Most members of the Texas Legislature are white men — and so are the committee chairs
Four out of every five committee chairs this session are men, and 72 percent of chairs are white. Full Story
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Chris Essig is the data visuals editor at The Texas Tribune. Based in Austin, he leads a team of developers who build charts, maintain public databases and analyze data to help reporters hold elected officials accountable. Chris has been a newsroom developer for 10 years and has worked in several local newsrooms. As a native of the Midwest, Chris received his journalism degree from Eastern Illinois University and spent six years in Iowa working at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids and at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Waterloo.
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![A view of the house floor during the second day of the 86th legislative session. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune. -
Texas State students were likely a key factor in flipping this conservative county to Democrats
Beto O'Rourke surged to a 15-point edge over Ted Cruz in Hays County during last week's election, even though the Central Texas county hadn't voted for a Democrat at the top of the ticket since 1992. Full Story
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![Voters line up to cast their ballot at the LBJ Student Center at Texas State University on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018.]()
Credit: Mikala Compton for The Texas Tribune -
Are Texas suburbs slipping away from Republicans?
In Williamson, Hays, Collin and Fort Bend counties, Republicans saw their dominance falter on Tuesday. Full Story
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![Voting signs point the direction to the polling booth at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Fort Bend Co. on Nov. 6, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Gerrymandering backfired for Texas Republicans in Dallas County in 2018
Republicans hoped to keep a majority Texas House seats from Dallas County when they redrew district boundaries in 2011. Seven years later, they've only held onto two of 14. Full Story
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![Downtown Dallas in January 2018.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby / The Texas Tribune -
Where Ted Cruz’s close victory over Beto O’Rourke stands among Texas' historical election results
It was the closest a Democrat came to toppling a Republican incumbent U.S. senator since 1978. And while O'Rourke beat Cruz in some traditional GOP strongholds, it wasn't enough to overcome rural Texas counties and some suburbs that remain fiercely loyal to Cruz. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (left) and U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, at their first debate, in Dallas, on Sept. 21, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Here's how Texas voted in every U.S. Senate election since 1961
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz won re-election in 2018 against Democrat Beto O'Rourke by about 2.6 percentage points. Here's a look at the margins of victory for every U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1961. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso (left), and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
Credit: Rodolfo Gonzalez: O'Rourke/Marjorie Kamys Cotera: Cruz -
More than 4,884,528 Texans voted early in the midterm election
Early voter turnout in the 2018 midterms surpassed turnout from the 2012 presidential election in the 30 Texas counties where most registered voters in the state — 78 percent — live. Full Story
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![Long lines for the start of early voting at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center near downtown Houston Monday, Oct. 22. (Photo by Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
As Texas grows, an affordable housing crisis looms. Here are six things to know.
Demographics, income and location all play roles in the difficulties Texans face finding an affordable home in a neighborhood they like. Full Story
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![Afternoon traffic headed out of West Dallas and toward downtown backs up on Singleton Boulevard. This Dallas neighborhood is changing fast as new apartments and restaurants replace aging homes and businesses.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby -
How to know if you’re spending too much on housing in Texas
We analyzed housing data in hundreds of Texas ZIP codes to create a searchable tool so readers can see how affordable their neighborhood is. Full Story
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![Construction workers build houses in the new Teravista neighborhood in Georgetown on May 18, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
The candidate list for Texas House speaker keeps growing. Here's who's already in.
Despite all the focus on November, many in Texas politics are keeping a close eye on January. That's when the 150-member Texas House will pick its new House speaker. Just last week, two more candidates entered the race. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus bangs the gavel on a record vote during the budget debate on April 16, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune