Colin Allred wants voters to know “I’m just as angry as they are” in new Senate bid
Allred says he has learned to show up more in his attempt at a Senate do-over. But critics contend he’s not generating enough attention. Full Story
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Gabby Birenbaum is the Washington Correspondent for the Texas Tribune. She covers the Texas congressional delegation and the impact of federal policy on Texas. Gabby previously covered Washington for The Nevada Independent, where she wrote the weekly D.C. Download newsletter and covered the 2024 presidential election and competitive Senate race. Prior to The Nevada Independent, Gabby worked at The Washington Monthly and Vox. Gabby graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and political science. She is a native of Arlington, Virginia and is based in Washington, DC. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, watching movies and being a long-suffering fan of DC sports teams. Her work is supported by a partnership with Report for America.
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![U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (R-Texas) speaks at his Election Night watch party after losing the Senate seat to incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas on Election Day, November 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Rep. James Talarico mulls U.S. Senate bid as his profile rises amid Texas Democrats’ redistricting standoff
The Democratic state lawmaker has inquired about Senate television ad rates, two sources told the Tribune. Full Story
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![Texas Rep. James Talarico D-Austin smiles during a redistricting rally at Delco Activity Center Friday, July 25, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
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John Cornyn enters critical window to change trajectory of Texas Senate primary against Ken Paxton
The annual summer break is a critical window for Texas’ senior senator, whose allies are blitzing the airwaves with ads courting primary voters — and President Donald Trump. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.]()
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Wesley Hunt tests waters of a Senate bid, setting up possible heavyweight primary with Cornyn and Paxton
The Houston Republican’s case rests on the notion that Sen. John Cornyn cannot win the primary and his challenger, Attorney General Ken Paxton, could jeopardize the seat in November. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, alongside his house Republican colleagues, speaks about the Republican Party’s upcoming legislative agenda and accomplishments in the first one hundred days of holding the majority in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 17, 2023.]()
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Dems say a bomb threat made at their hotel and other redistricting updates
Texas Democrats left the state to stop a Republican-led effort to change the state’s congressional boundaries, setting off a national conversation. Full Story
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![Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., center, stands with other Democratic members of Congress and Texas House Democrats during a press conference at IBEW Local 701 in Warrenville, Ill., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.]()
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Texas House Democrats flee the state in bid to block GOP’s proposed congressional map
The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab. Full Story
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![Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks during a press conference alongside dozens of fellow Texas lawmakers and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House panel advances redrawn congressional map that would add more GOP seats
The new district lines could be considered by the entire state House as soon as early next week. Full Story
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![State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christ, makes introductory remarks during the Texas House special committee hearing on redistricting August 1, 2025.]()
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Why the proposed Texas congressional map may not be a lock to net five new GOP seats
The new proposed lines would also prevent few, if any, opportunities for Democrats hoping that an aggressive gerrymander could backfire on Republicans. Full Story
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![From left: U.S. Reps. Greg Casar, D-Austin, Al green, D-Houston, and Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch]()
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Cruz introduces weather radio modernization bill with a new focus on flood communications
This comes after Cruz voted in favor of the spending megabill that rescinded funds for NOAA. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with television personality Dr. Phil McGraw on the day of a roundtable discussion with first responders and local officials along with with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after catastrophic floods, at the Hill Country Youth Center in Kerrville on July 11, 2025.]()
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Draft Texas congressional map pits Democratic incumbents against each other, spelling possible primary clashes
Multiple Democratic members have been packed into blue districts in Austin, Dallas and Houston to make way for newly crafted Republican districts in those areas. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune