Texas GOP leaders reverse course, ban antisemites from party
The party’s executive committee also formally censured House Speaker Dade Phelan on Saturday. Full Story
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Robert Downen is a reporter covering democracy and the threats to it, including extremism, disinformation and conspiracies. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, he worked for five years at the Houston Chronicle. As a Hearst Media fellow, he developed what would become "Abuse of Faith," a landmark investigation into child sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention that prompted a Department of Justice investigation. Before coming to Texas, Robert was a business reporter in New York's capital region, and the managing editor of six newspapers in his home state of Illinois. He is a 2014 graduate of Eastern Illinois University.
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![Republican Party emblems and signs at the Republican Party of Texas office in downtown Austin.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House candidate Kyle Biedermann blasts expulsion of Bryan Slaton, removed for having sex with a drunk intern
In a statement, Biedermann said the point he was trying to make was that leaders “selectively punish impropriety.” Full Story
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![Former state Reps. Bryan Slaton, Kyle Biedermann on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on April 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Federal investigators asked to reopen fraud case against Texas House candidate Jared Woodfill
Woodfill’s former client fears that politics played a role in the case, which she said was mishandled and abruptly closed by the Harris County DA’s office. Full Story
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![Jared Woodfill speaks during a reception for for his campaign at the Federal American Grill in Houston on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' standoff with the feds in Eagle Pass is igniting calls for secession and fears of violence
The calls for Texas to defend itself and defy the federal government have set fire to a long-simmering fight over states’ rights, emboldening right-wing figures. Full Story
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![A Texas National Guard humvee parked at the gates of Shelby Park, in Eagle Pass, on Jan. 16, 2024. Texas has closed off Shelby Park, cutting access to federal agents to part of the Texas-Mexico border and escalating tensions between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
“Hold the line”: Republicans rally to Abbott’s defense in border standoff with Biden
From the Texas House to former President Donald Trump, Republicans around the country defended Gov. Greg Abbott’s challenges to the Biden administration's border policies. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, displays SB 1900, one of six bills he signed during a border security bill signing session at the state capitol in Austin on June 8, 2023. The bills signed include SB 423, SB 602, SB 1133, SB 1403, SB 1484, and SB 1900. “Washington D.C. has failed to do its job to secure the border,” Abbott said. “As a result, Texas has had to take unprecedented steps in responding to the crisis caused by the Biden administration on the border, and in response the Texas legislature has stepped up to make sure that we will be able to more robustly respond.”]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Email sheds new light on Texas House candidate Jared Woodfill’s role in Southern Baptist leader’s sex abuse scandal
Woodfill has been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton despite his connection to Paul Pressler, a prominent religious figure accused of rape. Full Story
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![Attorney and former Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill holds a press conference in Houston to discuss his election fraud claims and answer questions about the arrest of an ex-cop who he hired to investigate the claims, on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.]()
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Defend Texas Liberty promised big primary spending. Then its leader met with an Adolf Hitler fan.
The Defend Texas Liberty PAC gave just $10,000 in the last two months of 2023 and received no new money from its billionaire funders. Full Story
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![A Texas Flag elephant statue sits outside the convention hall during the Republican Party of Texas 2022 Convention in George R. Brown Convention Center Friday, June 17, 2022, in Houston.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi backed a group with white supremacist ties — while working for its billionaire funder
Farris Wilks is a key funder of Defend Texas Liberty, the state party’s largest donor, which is under fire for its ties to white supremacists Full Story
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![Former state representative Matt Rinaldi spoke to demonstrators at the Governor’s Mansion in protest of Gov. Abbott’s executive orders to close businesses and mandate masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
From RaTmasTer to kingmaker: How Jonathan Stickland trolled his way to Texas GOP power
In his teens and his 20s, Stickland was a prolific internet troll. But instead of growing out of it, he would make a career of it — ascending to the role of a conservative Texas powerbroker, before taking heat for hosting a meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Full Story
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![Huddle with Rep. Jonathan Stickland R-Bedford at the center on August 3, 2017]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores accused of cribbing others’ pictures of Mexican food as her own cooking
Flores, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez for her old seat, is being accused of routinely stealing stylish photos of Mexican campfire cooking and passing them off as her own idyllic life on a ranch. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Los Indios, speaks at a rally in Brownsville on Nov. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune