Analysis: The Texas storms — actual and political — of 2021
Here are a dozen of my columns from 2021: highlights on the winter storm, redistricting, the state’s finances and on issues that could figure into this next round of elections. Full Story
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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
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![The Texas Capitol on June 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A rose by any other name could stink up the Texas ballot
Political people in Texas know that the Rick Perry on the 2022 Republican primary ballot is not the former governor of the state. Do voters know? Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at the poll booths in University Park United Methodist Church on election day in Dallas. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas ducks the federal courts, inspiring copycats
Just as many legal experts predicted, the enforcement provision in Texas’ new law restricting abortion has become a magnet for other states that want to limit constitutionally protected rights. Full Story
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![Signs reading “Dismantle Roe” are placed along a barrier surrounding the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Some Texas lawmakers are worried about the wrong reading problem
Some Texas Republicans are busy raising questions about what's in the books in the state's public school libraries. The real problem isn't in the books. Full Story
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![The library at Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos on Nov. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: From homegrown culture warriors to tomorrow’s Texas leaders
Republicans in Austin have been after local governments for years, pushing aside local laws and rules on a long list of issues where local and state powers overlap. Now they're recruiting fellow Republicans for local offices, to try to change things at the ground level. Full Story
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Analysis: Texas’ electric grid is half-ready for another winter freeze
Chances are, winter weather won’t be as bad as it was last February. Chances are, Texas won’t have the electric blackouts that caused so much misery then. And chances are, whatever happens will have some influence on the 2022 elections. Full Story
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas’ population has changed much faster than its political maps
Texas’ population has grown 40% this century, and 91% of the new Texans are people of color. Federal judges now have to decide whether those monumental changes are reflected in the state’s political maps. Full Story
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![Census data from 2020 and redistricting maps at The Texas Tribune office in Austin on Oct. 7, 2021. The state population grew by nearly 4 million and was driven mainly by people of color.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas-Mexico frontier still tops the news — and state politics
For Texas voters, fear of an insecure border consistently overshadows other issues — electric grid failures, handgun regulation, abortion access — even when those things top the news. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with nine other governors regarding the southern border at Anzalduas Park in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: It takes a village to win big races in Texas
Want to win a statewide political race in Texas that's not at the very top of the ballot? It helps a lot if your party's top candidate wins — or at least runs a close second. Full Story
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![A woman votes at Great Baptist Hills on July 14, 2020, in Austin.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Betting a Texas election on a weather forecast
Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll. Full Story
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![Power lines along a row of homes in South Austin. Many residents experienced power outages due to the winter storm that rolled through Texas. Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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