Allred’s comments at The Texas Tribune Festival marked the first time either leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate publicly criticized the other.

The race to fill Texas’ long-vacant 18th Congressional District seat is headed to a runoff, just before the start of a new election cycle.

Speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival, Democratic Rep. Donna Howard acknowledged that Republicans have unified around Speaker Dustin Burrows to the point that he “may not need us” to retain the gavel.

The House is moving toward a vote on releasing files from the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

The spending package includes a provision that will criminalize the sale of almost all consumable hemp products nationwide, restoring a similar ban to the one vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

A new AP-NORC poll finds U.S. adults’ opinions of how President Donald Trump is managing the federal government have dropped sharply since early in his second term, highlighting the risks posed by the government shutdown and his efforts to reshape the federal workforce.

Hundreds of families lost child care when certain programs weren’t funded earlier this month, and scores more may be affected if Congress doesn’t fund the government by Dec. 1.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is warning that eight senators' decision to break with Democrats and end the government shutdown shows they aren't alarmed enough about President Donald Trump's impact on political norms.

The deal cut by some Senate Democrats to reopen government has refueled the party’s tussle over strategy and identity just days after sweeping election victories had raised hopes that the left’s disparate factions were pulling in the same direction heading into the 2026 midterms.

A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track.

The Democrat took a victory lap on rival Gov. Greg Abbott’s home turf Saturday and called on other blue states to push back on a GOP effort to retain control of the U.S. House.

Zohran Mamdani’s winning run for New York City mayor featured a memorable campaign design that drew its inspiration from a wide range of influences, helping the democratic socialist appeal to young and diverse voters.

Senate Republicans have rejected legislation that would have put a check on President Donald Trump’s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela.

Most California voters didn’t like redrawing their congressional districts to favor Democrats, according to the AP Voter Poll.

President Donald Trump caused some confusion earlier Tuesday when he appeared to threaten SNAP benefits unless Democrats voted to reopen the government — despite court orders mandating that the administration keep the nation’s largest food program running.

Voters in Maine and Texas have considered Republican-backed proposals that proponents say would safeguard elections, but opponents believe are intended to make voting more difficult.

Polling locations and sample ballots county by county for Texas general and special elections for Nov. 4, 2025.

Texas House Democrats sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott urging him to declare a state of emergency and fund SNAP benefits for 3.5 million Texans who will lose food assistance in November due to the government shutdown.

President Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster.

Democrats say Abbott has used his authority during COVID-19, the Uvalde shooting and border operations to free up emergency funds.

The Senate is voting on legislation that would nullify U.S. tariffs on Canada.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement to KPRC 2, calling for the Democrats in the senate to approve legislation to bring an end to the government shutdown that has lasted nearly a month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out Nov. 1 as the government shutdown drags on.

Democrats in Virginia are joining the national redistricting battle over U.S. House seats.

The government shutdown has reopened debate on the future of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Nearly 900,000 residents across ten Houston-area counties could lose their essential food assistance if the government shutdown extends beyond October 27th, creating what local advocates are calling an unprecedented hunger crisis.

Democrats have rallied against a proposed U.S. House map by North Carolina Republicans in Raleigh.

Former President Barack Obama will campaign alongside Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill in the final stretch of their statewide campaigns for governor in Virginia and New Jersey.

Senate Republicans projected a unified front at the White House Rose Garden Tuesday, arriving at President Donald Trump’s invitation as they refuse to yield to Democratic demands for health care funds into the fourth week of the government shutdown.

Billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker had some extra income in 2024 — from a lucky blackjack hand in a Las Vegas casino.

Senate Democrats are rejecting for the 10th time a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government.

Federal workers furloughed or working without pay are feeling the financial squeeze and fear being swept up in the Trump administration's layoffs.

Officials from Dallas’ two major airports said the video runs afoul of their policies that prohibit political advertising.

President Donald Trump is making this government shutdown unlike any the nation has ever seen.

Airports around the country are saying they won’t play a video with a message from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on operations to screen travelers.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicts the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history.

The two leading Senate Democratic candidates have made it a point to spend time along the border early in the cycle, a sign of the region’s importance in 2026.

President Donald Trump says he's directed the Defense Department to use “all available funds” to ensure that U.S. troops are paid on Wednesday despite the government shutdown.

House members' absence during the government shutdown is creating a political dilemma for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and is testing his leadership.

The Texas GOP will vote Saturday to possibly bar some state legislators from running in the 2026 primary, despite repeated Texas Supreme Court rulings saying they cannot.

Attorney General Pam Bondi goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning as federal agents surge into cities across the U.S. She's facing growing questions about political influence over a Justice Department that has already criminally charged one of President Donald Trump’s longtime foes and is facing intense White House pressure to prosecute others.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has repeatedly deflected questions while seeking to defend herself during a combative congressional hearing in the face of growing criticism that she's turning the law enforcement agency into a weapon to seek vengeance against President Donald Trump’s political opponents.

A Georgia special state Senate committee plans to question Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis next month.

A new poll conducted just prior to the current government shutdown showed most Americans wanted Congress to extend tax credits that could expire at the end of the year.

Shutdowns of the federal government usually don’t leave much economic damage.

Senate Democrats kept their promise to reject any Republican spending bill that didn’t extend or restore health care benefits, choosing instead to force a government shutdown.

President Donald Trump got a significant amount of blame during the last partial government shutdown, which took place toward the end of his first term after he forced a shutdown over border wall funding — but with Democrats embracing the shutdown fight this time, the outcome could be different.

