left: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses the crowd during a rally at the Tarrant County Republican Party Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, January 6, 2025. Right: U.S. Sen. John Cornyn speaks with press after taking a tour of Camp East Montana, a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility that will be housing migrants, at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas on Monday, August 11, 2025.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Republican U.S. Rep. Morgan Luttrell will not seek third term in Congress
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. Full Story
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![Retiring U.S. Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Magnolia, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune