The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
Two new political outfits, based in Austin and started by a former legislator who served with and worked for Gov. Rick Perry, will try to rally veterans to the governor's presidential race in Iowa and South Carolina. Full Story
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It's not that Tea Party self-identifiers have different positions on immigration than regular old Republicans. They just feel more strongly about it. Full Story
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Michael Williams, who jumped from the U.S. Senate race to the congressional race in the new CD-33 in North Texas, says he'll jump again: He's running for congress in CD-25, a district that stretches from Tarrant County all the way south to Hays County. Full Story
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Michael Williams might be on the move again, switching from a new Tarrant County-centered congressional district to one that starts on that county's southern edge and runs all the way south of Austin into Hays County. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, taking flak from social conservatives, took a step back from his laissez-faire approach to New York’s gay marriage law on Thursday. Now he says it threatens the definition of marriage everywhere, including Texas. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry’s name won’t appear on the key Iowa Straw Poll ballot, but he’ll face a test of his strength among Western conservatives this weekend in Denver in a straw poll of declared and undeclared Republican candidates. Full Story
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The business community, particularly the entrepreneur, has much to offer academia, but a narrow focus on the bottom line is a sure way of destroying Texas' top public universities. Full Story
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The U.S. representative on his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, candidates who have adopted some of his ideas and a potential candidate he's never met. Full Story
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State Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, says that he won't be a candidate for Congress in the seat opened by Ron Paul's decision not to seek another term — but he might run for the state Senate. Full Story
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Texas bypassed the Obama administration's Department of Justice on Tuesday, opting to ask a panel of federal judges in Washington, D.C., to review the state's new maps for congressional, legislative and State Board of Education districts. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, who is considering a run for the White House, has spent nearly $1 million in state campaign funds since January, shelling out thousands of dollars for out-of-state travel, hotels and meetings, records released Friday show. Full Story
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That exhibition of musical chairs is contingent on the outcomes of several lawsuits filed against this or that piece of the new political maps drawn by the Legislature earlier this year. Full Story
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The legislative session is over, the new maps have been drawn, and candidates are starting to make their decisions about whether to run, and for what offices. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, a no-apologies conservative known for slashing government spending and opposing all tax increases, is about as Republican as you can get. Except when he wasn't. Full Story
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Rick Perry has forged a coalition of economic, religious and social conservatives that helped him become the state's longest-serving governor, poised to run a national race. Full Story
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Dave Carney, Perry's top political consultant, told the Tribune on Thursday that the Super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited money on political contests, isn't affiliated with the governor of Texas or with his explorations of the presidential race. Full Story
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Naomi Schaefer Riley, author of the book The Faculty Lounges ... And Other Reasons You Won’t Get the College Education You Pay For, and Daniel Hamermesh, economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, debate the merits of tenure. Full Story
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Today, in one of his first acts as the new Texas A&M University System interim chancellor, Jay Kimbrough discontinued a controversial Teaching Excellence Awards program. Full Story
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Randy Diehl, the dean of the University at Texas at Austin’s College of Liberal Arts, has released a response to the so-called "seven breakthrough solutions" for higher education, calling them "the wrong approach.” Full Story
CNN is anticipating another redistricting showdown in Texas. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus, led by state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, is preparing for a court battle over the newly-passed congressional map. Full Story
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