Elise Hu
was a political reporter at the Tribune, focusing on multimedia projects, from 2009 to 2011. She previously worked as the state political reporter for Austin's ABC affiliate, KVUE-TV, from 2006 to 2009. She was recognized by the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters three years in a row for her beat reporting on state politics and was named Best TV Reporter Who Can Write by The Austin Chronicle. Before arriving in Austin, she held reporting positions at television stations in Waco; Greenville, S.C.; and Columbia, Mo. She's an evangelist for social media and multimedia journalism — her Political Junkie blog was listed as one of WashingtonPost.com's top Texas political blogs. A native of Plano, she has a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri.
Democrat Bill White takes the same questions that the three GOP gubernatorial candidates faced from Common Sense Texans, the network that connects Texas tea parties. News alert: "His answers differ significantly," the organizer said. Full Story
In the last TribCast before primary election day, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben ponder runoff possibilities, consider Kay Bailey Hutchison's chances and pick the legislative races to watch. Full Story
Watch as the former Wharton County GOP chair and Tea Party favorite takes aim at the federal government, gun laws, and her rival in Tuesday's primary for governor, Rick Perry. Full Story
Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina appeared on CNN with host Rick Sanchez Tuesday afternoon. She faced a series of questions about her position on the 9/11 "truther" movement and other assorted controversies. Full Story
Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Linda Chavez-Thompson will be appearing in selected Texas TV markets starting on Friday, with this colorful new spot. Full Story
This week's skirmish features musings over Farouk Shami's latest campaign shakeup, the latest battle with the federal government and the Republicans' best shot in El Paso. Full Story
In honor of today's kickoff of early voting — a two-week period in which political junkies, committed activists and other go-to-the-head-of-the-class types will line up to cast ballots for their favorite candidates, unable to contain their enthusiasm or anger until March 2 — we present five different installments in our Primary Color series. Brandi Grissom reports on the GOP face-off to take on state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, in House District 78. Elise Hu tackles the four-way scrum between Republicans in HD-20 hoping to succeed retiring state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown. Ross Ramsey asks why a perenially safe incumbent, state Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, has a fight on her hands this year in HD-98. Abby Rapoport looks at the battle for conservative cred in the race for the District 5 seat on the State Board of Education. And Morgan Smith picks apart the five-way race for the GOP nomination in Congressional District 23 — and the chance to topple U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio. Full Story