Gov. Rick Perry calls it "another step toward achieving fiscal responsibility"; the Center for Public Policy Priorities has criticized its "cuts-only approach" and called the refusal to use the Rainy Day Fund "unconscionable". The House has passed its own version of the 2012-2013 budget, and now it's up to the Texas Senate to decide. The Finance Committee there is expected to increase spending in the bill, but it's anybody's guess where they'll find the money. more ›

The Criminal Justice Committee of the Texas Senate will hold a public hearing today on the bill that would allow handguns on some Texas college campuses. Students for Gun-Free Schools in Texas is calling the hearing, in room E1.016 of the Capitol from 1:30 to 6:30 pm, the "one final chance" for students, parents, faculty and staff to have an impact on this legislation. The Texas House held its own hearing during Spring Break. more ›

Texas Congressman Allan Ritter (D-Nederland) announced Saturday that he will be crossing the aisle to join the Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives. Ritter's shift moves the GOP one seat away from a supermajority—and another Democrat is already considering his options. more ›

Primary results from national/state/local races: So even though it seems that Hillary won the Texas primary (it's interesting that Obama led in statewide early voting), Obama may beat her in delegate numbers. In the GOP race, McCain is now the GOP candidate as Huckabee gives up the ghost. In Travis County, Ron Paul won 17% of the vote . . . more ›

Admittedly, the Democratic delegate selection process in Texas is ridiculous, especially to casual voters who don't hold a particular allegiance to either candidate—or, in this case, the exact type of swing voters that each campaign is now clamoring to bring to the polls next Tuesday. more ›

Photos from last night's Texas Democratic Party debate watching party at the Hyatt, with post debate appearance by Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. All photos by Romain Nayalkar for Austinist.com. more ›

*Here's a hint: We've heard a rumor that in past CNN debates, they want more undecideds in the audience. Take that for what it's worth... more ›

If you'd been holding out hope to attend next week's historic Presidential Debate at UT Austin, you're in luck! Make that a tiny bit of luck. more ›

Well, while we were all was guessing The LBJ Library, Hogg Auditorium or The Frank Erwin Center, UT has announced that the February 21 Democratic Debate will officially be held at The Recreation Sports Center. more ›

Meanwhile, both Obama and Clinton are pulling out all the stops to appeal to our state's Hispanic population, which account for as much as 25% of Texas' eligible voters, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Obama today launched a Spanish radio ad (mp3) stressing his humble working-class roots. Each campaign is also spending upwards of $1 million on TV ads that began running this week. more ›

Wednesday at the Drafthouse Downtown, Japanese documentary filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda will be on hand to introduce his documentary, Campaign (Senkyo), a fine look at campaign ethics, the dirt of politicking (we love when that's a verb) and contemporary Japanese culture in general. more ›

Generally, people don’t think “Democrat” when they think about Texas. It wasn’t always like that, though. The Lone Star State was decidedly “blue” for over a hundred years before the Republicans swept in during the last decade. As a consequence, the Democratic Party, trying to allocate resources wisely, doesn’t generally send a lot of clout or cash our way. The times they are a-changin', though. Howard Dean, head of the Democratic Party, came down to Scholz Garden last Tuesday to help support local candidates and spread word of the Dem’s agenda. more ›

It’s the primary season of the 2006 midterm elections across America, and the name of the game is “motivating your base voters.” So, bring on the rhetoric and rabble-rousing! The politicophiles at the Austinist offer you the following tidbits: This week, in Connecticut: Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman – the centrist, moderate candidate – lost his primary to Ned Lamont, the antiwar candidate. The Connecticut Democratic Party has united behind Lamont with passionate gusto. As... more ›

Well Ricky Perry has launched his "Proud of Texas" campaign tour, and we feel it's time to carve out the competition he faces. Perryheads say that Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is his most potent rival. You may recall that she surprised folks recently by declaring that she is running as an independent. We're somewhat concerned that she misspelled her name on the candidate form, but we're pretty sure Ricky can't spell her name either. Besides, spelling is totally ovrratid. more ›