The latest Texas Senate news from The Texas Tribune.
It should come as no surprise when political plotters and schemers try to pack a primary election to force an incumbent into a runoff. Their hope is that the runoff's greater concentration of partisan voters will be harder on the incumbents. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/01/13/7C2A0266.jpg)
As the presidential political season starts in Texas, here's a look — based on the results in past general elections — at how the state's congressional and statehouse districts stack up for the candidates from both parties. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/10/28/Voting-Harris-2.jpg)
Allowing more people to register their opinions on issues before state legislators is technologically easy. But is it really something legislators want to do? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/07/08/SB1-Wide.jpg)
An open-seat endorsement from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick could strengthen a conservative core in the Texas Senate, and with it Patrick's position in the Legislature and the Legislature's position in state government. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/24/_S3R0030.jpg)
In a victory for racetracks and a rebuff to state lawmakers, the Texas Racing Commission on Tuesday declined to outlaw historical racing in the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Texas-Slot-Machine.jpg)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who initially planned to stay away from endorsements in Republican primaries, said Tuesday he is backing state Rep. Bryan Hughes of Mineola in the Republican primary race to replace state Sen. Kevin Eltife of Tyler. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d4f6fcfc91aa2d8f7ca86069d6a9c4b6/BD%20INC%20Hughes%2002%202012)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, abandoning a decision to stay out of legislative primaries, endorsed a half-dozen Republican senators for re-election on Friday, saying he changed his mind because he wants his incumbent senators back for another session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/04/UP9A7269.jpg)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants a special committee to review legislative agencies he co-chairs with House Speaker Joe Straus. It sounds a little weird at first, but could put him in position to remake some of those agencies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/03/20/StrausPatrick.jpg)
A Texas Senate panel will meet Wednesday to scrutinize Planned Parenthood practices in the aftermath of the release of undercover videos of the abortion provider's executives discussing fetal tissue donation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/07/22/Protesters-Split.jpg)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday reiterated his disagreement with a letter questioning the governor's budget vetoes, saying his office did not initiate a letter from a legislative agency on that subject. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/04/7C2A7576.jpg)
Some of Gov. Greg Abbott’s line-item vetoes in the state budget might be invalid, the state’s Legislative Budget Board said in a letter sent Tuesday to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/11/7C2A8102.jpg)
Middle ground is arguably the most dangerous turf for a Texas lawmaker to occupy these days, and new research shows that none are doing it. The gap between moderate Republican and Democratic lawmakers is growing. Full Story
It will be more than a year before we know everyone who is and is not coming back to the Texas Legislature, but the trickle has started, and some big players are leaving the field. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/01/_BDB5446OttoandJDA.jpg)
Not all of the pieces are in place as the new political season begins. For starters, the maps used to elect people to the Texas House and to the state's congressional delegation are still tangled up in federal litigation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RedistrictingEraser.jpg)
Over the course of this year's legislative session, House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made their priorities known by what bills got the lowest bill numbers. Take a look at how those proposals fared. Full Story
During the 84th legislative session, state lawmakers had 140 days to pass a budget and other bills they thought were priorities for Texas. In this special collaboration with Texas Standard, we look at the big takeaways from the session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/10/TT-TXStandard_series_jslhaUH.jpg)
Members of the 84th Legislature rode off into the sunset on June 1 leaving plenty of memorable moments in their trails. Listen to our recap of some of those moments as part of a special episode of Texas Standard. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/06/10/TT-TXStandard_crazy_BWaUc9f.jpg)
The governor asked lawmakers to put ethics reform at center stage this year. They filed bills. They even voted in favor of some strong restrictions on lobbyists' and officeholders' official behavior. But most of it never got to Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/05/12/Abbott-Press.jpg)
At our 6/4 conversation, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick enumerated the Texas Senate's accomplishments in the 84th Session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/7C2A7531.jpg)
Full video of my 6/4 conversation with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Among the topics discussed: 84th session accomplishments, conservative criticism, the Senate vs. the House, the 2016 presidential race and why he's not running against Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/7C2A7631.jpg)