The Texas GOP’s darling: Jeff Younger
Jeff Younger is not a household name for most Texans, but he has been a dominant figure in Texas Republican politics over the last three years. He has built a prominent profile within the Texas GOP and was a catalyst in the effort to pass discriminator...
Politics
Q&A: Rep. Alex Dominguez announces he’s running for the Texas Senate
Yesterday morning, Rep. Alex Dominguez announced that he’s running for state senate in District 27. Known best for his focus on education and healthcare access in the Rio Grande Valley, the two-term representative emerged as a leading voice within the ...
Politics
State Rep. Erin Gamez on serving Brownsville
Brownsville attorney Erin Gamez is the latest Democratic lawmaker to be sworn into the Texas House. Gamez won her seat in a special election primary after State Rep. Eddie Lucio III stepped down in January. Since no Republican filed to run, Ga...
Texas Tribune
Abortion Caravan Tour Kicks Off in Austin
On Tuesday, abortion activists began traveling to Mississippi as part of a “Liberate Abortion Caravan,” a journey from Austin to Mississippi to raise awareness about the nationwide attack on abortion rights. The caravan departs from Austin on Tuesda...
Latest News
Politics
The Grassroots Organization That Wants To Transform Texas
A new group is looking to make its mark in Texas through combatting voter suppression and ensuring every district has a well-funded Democratic nominee. Blue Texas, which is a joint venture between Power the Vote and Every State Blue, is a grassroots...
Texas Tribune
Rallies Against Police Violence Across Texas
Across Texas, activists and community members protested after video emerged showing a brutal (and fatal) act of violence by the police against a young Black man in Memphis. On Friday evening, the Memphis Police Department released a video that they ...
Texas Tribune
Abbott’s Insidious Plan to Defund Texas Schools Through Property Tax Reform
Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the country, and they’re undergoing a steep inflation as home values across the state continue to increase. Both major political parties have plans to address this financial burden, but Republicans are no...
Policy
Texas Democrats Press For Expanding Medicaid (Again)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) celebrated its 12th anniversary this week, and Texas Democrats used the opportunity to talk about Medicaid expansion. And specifically, the fact that Texas hasn’t done it. Texas is just one of 12 states that has not exp...
Policy
Op-Ed: Governor Abbott Chooses His Anti-immigrant and Xenophobic Agenda Instead of Investing in Texans’ Safety
As a native Texan, I never felt anxious about winter. On the contrary, winter always meant celebrating the holidays and getting much-needed breaks from work and school. Not to mention the enticing start to a new year, and the occasional cold front that...
Must Read
From Blood member to activist: a conversation with Antong Lucky
At 21 years old, Dallas 415 gang member Antong Lucky was sentenced to seven years in prison by the United States criminal legal system that locked up minority citizens for the “War on Drugs.” The infamous drug crack cocaine filled the streets ...
GOP Sees Victory in TX-34, but Only for Six Months
GOP Congressional Candidate Mayra Flores flipped a U.S. House seat on Tuesday, beating out Democrat Dan Sanchez by less than eight percentage points in a special election for Texas’ 34th Congressional District. Flores narrowly avoided a runoff in th...
Jessica Cisneros outraises Henry Cuellar, puts Pelosi in hot seat
With less than two weeks remaining until election day, progressive immigrants rights attorney Jessica Cisneros is raising far more cash than her conservative-Democrat opponent Rep. Henry Cuellar in Texas’ 28th Congressional District. Between April 1...
Op-Ed: Three ways redistricting could shift power on the Harris County, Texas commissioners court
Now that the Census Bureau has issued 2020 population results, jurisdictions across the country have the once-in-a-decade task of preparing for redistricting. Redistricting is the constitutionally-required task of re-drawing political boundaries for el...
Joah Spearman on his run for Austin City Council District 9
Community leader and entrepreneur Joah Spearman said he’s running a non-partisan campaign in the race for District 9 of Austin City Council. With his experience in a variety of industries including technology, business and philanthropy, Spearman said h...
Officers Did Nothing While Children Called Police in Uvalde Shooting
The Texas Department of Public Safety held a press conference on Friday after reporting conflicting stories and questionable timelines in the massacre that led to 19 students and two teachers dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Co...
Texas Tribune
Why Was A Woman In Texas Arrested For An Abortion?
As news spread over the arrest of 26-year-old Lizelle Herrera in Starr County, there was immediate outrage and action over somebody being detained for an alleged self-induced abortion. Now that the District Attorney of Starr County filed a motion to dr...
Texas could receive $400 million for electric vehicle charging network
On Thursday, the Department of Transportation released details about the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. This nearly $5 billion program, which is part of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, provides funds f...
Stop TxDOT I-45 Community Organizers Successfully Pause TxDOT Demolition Permit
Stop TxDOT I-45 organizers and protestors successfully paused a demolition permit from the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-45 expansion plan, which would have demolished more than 375 housing units in East Downtown Houston. The state ag...
Why Don’t Texas Republicans Take on Gun Violence? Follow The Money
Following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas Republicans were quick to emphasize that the solution to our nation’s mass shootings is not common sense gun control. After 19 children had died, in lieu of working to prevent these tragedies in the future, they p...
Texas Supreme Court hears arguments against new GOP redistricting maps
On Wednesday, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments against the state’s newest redistricting maps that were finalized last year and are set to last until the next decennial census. The litigation is being brought forth by the Mexican Am...
