MORGAN MEYER

As Texas home values skyrocket, state officials wrestle with how to slow property tax increases

Texas school districts, cities and counties rely heavily on property taxes to pay for roads, libraries, police, firefighters and public schools. But lowering tax bills has long been a difficult endeavor.

Analysis: In close elections, two opponents can be better than one

The all-Republican court rejected a Republican effort to erase 44 Libertarian candidates from the ballot. The theory operating here is that Libertarian candidates siphon more votes from Republicans than from Democrats. A related bit of political folklore is that Green Party candidates take votes that would otherwise go to Democrats. State Rep. Gina Calanni, a Democrat, beat a Republican incumbent by 113 votes in a 2018 race in which a Libertarian got 1,106 votes. For instance, state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, won reelection by 1,428 votes; the Libertarian in his race got 1,644 votes.