The latest 2012 elections news from The Texas Tribune.
As you celebrate Independence Day, take a break from the barbecue to pay tribute to the freedom of speech, and those aspiring Texas politicos who used it to produce incredibly entertaining primary campaign ads. Full Story
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For this week's nonscientific survey of government and political insiders, we asked about four House contests where incumbents find themselves in runoffs. Full Story
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Tea Party-backed Senate candidate Ted Cruz points with pride to the army of small conservative donors supporting him. But his largest longtime contributor is a gay billionaire who supports same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz will spend the month of July fighting to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Turnout and campaign messages will play a key role in who claims victory. Full Story
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Takeaways from the Republican and Democratic Senate debates between Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst on the one hand, and Paul Sadler and Grady Yarbrough on the other. Full Story
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Full video of my June 28 TribLive conversation with political strategists Matthew Dowd, Mark McKinnon and John Weaver. Full Story
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On a wide range of issues at the front of Republican voters' minds, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Solicitor General Ted Cruz essentially agree. Actual policy differences between the candidates are exceedingly narrow. Full Story
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Big tents and boos on one hand, and talk about how to start a fire on the other: Notes from the Republican Party's convention in Fort Worth and from the Democratic Party's convention in Houston. Full Story
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Bowie Democrat Lanhon Odom was unopposed in the HD-68 primary and says there was a hot race for district judge on the GOP ballot at home. So he voted in that primary. Oops. Full Story
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Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, had a tense exchange Thursday on Patrick’s radio show as they debated Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's record. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, political strategists Matthew Dowd, Mark McKinnon and John Weaver explain why they haven't made up their minds in the 2012 race. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, political strategists Matthew Dowd, Mark McKinnon and John Weaver assessed the state of the 2012 presidential race. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, political strategists Matthew Dowd, Mark McKinnon and John Weaver discussed Mitt Romney's pressing need to win over Hispanic voters this fall. Full Story
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In a new TV ad, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst describes the southern border as "a 2,000-mile monument to the failure of Washington," and the U.S. Senate candidate says President Obama's recent executive order "burns me up." Full Story
In a debate between the Democrats running for U.S. Senate, retired educator Grady Yarbrough and former legislator Paul Sadler disagreed on most major issues, including whether America needs a "Berlin Wall" on the southern border. Full Story
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Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made a "deliberate falsehood" when he said that he had never supported a payroll tax. Dewhurst's campaign says the allegations are "false and misleading." Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz faced off Friday night in the first debate of the hotly contested Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate. Full Story
This week, the volume goes up in the U.S. Senate primaries, with debates for the Republicans on Friday and the Democrats next week, sponsored by KERA Dallas, the Tribune, Hearst, Univision and others. Full Story
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Aguilar on the aftermath of changes in U.S. immigration policy, Batheja on how the Republican candidates for Senate are handling that sensitive issue, KUT's Philpott on new driver's license laws and immigration, M. Smith on racial tensions and an ousted police chief in Jasper, Galbraith on the state's efforts to limit electric service blackouts, Hamilton on the hot Campbell-Wentworth Senate runoff in Central Texas, Murphy maps the May primary voting, Root on the restoration of the arson-damaged Texas Governor's Mansion and Dehn's latest Weekend Insider on obese Texans: The best of our best content from June 18 to 22, 2012. Full Story
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A Super PAC backing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's bid for the U.S. Senate released a new web video Friday in which Gov. Rick Perry praises Dewhurst's conservative record and criticizes some backers of former Solicitor General Ted Cruz as uninformed. Full Story
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