After road trip, Hurd and O'Rourke sign on to one another's bills
Two days after their cross-country road trip drew national attention, Texas U.S. Reps. Will Hurd and Beto O'Rourke signed on to legislation one another is working on. Full Story
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Patrick Svitek
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Patrick Svitek was the primary political correspondent for The Texas Tribune. Patrick covered elections, state leaders, the Legislature and political trends across the state from 2015 until 2024. He previously worked for the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau. Patrick graduated in 2014 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Past Contributions
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![U.S. Reps. Beto O'Rourke (left), D-El Paso, and Will Hurd, R-Helotes, completed their road trip from Texas to Washington, D.C., on March 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Rep. Will Hurd's Facebook page -
Former U.S. Rep. Stockman charged with violating federal election law
Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, has been charged with violating federal election law. Full Story
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![YouTube screenshot of U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, from a Western Center for Journalism interview on Feb. 2, 2014.]()
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Cruz taps his former Iowa director for re-election campaign
The Iowa state director for Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign has joined the Texas senator's re-election campaign. Full Story
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![Republican U.S. presidential candidate Ted Cruz addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) afternoon general session in Washington on March 21, 2016.]()
Credit: REUTERS / Joshua Roberts -
A day later, Hurd and O'Rourke reach D.C., ending road trip and impromptu town hall
U.S. Reps. Will Hurd and Beto O'Rourke — a Republican and a Democrat from Texas, respectively — arrived at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, ending a two-day trek from San Antonio that drew thousands of fans. Full Story
![U.S. Reps. Beto O'Rourke (left), D-El Paso, and Will Hurd, R-Helotes, completed their road trip from Texas to Washington, D.C., on March 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Rep. Will Hurd's Facebook page -
Patrick: Straus "out of touch with the voters" on bathroom bill
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that House Speaker Joe Straus is "out of touch with the voters" for opposing the so-called bathroom bill that passed the Texas Senate a day earlier. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for the Texas Tribune -
At SXSW, Joe Biden pledges to work with Trump to end "cancer as we know it"
In Austin on Sunday, former Vice President Joe Biden said he hopes the Trump administration will be committed as the Obama administration was to the goal of eradicating cancer. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the Biden Cancer Initiative at South by Southwest in Austin on March 12, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder -
Tesla tries a new, ambitious approach at Texas Capitol
A pair of bills filed Friday would allow any vehicle manufacturer to sell directly to Texans — bypassing the middleman dealers — in the biggest challenge yet to a longstanding state ban on the practice. Full Story
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![Tesla vehicle on display outside the Texas Capitol on Jan. 15, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Paxton prosecutors want to delay May 1 trial until they can get paid
The special prosecutors handling the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are asking to put off his trial until they can get paid. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Ted Cruz sends school choice letter to every Republican in Texas Legislature
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to state lawmakers Thursday urging them to make Texas the next state that gives parents taxpayer dollars to send their children to private or religious schools, or educate them at home. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz talks with Sen. John Cornyn and Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, during a TPPF Orientation conference on Jan. 13, 2017 at the Sheraton Hotel in Austin.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz: New health care bill doomed in the Senate without changes
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that he has "significant concerns" about the new House health care plan, though he's optimistic those differences can be resolved. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., to consider five nominees to fill vacancies on federal courts in Texas. The hearing was Sept. 7, 2016.]()
Credit: Allison Shelley