The Trump administration is using government communications to blame Democrats for a potential U.S. government shutdown.

Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill to keep funding the government, putting it on a path to a shutdown after midnight Wednesday.

President Donald Trump is blaming Democrats for a potential government shutdown.

The threat of a government shutdown has become a recurring event in Washington.

Party insiders said the way the move was handled undercuts Chair Kendall Scudder’s rhetoric about winning back working class voters, who lurched to the right in 2024.

A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.

A government watchdog has raised concerns about high administrative costs in Georgia's Medicaid program.

The Austin lawmaker says his faith fuels his vision of a Democratic Party that “fights back” against billionaires. Republican critics say his stances are at odds with Scripture.

A Senate committee is approving the nomination of White House economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed’s board of governors, setting up a likely approval by the full Senate, which would make Miran the third Trump appointee to the seven-member board.

A former public school teacher, Talarico has emerged as one of Texas Democrats’ strongest communicators. He joins Colin Allred and Terry Virts in the primary.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump is swiftly implementing his vision of the military as an all-powerful tool for his policy goals.

Boston voters will narrow the field of candidates for mayor in a municipal primary that pits incumbent Michelle Wu against Josh Kraft, son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

House Bill 8 scraps the unpopular exam for three shorter tests at the beginning, middle and end of the year starting in the 2027-28 school year.

As Congress returns for a busy fall stretch, President Donald Trump is reaching into the affairs of the legislative branch, chiseling away at the separation of powers.

House Bill 7, which would allow people to sue manufacturers and distributors of the drug, is one vote away from Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

The House Oversight Committee has publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

House members who freeze future legislation by fleeing Texas will face steeper fines, loss of seniority and committee posts, and limits on political fundraising.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is not seeking reelection next year.

A faction of Hidalgo County Democrats has raised concerns over how the party is spending money and blocking the group from doing business for several months.

The Democratic National Committee is seriously considering scrambling the party’s next presidential primary calendar.

Democrats say recent changes to the bill give too much power to the TEA and fall short of meaningfully easing the pressures of standardized testing.

The House Oversight Committee is subpoenaing the estate of the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Democrats said the walkout inspired a national protest against GOP redistricting. But it also greased the path for other bills they oppose and unified Texas Republicans.

The governor announced he was expanding his special session agenda shortly after the Texas House passed a congressional map that Democrats had delayed by leaving the state.

The order bars Paxton from prosecuting O’Rourke’s nonprofit or otherwise bringing legal action aimed at revoking Powered by People’s charter.

Texas’ Democrats have returned to the state, ending their two-week-long boycott of Governor Greg Abbott’s special legislative session.

The gang looks at what’s next in the extra-special session, as Republicans prepare to finally pass a new congressional map.

After a two-week walkout, enough Texas House Democrats have returned to the Capitol to restore a quorum, allowing the second special session to begin. The return follows intense protest over Republicans’ mid-decade congressional redistricting effort.

Texas lawmakers redrew congressional districts in a partisan bid to give Republicans five additional U.S. House seats. The move set off a bipartisan war across the U.S.

After two weeks out of state, Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, paving the way for Republicans to pass their proposed congressional map.

A second special session that has made approving the map a priority started Friday, shortly after the first one ended.

Texas House Democrats are expected to return to the state capitol on Monday after weeks of breaking quorum.

The federal budget deficits caused by President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for another Texas Legislature’s special session after the first session was adjourned Friday morning after failing to make a quorum.

The second session is set to consider the same agenda that stalled in the first, with redistricting and disaster response at the top of the governor’s priorities.

In a statement, the House Democratic Caucus said its lawyers had advised returning “to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle” against the GOP’s map.

With Democrats’ walkout over redistricting bringing the House to a standstill, both parties are accusing each other of abandoning Central Texas flood victims.

Democrats' absence has halted work in the Texas House, which must also approve the new boundaries, for more than a week.

In a dramatic turn of events, Texas Senate Democrats staged a walkout on Tuesday, challenging Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to prioritize redistricting over urgent flood relief for the state’s devastated communities.

The leaders of both chambers said they would adjourn for the session Friday if Democrats do not return, while the governor said he might add more items to his agenda.

Paxton sued O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, last week, arguing that the group was deceptively fundraising for and illegally supporting Texas Democrats’ walkout.

The governor and attorney general have asked the court to find that Democratic lawmakers abandoned their seats when they left Texas to delay a new congressional map.

Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.

With no sign of Texas Democrats returning soon, Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to call a series of special legislative sessions. He says he is authorized to call these sessions every 30 days.

With only a week left in the Texas special legislative session, key bills addressing crucial issues like flood relief and redistricting hang in the balance.

Texas Republicans have escalated the penalties against Democrats as they enter a second week camped out in states across the country to block new U.S. House maps pushed for by President Donald Trump to win more seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O’Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.”

Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.

At the core of the fight in Texas over redrawing the state’s congressional districts is a debate over a time-honored right spelled out in the Constitution: Every two years, “the People” get to pick someone to represent their interests in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrats concede there’s only so much they can do to keep Texas from redrawing its maps. But they want to encourage blue states to retaliate.

The attorney general is calling on the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says states should typically honor each other’s judicial proceedings.

In response to Texas Democrats blocking the quorum needed for redistricting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, and Attorney General Ken Paxton are turning up the heat—threatening legal action and seeking federal help to bring the lawmakers back.