Election Day for the party primary runoffs in Texas is this upcoming Tuesday, July 14. All eyes are on elections for the Texas Legislature this round, because the results of these runoffs could have an outsized impact in November. Although primary elections were held back on March 3rd, 16 of those elections have proceeded to …

Which Candidate Can Inspire Voter Turnout? Here’s What the Numbers Show. In 2018, Texas State Senator Pete Flores ended century-long Democratic control of Senate District 19 during a low-turnout special election. The Republican Senator, who now sits on the influential Senate Select Committee on Redistricting, may be facing an uphill battle in the November general …

In the 2020 election season, redistricting is the biggest prize in Texas politics. The lawmakers elected to office this November will have outsized influence over the all-important redistricting process in the 2021 legislative session. Democrats are working to usher in a “blue wave” of influence in Austin, particularly when it comes to the redrawing of …

Welcome! This week we launched Transparency USA, where our mission is to provide clear, accurate, easy-to-understand information about the money in state politics.  What We Offer Formerly Transparency Texas, we have expanded to include campaign finance data for nine states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. You can search all …

In Texas politics, the real financial powerhouse is not the money given by individuals and political action committees (PACs) —  it’s lobbying. In fact, in the last election cycle, the money spent on lobbying exceeded all money donated to Texas candidates and PACs by more than $100,000,000.  What might be even more surprising is that …