Gov. Greg Abbott shows off his best beady-eyed squint at the 2024 Republican Convention.

Assclown Alert: Starting a gerrymandering bar fight — and losing — with Gov. Greg Abbott

Texas’ governor fired the first shot in the redistricting war, but he’s sure not looking like a winner.

by Sanford Nowlin April 23, 2026April 23, 2026

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark. When President Donald Trump asked Texas leaders to redraw the map to help Republicans maintain their slim House majority ahead of the midterms, Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t just drink the gerrymandering Kool-Aid. He quaffed the whole damn pitcher. And in doing so, he helped set […]

Democratic members of the Texas House hold a press conference following the passing of House Bill 4, in the Capitol Rotunda in Austin on Aug. 20, 2025.

Texas News

Texas House Democrats raised record-breaking $2.2 million in 2025

The majority of the Democratic caucus’ haul came when the party broke quorum over the summer to delay the GOP-controlled Legislature from redrawing the state’s congressional map.

by Renzo Downey, The Texas Tribune January 15, 2026January 15, 2026

Flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country in July.

San Antonio News

Turmoil in ’25: 10 stories that dominated San Antonio’s news cycle this year

Floods devastated the Texas Hill Country, voters approved a a publicly financed NBA stadium and ICE raids rocked the community.

by Michael Karlis December 29, 2025December 29, 2025

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, speaks during Fight The Trump Takeover Rally in front of the south steps of the Capitol in Austin on Aug. 16, 2025.

Texas News

Supreme Court’s map ruling sends Texas Democrats toward potential primaries, retirement or higher office bids

Houston Democrats are barreling toward a primary while North Texas Democrats await Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Senate decision.

by Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune December 5, 2025December 5, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2024.

Texas News

Supreme Court temporarily restores Texas’ new congressional map

The administrative ruling is a first step before the court decides whether to pause the use of the 2025 map, drawn to increase GOP seats in the U.S. House, for the rest of the legal battle.

by Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune November 22, 2025November 22, 2025

A three-judge panel in El Paso is deciding whether Texas Republicans broke the law when redrawing the state's election maps.

Texas News

Assclown Alert: Keeping Texas’ redistricting plan shrouded in darkness with the state’s legal team

As a court case challenges Texas’ redrawn congressional maps, the state’s lawyers are trying to make things as murky as possible.

by Sanford Nowlin October 15, 2025October 15, 2025

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, speaks during a 2022 appearance in Zapata County.

Texas News

Feds flag potentially illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar

The inquiry comes as the South Texas congressman runs to represent a more competitive district.

by Sanford Nowlin September 10, 2025September 10, 2025

News

San Antonio Republicans Grant Moody, Marc Whyte eyeing runs for new Texas congressional seat

At least four local Republicans are considering a run to represent District 35, a new district created by the Texas GOP’s gerrymandering.

by Sanford Nowlin August 22, 2025August 30, 2025

News

Judge blocks Beto O’Rourke from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the state

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.’

by Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune August 9, 2025August 20, 2025

News

Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in the Austin area’s new congressional district

by Patrick Svitek and Abby Livingston, The Texas Tribune October 19, 2021August 17, 2023

News