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An air quality alert in effect for 8 regions in the area

See the complete list

WEATHER ALERT

An air quality alert in effect for 8 regions in the area

REDISTRICTING


Texas House reaffirms the political maps it drew in 2021

The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results.

To be safe, Texas Senate again approves political district maps

The vote ensured the Senate met its constitutional requirement to redraw districts in the first regular session after publication of the 2020 census results.

Texas senators draw lots to determine how long their terms will be

After redistricting, the state constitution requires senators to draw lots to determine which half of the chamber will have four-year terms and which will have two-year terms. This keeps Senate district elections staggered every two years for the rest of the decade.

Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again

The redistricting process this year is mostly procedural and is not expected to produce very different results from the most recent process completed in 2021.

Why all eyes are now on the often ignored Texas Board of Education races

All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and one race in District 7 highlights how critical race theory has become a key issue.

Federal trial over new Texas political maps is delayed by evidence disputes

The Republican-drawn maps largely serve to bolster the party’s dominance. The maps are being challenged based on various claims, including intentional discrimination, vote dilution and racial gerrymandering.

A GOP power grab shatters 30 years of political progress for Black voters in Galveston County

Republicans dismantled the only Galveston County commissioners precinct in which voters of color held political clout. It’s a major blow for Black and Hispanic voters who had been building political momentum.

Analysis: Gerrymandering has left Texas voters with few options

Texans who don’t vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November.

Here’s your ballot for the May 24 Texas primary runoff election

See the full list of candidates in the Democratic and Republican primary runoffs, and find out who’s on your ballot based on where you live.

“Unwinnable race”: State Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson ends reelection bid, citing redrawn political map

Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white.

Texas is quietly using redistricting lawsuits to launch a broader war against federal voting rights law

As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, it’s laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections.

Nearly 18% of registered Texas voters cast 2022 primary ballots

Texas has a history of a dismal turnout rate in primary elections. This year’s turnout was higher than the last six midterm primaries. Still, less than 1 in 5 registered voters participated.

Federal judges won’t halt Texas primary in state Senate district being challenged for alleged discrimination

The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year.

Texas violated voting rights law during redistricting, retiring state GOP senator says in sworn court statement

A three-judge federal panel is hearing arguments in a lawsuit claiming that Texas Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act when they redrew state Senate District 10 in Tarrant County to lessen Black and Hispanic voting power.

Analysis: Running a Texas election while voters are distracted — by politics

With less than five weeks left in the primary election season, there is no shortage of political issues to debate. But most of the political conversation isn’t about the election.

Frontrunners for Texas’ new congressional seats look to send message with decisive primary wins

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is the favorite to return to Congress via Texas’ 37th District, while Republican Wesley Hunt is the leading contender in the 38th District.

Analysis: A Texas election in the shade of government’s third branch

Challenges to new Texas laws on voting, political districts and abortion are all pending in court, as is the state’s challenge to federal vaccine mandates. But until the courts rule, those laws remain in place — and they provide political fodder for the incumbents who support them.

Here’s your Texas 2022 March primary ballot

The Texas 2022 primary will take place March 1. See the full list of candidates statewide and find out who's on your ballot based on where you live.

Top stories from our data visuals team in 2021

In 2021, the Tribune’s data visuals team helped tell the biggest stories affecting Texans. Here’s a roundup of our most impactful work.

Opportunity was snatched away from Dallas County Latino communities when Texas Republicans redrew congressional maps

Dallas-area Latinos hoped their growing numbers would finally translate into political clout this year through the creation of a new congressional district anchored by their communities. Instead, their neighborhoods were splintered between numerous white-majority districts.

Analysis: Texas’ population has changed much faster than its political maps

Texas’ population has grown 40% this century, and 91% of the new Texans are people of color. Federal judges now have to decide whether those monumental changes are reflected in the state’s political maps.

U.S. Department of Justice sues Texas over new political maps

Texas lawmakers illegally discriminated against voters of color by drawing new political districts that give white voters more political power despite rapid growth of Hispanic and Black populations, the department claims in its lawsuit.

Analysis: The Texas-Mexico frontier still tops the news — and state politics

For Texas voters, fear of an insecure border consistently overshadows other issues — electric grid failures, handgun regulation, abortion access — even when those things top the news.