Somehow Ken Paxton’s Corruption Cases Get Even Worse
Even if he is unlikely to resign as Texas Attorney General, the outlook for Ken Paxton keeps getting grimmer. It was already reported that Paxton is being investigated by the FBI for bribery and...
From Blood member to activist: a conversation with Antong Lucky
At 21 years old, Dallas 415 gang member Antong Lucky was sentenced to seven years in prison by the United States criminal legal system that locked up minority citizens for the “War on Drugs.” The infamous drug crack cocaine filled the streets ...
Beto: ‘The time for us to have stopped Uvalde was right after Sandy Hook’
Hundreds of Houstonians gathered at Discovery Green park on Friday to mourn the victims of the Uvalde elementary school shooting and to thumb their nose at the National Rifle Association convention next door. Gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, w...
Right-Wing Court Gives Win to Texas Republicans in Social Media War
On the evening of May 11, Texas Republicans unfortunately landed a major blow in their ongoing culture war when the infamously right-wing 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the recent Texas law giving the state control of social media platforms’...
James S. Burnett announces bid for HD-76
Community organizer and activist James S. Burnett announced on Monday he’s running for state representative of House District 76. “I’m proud to announce my candidacy for State Representative in #HD76 to represent the place I have called home s...
Watchdog group sues Abbott and Paxton for communications with NRA
The corruption watchdog nonprofit American Oversight has filed a lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton to compel the release of emails and texts the group has sought over the past 15 months. The lawsuit is seeking co...
Music
Biden’s budget had a billionaire tax but Manchin shot it down
The White House’s budget released Monday included a new tax on billionaires but it didn’t take long for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to throw cold water on the idea. The proposed “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax” would impose a new minimum tax of 20...
Report: Cops Waited Outside for 40 Minutes During the Uvalde Shooting
Officers waited outside for 40 minutes while the Uvalde gunman barricaded himself in a 4th-grade classroom. The shooting led to the death of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. “I’m ready if I have to,”...
Pelosi visits Dallas for healthcare roundtable
On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi participated in a healthcare roundtable at Dallas County Health and Human Services. Pelosi was joined by Rep. Colin Allred, local health care leaders, and North Texans who told their personal health care stories.&n...
Jan. 6 committee investigating Ted Cruz’s role in plot to overturn 2020 election
The House select committee to investigate January 6 is looking into Ted Cruz’s alleged role in the plot to overturn the 2020 election, according to the Washington Post. The Post reports that the committee is interested in Cruz’s contact with Trump l...
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Runoff, a Last Minute Drama-filled Nail Biter?
Days after Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier released his first TV ad, a survey of Texas voters from the Dallas Morning News and University of Texas at Tyler found that state Rep. Michelle Beckley leads Collier by double digits, 31 ...
‘We Will Not Prosecute People Who Seek Abortions,’ Says Travis County DA
At a press conference on Monday, Travis County District Attorney José Garza repeated his promise to not prosecute abortions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “I promise that I will continue to fight for and protect women’s rights and use my ...
Alejandro Iñárritu Utilizes Virtual Reality To Capture The Border Experience
A new art installation in North Texas uses virtual reality technology to provide a glimpse into the harrowing experience of migrants at the border. Using testimonials from actual Mexican and Central Americans who made the dangerous journey, this art ex...
Sport News
John Lira on His Run for Congress in TX-23
TX-23 congressional candidate John Lira said he is running to continue his passion for public service. He faces Republican incumbent Congressman Tony Gonzalez, who currently ranks 92 percent favorability with the National Rifle Association. No...
Colin Allred joins bipartisan delegation to Europe amid Ukraine tensions
On Tuesday, Rep. Colin Allred joined a bipartisan delegation to Belgium and Ukraine amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The delegation is led by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee which Allr...
Texas Food Banks Feel Sigh of Relief as Public Health Emergency Benefits Continue
The U.S. Health and Human Services quietly extended the public health emergency declaration beyond July 16, giving no required 60-day notice this week that it would come to an end. It means the public health emergency will continue to last for at le...
A Texas Way: Land Office Candidate Jay Kleberg Charts Hopeful Path Forward
On May 21, Democratic Land Commissioner candidate Jay Kleberg held a press conference with major Houston area leaders to announce his pledge to combat the institutional ineptitude and discrimination present in the past actions of the Texas General Land...
TV
“They betrayed our cause”: Ana-Maria Ramos dishes on Democrat defections
Ana-Maria Ramos was speechless. It was last Monday, August 9, and the Texas State Representative (D-102) was in a meeting with several House Democrats in Washington, D.C., when the news broke: Four of their peers had, without warning, abandoned their p...
Bipartisan Texas House lawmakers ask execution of Melissa Lucio to be stopped
Lawmakers from both parties gathered on Thursday to hold a press conference in favor of delaying or stopping the execution of Melissa Lucio, a 53-year-old woman convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter. “I have never seen a more troubl...
Accelerator helps democracy-focused nonprofits find their footing (and funding)
Valerie Reiffert regretted missing the first protest in San Antonio that sprang up the weekend after the police murder of George Flloyd in 2020. She stayed home, worried that counter protestors might endanger the safety of her two-year-old chi...
Monkeypox: Worth Worrying About?
The COVID-19 pandemic has made Americans hyper-aware to the risks and consequences of not taking developing pathogens seriously, so the concerning appearance of the monkeypox virus outside its usual confines in Central and West Africa has understandabl...