Tag Archives: elections
He May Not Be a Candidate, but Beto O’Rourke is Rebuilding His Texas Organizing Machine for 2020
O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate campaign was fueled by an organizing network of 20,000 volunteers. Can he harness that energy again without being on the ticket?
Beto O’Rourke began 2019 as a political phenom, but ended it as an also-ran. The much-hyped former U.S. representative from El Paso initially rode a wave of o...Read More
Trump Harvests Support in America’s Farmlands
At a farm convention in Austin, the nation’s agriculture sector warmly welcomed a president who has hurt them in the past.
Donald Trump flew down to Austin on Sunday evening to commune with the sunburned, work-weary farmers and ranchers who comprise one of his most prized voting blo...Read More
A Radical Proposal Calls for a Moratorium on Deportations
The Migrant Justice Platform also offers a simple solution to address the tension between native-born and foreign workers: Protect immigrants’ right to organize.
Immigrant advocates are accustomed to losing. From the failure of comprehensive immigration reform to the construction of hundreds of miles of border wall, the ...Read More
The Internet Broke Democracy. To Fix It, Design for Human Rights.
Author Samuel Woolley argues that a slew of new technologies will further degrade political life unless we rein them in.
In 2013, when Samuel Woolley began studying online misinformation as a graduate student at the University of Washington, hardly anyone was worried about the sub...Read More
The Return of Karl Rove
Political strategist and pundit Karl Rove was an architect of the GOP takeover of Texas in the 1980s. Now, he's come home to ensure Trump doesn't unravel his legacy.
Former Dallas Morning News political journalist Wayne Slater remembers the moment well. He was sitting at a sports bar near downtown Austin one day in the late ...Read More
Questions About Politics in 2020 That Aren’t ‘Will Texas Turn Blue?’
Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a clash in Texas. Here’s the context you need to understand the coming year in politics.
As we head into 2020, brace yourself for an onslaught of headlines from national media posing a reductive question: “Will Texas Turn Blue?” It’s become so...Read More
Julián Castro’s Bid May Be Over, But His Influence on the Presidential Race Will Continue
The son of San Antonio’s presidential campaign never quite took off, but he still left an indelible impression.
Nearly one year ago, Julián Castro stood before a crowd of supporters on San Antonio’s West Side—just blocks from where he grew up—and announced his pres...Read More
Is Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Headed for a Second Term?
The incumbent mayor largely avoided a battle royale with bombastic trial lawyer Tony Buzbee for control of the Bayou City.
Just over a month ago, Houston’s mayoral runoff looked like it was shaping up to be a political battle royale. It features two big political personalities—i...Read More
Loon Star: The Doormats
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here....Read More