New maps draw IRE from both sides as county commissions deal with fallout from new maps

Inside a packed room earlier this month, Galveston County residents gathered to speak in opposition to proposed new precinct maps.

Congressional gerrymandering by Texas Republicans cut out the heart of Houston’s Asian community

Asian and Pacific Islander populations surged in Texas over the past decade, but their political power is weakened under new congressional maps. A northwest Houston neighborhood offers a case study in how that was done.

State Rep. Alex Dominguez will run to replace retiring state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. in high-stakes Democratic primary

Lucio is retiring from the Rio Grande Valley seat, and Dominguez wants to continue his legacy of focusing on education in the region. But he suggested he would take a different approach to at least a couple issues, including abortion.

State Rep. Ryan Guillen switches to GOP in latest blow to South Texas Democrats

The Rio Grande City lawmaker was the least liberal Democrat in the Texas House this year, according to a political scientist’s rankings of lawmakers.

Analysis: Early signs point to another Republican-dominated election cycle in Texas

Republican incumbents enter their reelection campaigns well ahead of their Republican challengers and with most voters unacquainted with the Democratic challengers in the field, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

Texas’ new House map challenged in state court, expanding redistricting fight

The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is arguing that the new state House map violates the Texas Constitution. The lawsuit follows two legal challenges to the state’s new maps previously filed in federal court.

Analysis: Texas legislators aren’t ready to take self-interest out of redistricting

In Texas, the Legislature draws political maps — with results that predictably favor the party in power. Do independent commissions do any better?

Democratic state Reps. Claudia Ordaz Perez and Art Fierro will vie for the same El Paso House seat due to redistricting

Ordaz Perez announced she will challenge Fierro after new political maps forced her to run against another incumbent if she wanted to seek a new term. Democrats have criticized the GOP-drawn House map for diluting the El Paso area's representation.

Analysis: With grades like these for political maps, Texas won’t be making the honor roll

The new political maps drawn by Texas Republicans have run into some criticism from academics studying gerrymandering. That puts the Texans in the same boat with Illinois Democrats.

Analysis: Maps bolster Republicans in the Texas Senate, especially the top one

The new political maps drawn by the Texas Senate don't just favor Republicans; that much was expected from a Republican majority. The maps help Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pick which Republicans he wants in the Senate.

Analysis: Are lawmakers trying to make Texans more confident in elections, or less?

After conservative complaints about the national results in the 2020 election, Texas Republicans have tried to anticipate everything that might play against them in 2022, right down to who’ll be at the helm.

Houston Newsmakers: Redistricting is a near miss for Jackson Lee

Houston Newsmakers: Redistricting is a near miss for Jackson Lee

Texas’ new political maps create safer districts for incumbents — and put an end to some challengers’ runs

The redistricting process in the GOP-dominated Legislature made many political districts less competitive, which some experts believe might hurt civic engagement.

Texas has new political maps. See which districts your home is in.

This year’s elections will take place using newly redrawn political maps for the state’s congressional, House, Senate and Board of Education districts. Search your address to see how the new districts will affect your community.

In fast-growing Central Texas, redistricting sparks political reshuffling in upcoming statehouse and congressional races

The fast-growing region likely will see a considerable number of new state and federal lawmakers after the 2022 election. And in many cases, they will be representing districts whose boundaries have significantly shifted.

TribCast: Is the Texas Legislature finished for 2021?

On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Alexa, James and Patrick about the end of the Texas Legislature’s third special session and whether there will be a fourth.

Analysis: Texas legislators set the table for the 2022 elections

The controversial issues you’ve heard Texas lawmakers debate for most of the year aren’t going away; many of them will be argued all over again during the 2022 elections.

Republicans say Texas’ new political maps are “race blind.” To some voters of color, that translates as political invisibility.

With partisan fervor, Republicans drew new maps for Congress and the Legislature that dilute the power of voters of color. Now the lawsuits begin, as groups that feel marginalized battle for representation in the halls of power.

Five takeaways from Texas’ third special legislative session

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says there’s no plan for a fourth special session at this time. If this was the final special session of the year, what did we learn from it?

