The latest 2012 elections news from The Texas Tribune.
Every Texas Democrat who has run for statewide office in the last 18 years has been defeated. Every Democrat on the ballot this year hopes to bust that slump. But Republicans in Texas have suffered a longer drought than what Democrats are currently facing. Full Story
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Hot on the heels of his fellow GOP Senate candidates Craig James and David Dewhurst releasing their tax returns, Ted Cruz has provided the Tribune with the last five years of his tax filings. Full Story
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For members of Houston's aerospace industry, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's vow to put a permanent base on the moon by 2020 is a plan unlikely to take off. Full Story
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Following the lead of fellow Republican U.S. Senate candidate Craig James, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has released his tax returns from 2009 and 2010. James on Thursday urged his fellow candidates to release their returns from the last five years. Full Story
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Federal redistricting judges in San Antonio told lawyers Friday they won't be able to hold primary elections in April if they don't make substantial progress on maps by early next week. But some want the court to slow down, even if it delays the elections again. Full Story
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Up and down the Texas ballot, candidates are waiting to see whether the redrawn political maps give them any chance of winning. Careers, plans and schemes are in the balance. Full Story
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Nobody said running for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas was cheap. A (partial) release of Ted Cruz's finances, and other political news from around the state. Full Story
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Three federal judges in San Antonio are going back, literally, to the drawing board for new political maps for Texas, and to decide when to have primary elections. The same things, in other words, they were trying to work out in November. Full Story
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Rick Perry is still the Republican governor of a strongly Republican state. He controls the executive branch, maintains strong ties with business, has relatively weak opponents, and has run circles around the media. Full Story
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When the Legislature decamped from Austin in July, there was a sense of order in Texas politics. And yet, as Rick Perry returns a mere seven months later, conditions on the ground in Texas border on the chaotic. Full Story
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Craig James, the former sports commentator who is running to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, has released his tax returns from the last five years. Expect his opponents to follow suit. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, discussed his opposition to Rick Perry's presidential bid and his dissatisfaction with the GOP frontrunners. Full Story
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Lame duck or not, Rick Perry is still the Republican governor of a strongly Republican state. In Texas, he controls the levers of government, muzzles the news media and has no meaningful political opposition. Full Story
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The underlying fundamentals that buttressed Gov. Rick Perry's political power in the state are not much changed, and they suggest that the governor will reassert his powerful presence in Texas politics now that he is back. Full Story
Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben take the TribCast on the road with a special live edition recorded at The Cactus Cafe as part of KUT’s Views and Brews series. The topic? Rick Perry, of course. Full Story
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One of the "poor" U.S. Senate candidates in Texas claims to have caught up with one of the "rich" ones, and both camps, incidentally, are getting outside help with television ads. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry is no longer in the running, but the race continues for the four remaining Republican presidential contenders. We've updated our interactive to compare the candidates still vying for the GOP nomination. Full Story
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Texas Congressman Ron Paul was largely sidelined in Monday night's NBC debate, which was dominated by Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. But Paul did have some tough words for Gingrich. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry won't refund taxpayers for the Department of Public Safety security detail that followed him on the presidential campaign trail — no matter how many letters Texas Democrats send him. Full Story
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Federal redistricting judges in San Antonio want to see if they can get agreement on political maps in time for an April 3 primary and said they are "giving serious consideration" to split primaries if no agreement can be reached quickly. Full Story
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