Poll finds Cornyn, Paxton in dead heat in Texas’ Senate GOP primary
Every previous public poll had shown the attorney general with a considerable lead over Texas’ incumbent senator. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge appears ready to dismiss 2 of 14 charges in Henry Cuellar’s bribery case
The dismissal comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo narrowing the enforcement of laws relating to foreign lobbying and bribery. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, R-Laredo, at a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 10, 2024.]()
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Casar, Doggett would run for same Austin congressional seat under GOP map, setting up clash of generations
The contest would unearth brewing Democratic tensions over age and experience, forcing Austin politicos to choose between two well-liked progressives. Full Story
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![U.S. Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar, both of Austin (left), listen as Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio speaks during a press conference with Texas Democratic leaders at the Texas Capitol on July 31, 2025. Doggett and Casar could face each other in a primary under the new congressional redistricting maps drawn by the Texas Legislature at Pres. Trump's prompting.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for 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 -
Texas could lose political clout under Trump’s call for a new census that excludes undocumented immigrants
Republicans believe population increases in red states, such as Texas, would offset losses from not counting immigrants who lack legal status. Full Story
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![No Kings Protest against the policies of Pres. Donald Trump in McAllen on June 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy 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 -
In redistricting clash, Texas GOP flexes power to shut down Democrats' last tool of resistance
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse. Full Story
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![Streetlights and building lighting illuminate the Texas State Capitol through early morning fog on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
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Colin Allred wants voters to know “I’m just as angry as they are” in new Senate bid
Allred says he has learned to show up more in his attempt at a Senate do-over. But critics contend he’s not generating enough attention. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (R-Texas) speaks at his Election Night watch party after losing the Senate seat to incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas on Election Day, November 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gun rights YouTuber Brandon Herrera to challenge U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales again in GOP primary
Herrera, who came within 400 votes of ousting Gonzales in a 2024 runoff, is once again positioning himself to the right of the incumbent. Full Story
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![San Antonio, Texas - March 14, 2024:
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and Brandon Herrera, Republican candidate for the US House for Texas’ 23rd congressional district, were seen during a campaign event at the Angry Elephant, a politically themed bar, in San Antonio, Texas on March 14, 2024.
Photo: Christopher Lee for Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for 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 -
Rep. James Talarico mulls U.S. Senate bid as his profile rises amid Texas Democrats’ redistricting standoff
The Democratic state lawmaker has inquired about Senate television ad rates, two sources told the Tribune. Full Story
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![Texas Rep. James Talarico D-Austin smiles during a redistricting rally at Delco Activity Center Friday, July 25, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
John Cornyn enters critical window to change trajectory of Texas Senate primary against Ken Paxton
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. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Texas redistricting standoff complicates preparations for March 2026 primary
New maps would mean months of work for election officials, and key deadlines are approaching. Full Story
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![Voters line up to cast their ballots at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Austin on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
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Texas Democrats know they may lose redistricting protest, but hope to spark a national fight
Democrats concede there’s only so much they can do to keep Texas from redrawing its maps. But they want to encourage blue states to retaliate. Full Story
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![Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during a press conference surrounded by members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus at Painters District Council 30 in Aurora, Ill., on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.]()
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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.]()
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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.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott asks Texas Supreme Court to expel House Democratic leader who left state
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. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 2308, the Ibogaine Treatment Research law, at the Capitol in Austin on June 11, 2025.]()
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Beto O’Rourke’s political group is a top funder for Texas Democrats’ exodus to block GOP congressional map
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. Full Story
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![A private plane headed to Chicago sits on the tarmac after loading luggage at Signature Aviation in Austin with Texas Democratic legislators headed to Illinios on a quorum break on August 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Wesley Hunt tests waters of a Senate bid, setting up possible heavyweight primary with Cornyn and Paxton
The Houston Republican’s case rests on the notion that Sen. John Cornyn cannot win the primary and his challenger, Attorney General Ken Paxton, could jeopardize the seat in November. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, alongside his house Republican colleagues, speaks about the Republican Party’s upcoming legislative agenda and accomplishments in the first one hundred days of holding the majority in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 17, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades