Early Voting Continues Record-setting Pace

Early voting in person began Monday and runs through November 2. First, a look back at historic Day 1. More than 572K people voted early in person on Monday, or their mail ballots were returned by Monday, in the 15 counties with the most registered voters. That is...

Identifying Districts Potentially in Play, Part 7

We have been exploring seats potentially in play by looking at specific metrics defining not only how a district voted in the most recent election but also how those voting patterns have changed over time. We also looked at fundraising totals and their historic impact...

Key House Race Campaign Finance Results

Note: This report has been updated since we issued our Breaking News alert. State, legislative and local (where required) candidates facing general election opponents were required to file 30-day-out campaign finance reports yesterday. Most of those have become...

Identifying Districts Potentially in Play, Part 5

Last week we explored the shift in straight-party voting advantage in Republican-held districts toward the Democrats. Today we explore each party’s roles in those shifts. Between 2012 and 2016, Democrats either cut into the Republican straight-party advantage or...

Ads, Endorsements and News for October 1

GOV: The campaign of Gov. Greg Abbott (R) released a two-minute ad, “Hope: Julie’s Story,” telling the story of a mother whose son was paralyzed in the Sutherland Springs mass shooting. LTGOV: The campaign of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) released a new ad focused on...

Identifying Districts Potentially in Play, Part 4

We continue our look at districts potentially in play in November with our first statewide exploration of straight-party voting trends in Republican-held districts. Prior analyses have looked at districts that are bluer than the state as a whole, districts won by...

Key Legislative Race Campaign Finance Highlights

State candidates and officeholders were required to file their July semiannual campaign finance reports yesterday (Monday). These reports include contributions received and expenditures made between the last date covered by a report and June 30. The reporting period...

Gloves Off in SD19, New SEN Poll and More News for June 24

SD19 special: San Antonio attorney and longtime Democratic activist Charlie Urbina Jones has filed for the race, becoming the sixth official candidate. San Antonio financial analyst Tony Valdivia established a campaign committee and updated his web site to run for the...

Identifying Districts in Play This November, Part 1

Today we begin our exploration of districts that may be in play in the general election by examining a metric we call “relative performance factors,” which measure the partisan lean of a district relative to the state. Two dozen Texas congressional and...