Republicans have a stranglehold on every statewide elected office in Texas and control the state Supreme Court, both chambers of the Legislature and both U.S. Senate seats.

The staggering fundraising numbers mean that Cruz and Allred have collectively raised at least $132 million, surpassing the final combined haul from 2018.

The Democratic congressman is polling closer to Sen. Ted Cruz in his challenge this year, and independent race rankers are noticing.

Cruz now has a cash advantage, with $12.1 million cash on hand compared to Allred’s $10.4 million.

The party faces internal tension over the Israel-Hamas war and Biden’s new immigration policy heading into November.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised over $9.5 million for his U.S. Senate campaign this quarter, surpassing Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 first quarter sum of $6.7 million.

Kelcy Warren, a Dallas pipeline billionaire, sued O’Rourke in early 2022, saying the Democrat defamed him with critical comments about his company’s windfall profits after the Texas energy-grid collapse in February 2021.

The Texas Republican has not yet drawn a serious challenger to his reelection bid.

The dearth of competitive down-ballot races could contrast with the last few election cycles in Texas, when multiple congressional seats and state legislative seats drew significant national investment.

In November, The Texas Tribune reported that Beto O’Rourke had given back a $1 million donation that Bankman-Fried had donated to his campaign.

Warren, a Dallas pipeline tycoon, sued O’Rourke in February over accusations he made on the campaign trail that Warren effectively bribed Gov. Greg Abbott with a $1 million campaign contribution following the 2021 power grid collapse.

O’Rourke’s campaign said they gave the money back before the company’s scandals became widely public, because they were taken aback by such a large unsolicited donation.

Beto O’Rourke lost by double-digits on Tuesday night and so did every other statewide Democrat. That has left Democrats in a familiar position: wounded after a disappointing election night while contemplating their strategy and their future.

After seeing Democrats gain momentum in suburbs of Houston and Dallas, Republicans succeeded in reclaiming ground this election. But the GOP is still a long way from returning to pre-Trump support, even in ruby red counties.

The families of some of the 19 children killed at Robb Elementary rooted for Beto O’Rourke, hoping he would help change Texas gun laws. They left disappointed but determined to fight on.

Republicans continued their 28-year dominance of statewide races but fell short of their hopes for a South Texas congressional sweep.

The governor prevailed after a tumultuous period that included the pandemic, a statewide blackout, restrictions on voting and abortion and the Uvalde school shooting.

While the GOP focuses on the border and economy under President Joe Biden, Democrats are hoping to prove polls and political forecasters wrong by tapping into anger over the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Uvalde school shooting.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has won a third term following one of the most expensive races of the 2022 midterm elections.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has won a third term following one of the most expensive races of the 2022 midterm elections.

Republicans may be waiting to vote on Election Day after former President Donald Trump pushed voting in person on Nov. 8 at a rally in South Texas.

In the homestretch of the state’s governor race, Beto O’Rourke outraises incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott though he still trails in the polls.

The high turnout seen in 2018 may have been an anomaly rather than the start of a long-term trend.

Democrats hope population growth and Republican infighting will help them win in the state’s third-most-populous county — and finally break through in statewide races.

The ad drew swift pushback from Republicans criticizing its use of the gunman’s image.

Texas voters will have a chance to cast their votes for the midterm elections on Nov. 8 for several statewide and local seats.

Nearly half of Hispanic Texans live in the state’s five largest counties, a voting bloc Democrats cannot afford to lose as they struggle to compete in the state’s vast rural areas.

The 11-point margin is one of the wider advantages Abbott has registered among likely voters in a public survey yet. Abbott had a smaller 5-point advantage in the last UT poll, which was done in August, though that was among registered voters.

The Democratic challenger ended the latest fundraising period, July 1 through Sept. 29, with slightly more cash on hand than the governor.

His campaign said the massive amount came at a faster clip than his previous, record-breaking haul.

Texas Democrats are embarking on another October blitz in pursuit of flipping America’s big red state.

The soldier is the 10th known Texas Guard member linked to the mission to die since its rapid expansion began in September 2021.

John P. Scott, a former U.S. Secret Service agent, is tasked with ensuring Texas schools implement statewide safety policies and safeguard against school shootings.

Abbott’s team rejected the assertion, saying that O’Rourke agreed to the audience-free debate months ago.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in his first debate against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke that Texas would send busloads of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to more cities.

In a news conference ahead of the only gubernatorial debate, 35 family members of Uvalde school shooting victims said they would support O’Rourke because of Gov. Greg Abbott’s inaction on gun control measures.

The one-hour debate took place in Edinburg. It was the only scheduled debate between the two candidates before the November election.

The Democratic nominee for governor said during The Texas Tribune Festival that he’s counting on a big turnout of voters energized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Tune in on Monday as candidates for statewide offices speak with Texas Tribune reporters Patrick Svitek and James Barragán at the 2022 Texas Disability Issues Forum.

The sudden TV spending by Coulda Been Worse LLC comes as Abbott battles for a third term against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke.

Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke hope to define the election on issues viewed as favorable to their own parties.

The expenditure, which the Democrat’s campaign announced Friday, comes as GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has dominated the airwaves for over two weeks.

Despite its dwindling population, rural Texas has consistently helped protect GOP dominance in statewide races, even as Democratic support grows in the state’s populous metro centers and suburbs.

The gunman in Uvalde bought two AR-15-style rifles days after he turned 18, the legal purchasing age in Texas, and used the weapons to kill 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary.

O’Rourke said he is resting at home in El Paso and will be back on the road “as soon as I am able.”

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the “trigger law” last year, ensuring that Texas would automatically outlaw abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned Roe v. Wade. That happened in June, mobilizing Democrats nationwide and giving O’Rourke’s campaign a burst of momentum.

The governor said Tuesday he has agreed to debate O’Rourke, his Democratic opponent, on Sept. 30 in the Rio Grande Valley.

Any school choice policy must win over rural Republicans, who have historically been against diverting public dollars to private schools.

Final fundraising figures show that both gubernatorial candidates raised a combined $160 million in the November midterm election.

It’s O’Rourke’s largest-ever donation as he runs for governor against Greg Abbott. Abbott, however, maintains a massive fundraising advantage and is no stranger to seven-figure contributions.

Attendees in Dallas seemed energized by the state’s abortion ban, lax gun laws and power grid failures. But they also knew they face major headwinds.

Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott entered this year with a much larger war chest and still has the financial upper hand in the race. He raised $24.9 over the same time period.

The University of Houston released on Wednesday results of an online survey that shows incumbent Texas Governor Greg Abbott with a narrow lead over Democrat contender Beto O'Rourke.

The Democratic gubernatorial challenger plans to hold 70 public events in more than 65 counties.

The Republican incumbent’s lead over his Democratic challenger shrank last month, according to a Texas Politics Project poll. The 6-point gap is smaller than when Republican George W. Bush ousted Democrat Ann Richards in 1994.

The Republican governor is stressing one of his biggest advantages — money — as he faces a competitive challenge for reelection.

The Democratic nominee faces an uphill battle in his challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, and the Legislature is likely to remain under Republican control.

The question moving forward is whether Democrats, outnumbered in the Texas Legislature for two decades, will be able to put enough pressure on lawmakers to move on a previously intractable issue in gun-friendly Texas and that Republicans, who support looser gun laws, will fight tooth and nail.

O’Rourke said he is vaccinated and boosted and tests regularly while traveling the state. A campaign spokesperson said the candidate had no events scheduled for the week.

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.

For Democrats, especially in Texas, tackling border issues is difficult on the campaign trail as the party is not in agreement about various policies. O’Rourke has had to distance himself from President Joe Biden’s border policies, while going after Gov. Greg Abbott’s.

Democratic nominee for governor Beto O’Rourke is scheduled to hold a news conference to address Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the Texas-Mexico border.

In a press conference, O’Rourke said the president should have given border communities a plan before ending a pandemic-era immigration rule that will lead to an increase in migrants.

The Democratic nominee for governor slammed the Republican incumbent in harsh terms, presaging a bitter lead-up to an election nearly eight months away.

Here are things to know for Wednesday, March 2:

Gov. Greg Abbott and most other statewide elected officials won their primaries Tuesday night. But Attorney General Ken Paxton was forced into a runoff, and progressive Democrats fell short of their congressional goals.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will face Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke after voters in Texas opened what could be a lengthy, bruising primary season.

The poll shows Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have a significant advantage over their primary opponents. Democratic respondents heavily support Beto O’Rourke for governor but don’t know enough about the party’s candidates in other races.

Money is pouring fast into the Texas governor’s race headlined by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends.

Here are things to know for Monday, Jan. 10:

Next year, every state official and every member of the Texas Legislature and Congress are up for election. That makes for a big year in Texas politics.

Abbott vetoed legislation in June that would have helped shore up the Universal Service Fund, which supports telecommunications in rural Texas. He said it would have “imposed a new fee on millions of Texans.”

Every statewide office, legislative seat and U.S. House district will be on the ballot next year when the state’s new political maps are expected to be used.

Republican leaders defend their record on the power grid, pointing to more than a dozen laws passed during this year’s legislative session to address the grid’s reliability. Gov. Greg Abbott has staked his reputation on a promise that the lights won't go out this winter.

Demands by Democrats to fix the nation’s broken immigration system were wielded as a cudgel against Republicans during the 2020 campaign.

