The latest Texas Senate news from The Texas Tribune.
Nelson planned to retire from the Senate after 30 years in office. But her nomination will give Abbott a clearer path to having his nominee confirmed by the Senate after his last three have gone unconfirmed. Full Story
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Adam Hinojosa finished 659 votes behind Democrat Morgan LaMantia in a race that garnered 175,415 total votes. Full Story
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Texas Tribune photographers spread out all over the state to document a momentous midterm election. Full Story
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Patrick will get another four years leading the Texas Senate, one of the state’s most powerful positions. Full Story
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In some battleground state legislative races, Republicans have been making overtures to those who believe the ban as too extreme. They have said they are open to revising the ban to include the exceptions — and even voiced confidence that the Legislature will do so when it reconvenes in January. Full Story
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The endorsement comes after Patrick’s Democratic opponent, Mike Collier, received endorsements from two Republicans, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo. Full Story
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Republicans are starting to pay more attention to Texas Senate District 27 — the only competitive Senate seat in November — but whether they will go all in remains an open question. Full Story
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State and local Uvalde officials have fought the release of records that could provide clarity on the botched emergency response to the shooting that killed 19 children and two educators. Full Story
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Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, but the education commissioner promised plans for the review will be completed this summer. Full Story
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The senators said they would support proposals like raising the age to legally own an assault weapon from 18 to 21, creating red flag laws and regulating private gun sales. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had asked House leaders to support his push for arming school police officers with bulletproof shields after the Uvalde shooting. House Speaker Dade Phelan is also asking for more money for mental health and school safety programs. Full Story
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Gutierrez, a Democrat who has been critical of the state’s response to past shootings, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also snubbed state senators whose districts were affected by shootings in El Paso and Santa Fe. Full Story
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The question moving forward is whether Democrats, outnumbered in the Texas Legislature for two decades, will be able to put enough pressure on lawmakers to move on a previously intractable issue in gun-friendly Texas and that Republicans, who support looser gun laws, will fight tooth and nail. Full Story
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All 13 Senate Democrats demanded lawmakers pass legislation that raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm and requires universal background checks, among other measures. Full Story
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Collier came within 4 percentage points of unseating the incumbent in 2018. But this year, Democrats face even stronger headwinds in trying to unseat Texas Republicans. Full Story
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Democratic primary runoffs for two congressional districts and two legislative seats in South Texas highlight the candidates’ divergent visions for the party in a region the GOP is heavily targeting. Full Story
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Texans who don’t vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November. Full Story
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Reyes faces Pete Flores in the May 24 Republican primary runoff for the open state Senate seat. Flores is backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Full Story
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It was also revealed at a special Texas Senate committee meeting that the Texas foster care worker who allegedly sold nude pictures of girls is also accused of dating a child trafficker. Full Story
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Almost all the preferred candidates of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan nabbed enough votes to head into the November general election. And nearly all sitting House and Senate members seeking to return to the Texas Capitol kept their seats. Full Story
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