Texas Republicans send Gov. Greg Abbott a new congressional map that protects GOP power, reduces influence of voters of color

After a few last-minute alterations, the state's new congressional districts are drawn and await the scrutiny of federal courts. Already, one lawsuit has been filed claiming the new maps intentionally discriminate against Latino voters.

First lawsuit filed challenging new Texas political maps as intentionally discriminatory

Before they’re even signed into law, the state’s new maps for congressional and statehouse districts have been challenged in federal court by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in the Austin area's new congressional district

The Austin Democrat, who has served in Congress since 1995, currently represents the 35th District, which stretches down to San Antonio. He will run in the newly created 37th District located in Travis County.

Analysis: An election slogan you won’t hear in Texas in 2022

“Turn Texas Blue” was the Democratic rally cry in the 2020 elections. It didn’t happen, and with the maps the Texas Legislature is drawing, it’s not in the cards for 2022, either.

Lawmakers send to Gov. Greg Abbott new political maps that would further solidify the GOP’s grip on the Texas Legislature

The redistricting plans for the House, Senate and State Board of Education were approved Friday.

Texas Republicans pave way for new battleground state House district in Rio Grande Valley over local lawmakers’ objections

The likely new district comes as Texas Republicans continue to try to make new inroads in South Texas after the 2020 election.

With surgical precision, Republicans draw two congressional districts that dilute power of Hispanic and Asian voters

The GOP is losing its hold on suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth as they grow more diverse. Two new districts show how far the party is reaching to entrench rural, white electoral power.

Texas House passes proposed new map for chamber’s 150 districts, aiming to protect Republicans’ majority for the next decade

Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties.

How a doughnut-shaped district breaks up voters of color near Fort Hood and helps House Republicans

The doughnut district would be in Bell County, a traditionally red area that has trended blue in recent years as the diverse community around the nation’s biggest military installation grows.

TribCast: A federal judge temporarily blocks Texas’ near-total abortion ban

In this week’s TribCast, Matthew speaks with Alexa and Reese about the ongoing court fights over Texas’ new abortion law and the redistricting process in Texas.

Texas Senate approves congressional map that draws no new Black or Hispanic districts even as people of color fueled population growth

Texas gained two new seats in Congress based on population growth fueled by people of color. But the Senate’s proposal provides no new majority-Black or majority-Hispanic districts to reflect that growth.

Analysis: When Texas legislators admit they don’t know what they’re doing

When lawmakers find something in the law that they don’t like — or that their voters don’t like — they can always say they didn’t know what they were voting on. It happens more than you’d think.

Texas House committee advances proposed map for lower chamber

The draft, which will need a stamp of approval from the full chamber before it can head to the Senate for consideration, is likely to continue to change before the Legislature sends it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for a signature.

Senate approves map cementing GOP dominance in upper chamber, dividing up Tarrant county’s voters of color

Democrats criticized Republicans for “targeting” a North Texas district that had been trending Democratic and for not drawing any new districts where people of color would represent a majority of eligible voters.

This historically red Texas county diversified in the last decade. Now, Republicans are trying to divide up its voters of color.

Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said the maps were drawn “race-blind.” But Democratic Sen. Beverly Powell, whose district would be turned into a majority-Republican district, said they’re an attempt to deny voters of color their voice in elections.

South Texas was already a political battleground. New maps could alter game plans.

With proposed maps out, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, says he might switch to a neighboring district where U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, is retiring. The initial maps are also sure to impact decisions in regional legislative races.

Analysis: Texas government won’t represent the state’s population unless its political maps do

The Texas Legislature is drawing new political maps to reflect the growth of the state recorded in the 2020 census. But their initial proposals don't look like the state demographically or politically.

Texas appears to be paying a secretive Republican political operative $120,000 annually to work behind the scenes on redistricting

Adam Foltz, now on the Texas payroll, played a key role in Wisconsin's redistricting last decade. A federal court threw out some of the maps and called the effort Foltz was involved in "an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny."

Proposed new congressional seat in Houston gets prominent GOP candidate

Wesley Hunt, an Army combat veteran who ran a close congressional contest last year in the Houston area, announced Tuesday he plans to run for the state's new 38th District in the same region.

