The Brief: June 6, 2014
Texas' longest-serving governor has set the table for a second presidential run, but he has to reckon with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz this time around. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/05/14/Cruz-Perry-Pres.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
-
The Brief: June 2, 2014
The GOP state convention kicks off this week in Fort Worth with some folks urging attendees to take their guns to town. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/24/Open_Carry_March_Erika_Rich_03_1.jpg)
![Gun rights supporters participate in an open carry march through South by Southwest led by the Austin chapter of Come and Take It on Wednesday, March 12.]()
Credit: Erika Rich -
In Tea Party Wins, a Double-Edged Sword for Texas Democrats
Texas Democrats believe wins by Tea Party candidates in Tuesday's Republican primary runoffs could turn off swing voters in November. But if Democrats can't close the deal, those Republicans will be running Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/27/VDP-Patrick.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney / Bob Daemmrich -
Tea Party Conservatives Win Top GOP Runoffs
After 16 years in statewide office, Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst lost a bitterly fought battle to state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston. In the GOP attorney general race, state Sen. Ken Paxton prevailed over state Rep. Dan Branch. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/27/DAN_PATRICK_RUNOFF9537.jpg)
![State Senator Dan Patrick at runoff election party in Houston, Tuesday May 27, 2014]()
Credit: Micheal Stravato -
The Brief: May 28, 2014
The Tea Party demonstrated forcefully its predominant position in Texas GOP politics on a runoff election night that also closed the curtain on a couple of long political careers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/27/DAN_PATRICK_RUNOFF0577.jpg)
![Republican State Sen. Dan Patrick chats with reporters at a polling station in Cypress, Texas Tuesday, May 27, 2014 to stump for votes in his runoff against against incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato -
Video: AG Candidates Battle on the Airwaves
The candidates in the Republican primary runoff for Texas attorney general traded sharp on-air jabs, spending more than $2 million combined to advertise in the state's largest TV markets. Take a look back at the ads they aired. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/BranchPaxton.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Michael Stravato / Callie Richmond -
TribTalk: Runoff Candidates Make Their Cases to Texas Voters
Leading up to today's primary runoff, the candidates in statewide races made their best case for why they should be their party's nominee in November — columns we published on TribTalk. Here they are, in their own words. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/09/tribtalk-1st-post1024x680v2.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
The Brief: May 27, 2014
Will Texas buck the larger national trend in Republican politics and go in deeper with support of Tea Party candidates and causes? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasTea-2.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Inside Texas Politics: Debating Debates
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, I talked with host Jason Whitely and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy about UT System Regent Wallace Hall, various races in Tuesday's runoffs and more. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/25/Screen_Shot_2014-05-25_at_12.29.36_PM.JPG)
![Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey on WFAA-TV's "Inside Texas Politics" on May 25, 2014.]()
-
Conservative Candidates Ride Out Hard Hits
In three statewide Republican runoff races, candidates who have aligned themselves to the right of their opponents are poised to capture the party's nomination despite fielding significant blows from their opponents, including forays into mental health records from three decades ago and a potentially disqualifying violation of state securities law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/22/Patrick-Dewhurst-Split-2.jpg)
![Dan Patrick (l) in Salado, Tex., and David Dewhurst in Austin.]()
Credit: Steve Moakley / Todd Wiseman -
The Brief: May 23, 2014
Confirmation came down from the White House on Thursday night that San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro will be announced on Friday as President Obama's choice to be the next secretary of housing and urban development. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Castro-Obama.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Rob Rudloff / The Texas Tribune -
Paxton, Branch Attorney General Brawl Gets Pricey
In the Republican race for attorney general, state Sen. Ken Paxton is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to tell voters his opponent, state Rep. Dan Branch, is too liberal. Branch is buying airtime to question Paxton's ethics. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/09/Paxton-Branch-Split.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Callie Richmond / Michael Stravato -
The Brief: May 21, 2014
David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick, the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor, gave one last surprise in their final debate before the May 27 primary runoff election — a largely civil debate that avoided mention of the personal attacks that have come to dominate the last few weeks. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/04/Patrick-Dewhurst-2.jpg)
![State Sen. Dan Patrick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst are in a runoff in the GOP lieutenant governor's race.]()
Credit: Daniel Kramer / Michael Stravato -
The Brief: May 13, 2014
Texas' "sriracha delegation" on Monday made its long-awaited visit to California to woo the makers of the popular hot sauce, but it was no clearer at the conclusion of the visit what might come of it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/07/Sriracha2.JPG)
![Sriracha Sauce.]()
Credit: John Jordan -
McKinney Police Association Retracts Paxton Endorsement
Following a similar retraction in Allen, the McKinney Police Association announced that it is withdrawing its endorsement of Republican attorney general candidate Ken Paxton. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/08/02/kenpaxton08.jpg)
![Senator Ken Paxton speaks to supporters in Plano on Thursday, August 1, 2013, to announcement his campaign for Attorney General.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman -
The Brief: May 12, 2014
The Tribune's Aman Batheja has taken an in-depth look at Midland oilman Tim Dunn, who is best known in the Capitol for his funding of the conservative activist group Empower Texans. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/03/28/MQSEmpowerFiscal.jpg)
![Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Empower Texans president Michael Quinn Sullivan.]()
Credit: Graphic by Caleb Bryant Miller and John Jordan -
TribLive: Branch on Paxton
At our May 8 TribLive conversation, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general in 2014, laid out the case against his rival in the May 27 runoff, state Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/7C2A4207.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
TribLive: A Conversation With Dan Branch
Full video of my May 8 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general in 2014. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/UP9A5627.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
The Brief: May 7, 2014
The word "mess" doesn't even begin to describe what greeted the new director of the state agency that supervises the state's most violent sex offenders when she showed up to work. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-Prison-Bars-1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Rob Crow -
Branch Led Effort to Defeat Disclosure Rule
During Dan Branch's first year in the House, he was a driving force behind an effort to prevent the disclosure of conflicts of interest that can arise when lawmakers work for firms that lobby the state Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/05/TexTrib-CONTRABAND-002.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Michael Stravato