“Rural voters are a huge part of the electoral firewall that the GOP maintains in Texas.”
Previously: With the midterms approaching, Dems in the land of red dirt and even redder politics are determined to make their own blue wave. https://www.texasobserver.org/west-texas-dems-candidates-deep-red-2026/
"No democracy survives if voters are told that the office matters more than the person entrusted to hold it.
This is not how accountability works. Once politicians learn they can keep the office no matter what they do, the public loses its only real leverage." https://www.texasobserver.org/angela-paxton-elephant-party-loyalty-us-senate/
#Republicans #women #Texas #politics #midterms #news #KenPaxton
From our magazine: “These plays were speaking to the experiences that we had … and yet it was a universal story that was being told. There were stories that dealt with families, communities, human beings, and all of the dynamics that are rolled into who we are.” https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-historic-black-theater-at-50/
From Arjun Sharda: Every #Texas school district is required to form a #safety and security committee. It must have school board members, law enforcement and medical professionals, a teacher and parents.
But one key stakeholder is missing: students. https://www.texasobserver.org/give-students-a-seat-at-school-safety-table/
From Sue Davis: "A Senate seat is not a family heirloom. It belongs to the public." https://www.texasobserver.org/angela-paxton-elephant-party-loyalty-us-senate/
From Michelle Pitcher: Harris County is a judicial battleground for both parties in #Texas. Houston's courts went blue in 2016, and the GOP has been trying to claw its way back ever since.
Can Governor Abbott's deep pockets beat back the coming blue wave? https://www.texasobserver.org/blue-wave-greg-abbott-handpicked-houston-judges/
From Jesús Jank Curbelo: Violeta Álvarez, an experienced music photographer, turns her camera inward toward her roots. Born in #Texas to Mexican parents, she set out to explore the experiences that connect immigrant families, starting with her own. https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-living-archive-of-migration/
#art #immigration #music #photography #Houston #GulfCoast #culture
From Tyler Hicks: Tarrant County is #Texas' most important battleground county—at the top of the ballot it's flittered red to blue and back again, but for county-wide offices Dems have failed to gain power.
Will this November be different? https://www.texasobserver.org/tarrant-county-democrats-blue-wave-2026/
Featured story: We identified 20 episodes of Joe Rogan's #podcast where he referred to James Talarico or Ken Paxton, since Talarico's original appearance.
The result is a portrait of confusion & ignorance in one of the most powerful voices in #politics. https://www.texasobserver.org/joe-rogan-james-talarico-ken-paxton/
From our magazine, by Jesús Jank Curbelo: Adrian Martinez died after becoming a sexual assault whistleblower against the U.S. Army. The government says he took his own life, but family believes otherwise.
What's clear is how the #military mistreated and abandoned him after his report ... https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-soldier-death-casts-doubt-vanessa-guillen-protections/