Here are things to know for Thursday, Nov. 18:

The GOP slate for statewide office includes two high-profile Latinos and two Black candidates who have previously held state or federal office. Republicans are making a play to be more competitive with voters of color as the state’s electorate grows more diverse.

Sneaking up on a bruised Ted Cruz and almost winning the 2018 U.S. Senate race made Beto O’Rourke a big political name. But after that loss and a poor showing in the 2020 Democratic primary for president, the El Pasoan’s challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott is a different kind of contest.

O’Rourke hit the campaign trail with a pitch narrowly focused on several issues that are largely popular with voters, leaving behind the more incendiary rhetoric from his presidential campaign.

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.

The poll also found that potential candidate Matthew McConaughey is not universally beloved by Texans. About a quarter of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of the movie star who has flirted with running for governor.

Collier says his 2018 close call against Patrick was no fluke. Next year, he’s out to prove that his campaign can make a real challenge to the two-term incumbent.

Hundreds of people packed the steps of the Texas Capitol at a protest rally to make the end of a four-day march in support of voting rights.

The marchers will travel south from Georgetown to Austin over four days, hoping to build pressure on Congress to act on federal legislation to boost or safeguard access to voting. They will end with a Saturday morning rally at the Capitol.

Members left Texas about 10 days ago and have said they plan to stay out of state until after the special session ends Aug. 6.

With over 50 House Democrats in Washington — along with 12 paid staff — the costs are quickly mounting and the party's funds are not unlimited.

O'Rourke has visited at least 19 cities this month and plans to hold a final rally Sunday at the Texas Capitol in Austin.

Former Texas congressman and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is contemplating a new political decision.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke has not ruled out a run for governor after all.

HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo joins 99 other history-makers in “TIME” Magazine’s “Top 100 Next” series. “[Hidalgo] has really distinguished herself and makes us proud—not just as Democrats but as Texans,” O’Rourke wrote. “That’s what leadership looks like.”“Proud to represent Harris County on the #TIME100Next list,” Hidalgo tweeted. “Thank you [Beto O’Rourke] for the incredible words, and for all you’re doing in the wake of this disaster.”Proud to represent Harris County on the #TIME100Next list. Notable individuals who made the list included Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, talk show host Amber Ruffin, and country music artist Luke Combs.

A freshman congressman has won a second term in Congress in U.S. House District 2, according to a projection by the Associated Press. The oddly shaped district, which runs from southwest Houston, out to west Harris County, up to north Houston and then east to the Kingwood area, has been in Republican hands since 2005. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the Republican incumbent, won election after former U.S. Rep. Ted Poe retired from Congress. Sima Ladjevardian, the Democratic challenger, served as a senior advisor and finance chair to the O’Rourke campaign during both his 2018 Senate bid and his 2020 presidential run. U.S. Representative, District 2 View All CandidatesYou can get more election results here.

Kamala Harris’ trip to Texas on Friday will include three stops across the state, including in the Rio Grande Valley, according to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign. Fort Worth’s Tarrant County was the state’s most populous county that Republican President Donald Trump won in 2016. Harris will be the highest-profile Biden surrogate to come to Texas in the general election yet, following visits in recent weeks by Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, and Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff. Harris’ visit is not the only notable activity by the Biden campaign this week in Texas. Sign up for The Brief, the Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

A poll by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune published last week found that President Donald Trump holds a five-point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden. Jill Biden, former second lady and wife of the former vice president, stumped in El Paso, Dallas and Houston on Tuesday -- the first day of early voting in Texas. At the drive-in rally in Houston, supporters used their horns to cheer on Jill Biden as she talked about her husband’s vision for America and the importance of their votes. “For the first time in a long time, winning Texas is possible,” Jill Biden said. Early voting runs until Oct. 30.

And a question that often elicits eyerolls is now a point of serious debate: Can Democrats flip Texas? "We have been through hell and back in the past decade, but all the while focused on building the infrastructure at the Texas Democratic Party necessary to meet this very moment," said Manny Garcia, the executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. Some Democratic candidates are able to spend heavily on TV ads and own get-out-the-vote campaigns. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who's running for re-election against Democrat MJ Hegar, rang the alarm early about Democrats' Texas efforts ahead of 2020. Cornyn’s bid for a fourth term remains the central source of confidence among most Texas Republicans.

HOUSTON – What’s more Texas than Whataburger? Beto O’Rourke posted a Facebook Live of him and Democratic candidate Joe Biden chowing down at Whataburger for a true Texas experience in Dallas. Biden and O’Rourke were greeted with cheers as they entered the fast-food restaurant. Posted by Beto O'Rourke on Monday, March 2, 2020Biden and O’Rouke also spoke to guests and gave out autographs. “And in Joe Biden we have that man.”Biden held a rally in Houston at Texas Southern University before he headed to Dallas for another rally Monday night.