Senate panel advances Texas Senate and State Board of Education maps

The initial drafts of both maps have so far attempted to strengthen Republican majorities by protecting incumbents and creating more GOP-friendly districts.

GOP state Rep. Phil King announces he'll run for new Republican-friendly Senate seat held by Democrat Beverly Powell

Within half an hour of declaring his bid, King got the endorsement of the Senate's presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Texas reduces Black and Hispanic majority congressional districts in proposed map, despite people of color fueling population growth

The proposed congressional map also increases the number of districts where Trump had a majority of voters over Biden in 2020 and protects Republican incumbents who might have been vulnerable by packing their districts with more Trump voters.

Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher is about to find out how badly Texas Republicans want her out of Congress

The two-term Houston representative holds a congressional seat with a storied Republican lineage. With the GOP-controlled Legislature about to release new district maps, some expect they will try to wrest the seat back into their column.

Austin state Rep. Celia Israel won’t run for reelection, is exploring mayoral run

Israel’s decision creates a vacancy in Austin-area House District 50 with redistricting underway at the Legislature.

After losing to a Democrat in 2020, former GOP state Sen. Pete Flores seeks election in newly drawn Republican district

Within hours, Flores got the endorsement of Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, who is vacating the seat to run for land commissioner, and then Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate.

Texas Republicans have the redistricting tools to preserve their power. Here's how they can do it.

Lawmakers must redraw the state’s political maps to account for a decade’s worth of growth, but the process leaves enough room for political manipulation. Here’s how it’ll work.

Texas Senate opens redistricting debate with proposed map one senator labels ‘intentional discrimination’

The first draft of the Senate map was authored by a Republican who chairs the Senate Redistricting Committee. It immediately drew fire from a Democratic member who said her district was being redrawn to dilute voting power of people of color.

In a changing Texas, Republicans will begin redistricting with more freedom to draw their maps

Facing demographic changes that work against their political dominance, Republicans will be able to redraw politically advantageous maps — and shield themselves from the change — without federal oversight for the first time in decades.

Analysis: Population changes the recipe for Texas’ political soup

Not every change in the state’s political maps starts with party affiliation. Geography and population are giving Republican mapmakers new headaches.

TribCast: A preview of redistricting in the Texas Legislature

In this week's episode, Matthew speaks with Ross, Alexa and James about the coming legislative and legal fights over redistricting in Texas.

Barely underway, Texas redistricting draws its first lawsuit challenging Legislature’s authority to redraw legislative maps

Two Democratic state senators filed the federal suit arguing the Texas Constitution does not allow lawmakers to meet in special session to draw up state House and Senate districts. They’re asking the courts to do it instead.

Analysis: The partisan debate over voting laws is a prologue to redistricting

The summer fight over voting and election law has been fierce. It may well be a prologue to a bigger battle just ahead: redrawing the state’s political maps.

Analysis: Texas lawmakers have two contentious voting fights ahead — if they can stay in the same room

After a standoff that lasted more than a month, the Texas House appears to have enough state representatives in Austin to conduct business. The divisions are deep, relationships are frayed and redistricting lies ahead.

Analysis: Texas government grinds to a stop — of the governor’s choosing

It’s happening slowly, but during the Texas government’s long summer, with legislative walkouts, fights over voting rights, and new battles over what’s safe and what’s not, Gov. Greg Abbott is mostly getting his way.

People of color make up 95% of Texas’ population growth, and cities and suburbs are booming, 2020 census shows

The state’s Hispanic population is now nearly as large as the non-Hispanic white population, with Texas gaining nearly 11 Hispanic residents for every additional white resident since 2010. Those trends set up a pitched battle for political control when state lawmakers redraw legislative districts.

As Texas Republicans line up for 2022 primaries, Democrats are waiting on Beto O'Rourke and redistricting

“Whatever Beto decides to do is the domino that affects everybody," said Royce Brooks, executive director of Annie’s List, the Texas Democratic women-in-politics group.

How a decade of voting rights fights led to fewer redistricting safeguards for Texas voters of color

In a state with a long history of discrimination, lawmakers on Tuesday will kick off the 2021 round of political mapmaking — the first in nearly half a century without federal oversight.

We Like It Better Here

A majority of Texans believe the state is on the right track, while a plurality thinks the country is on the wrong track, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

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