The former Houston legislator left the Democratic Party over its stance on gender-transitioning care for minors, and is now embraced by Republicans.  Thierry served four terms in the Texas House as a Democrat representing a Houston district, but lost her primary in 2024 after breaking with her party to back bills that barred doctors from providing transition-related medical care to children and teens. view article

From school takeovers to college affordability, the Democrat and Republican are rolling out their education priorities ahead of November’s election. view article

Abbott, who is seeking reelection, wants recommendations on how to implement shortened programs to ease student costs and meet workforce needs.  Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Wednesday to work on pathways for students to earn bachelor’s degrees in three years.  Such a program could have college students take about 90 hours of classes instead of 120 to earn a degree, thus reducing the cost of higher education, shortening the time for degree completion and allowing the state to respond to workforce demands quicker, state leaders said.  “Texas students are our future leaders and the workforce of tomorrow,” Abbott wrote in a statement announcing the directive. “They deserve the option to receive a degree in a high-demand, high-wage field in less time as a means to reduce the overall cost of securing a degree.” view article

See the latest fundraising totals, where the money is coming from and how super PACs are spending in what’s poised to be Texas’ most expensive Senate race.  The race for Texas’s senate seat is shaping up to be one the most expensive competitions in the nation. Democratic nominee James Talarico is setting records, raising more at this stage of the race than any Texas general-election candidate in the past decade and posting the largest quarterly haul of any active Senate race.  GOP nominee Ken Paxton is lagging behind, having raised less than a quarter of what his rival has since the start of the race. Despite his fundraising disadvantage, Paxton benefits from new rules on how national party committees can spend in coordination with candidates and, like many cash-strapped Republicans, is leaning heavily on fundraising in coordination with other candidates and party groups. view article

The Louisiana Republican is visiting four districts, each of which are majority Hispanic and were carried by Donald Trump in 2024. The seats could help decide control of the House this fall.  House Speaker Mike Johnson is coming to South Texas this week to campaign with Republican candidates across four congressional districts, highlighting the importance of the region in the race for control of the lower chamber.   Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is currently governing a 218-212 House GOP majority, and is attempting to defy political history and headwinds by maintaining or expanding it this November. To do so, Republicans may need to pick up all three Democratic-held seats in South Texas that the Texas Legislature redrew to favor the GOP. Additionally, Johnson’s party is playing defense in the region in a couple districts targeted by Democrats. view article

With just 72 days to go until November's midterm elections, some Republicans find themselves worried about losing Texas -- a state President Donald Trump won by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is not one of them.Abbott sat down with ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Friday at the Texas governor's mansion in Austin, Texas, and made clear he believes Texas voters will see this election as a contrast between Democrats and Republicans.  "What matters in elections is not in August, what matters in elections is November," Abbott said. "There's a choice at the ballot box. And when those voters go in, they're going to choose between common sense that's offered by Republicans versus the crazy that's offered by the Democrats." view article

He also backed the DATA Act, a bill by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, that would let data centers build off-the-grid power systems exempt from federal regulation. view article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has ordered school districts unaffected by a recent court ruling to comply with a state law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms beginning Sept. 1.  The Aug. 25 directive came less than a week after a federal judge in San Antonio blocked the statute from taking effect in 11 school districts named in ongoing litigation filed by 16 multifaith and nonreligious families with children in public schools.  Paxton echoed supporters of Senate Bill 10, who say the 16-by-20-inch classroom displays are a way to honor the nation’s history and help instill traditional values.  “From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral and historical heritage,” Paxton said. “Schools not enjoined by ongoing litigation must abide by SB-10 and display the Ten Commandments.” view article

CORPUS CHRISTI (Nexstar) — In 1994, Democrat Bob Bullock was re-elected as the Texas Lieutenant Governor. He wasn’t the only Democratic candidate elected that cycle, but he was the most prominent — as Governor Ann Richards lost her re-election bid to future President George W. Bush.Since then, the Democrats haven’t won a single major race where all Texans had a say. Between elections for Governor, Lt. Gov., Attorney General, U.S. Senate, Comptroller, Agriculture Commissioner and Public Lands Commissioner Republicans have gone 53-for-53.  With such a hefty losing streak, the conventional wisdom is that breaking the cycle of defeat is an uphill battle. But Texas Democratic nominee for Attorney General Nathan Johnson doesn’t see it view article

Residents and industry leaders at odds over transmission lines at legislative hearingThe growing backlash surrounding 765 kv lines, as well as data centers, was tackled at a nine-hour House hearing that included testimony and recommendations but no definitive answers.  Flashes of yellow were all around the Texas Capitol grounds on Wednesday as legislators gathered to consider two of the most controversial issues in Texas politics: data centers and transmission lines.The color — displayed on bandanas, pins, shirts and dresses — has become the symbol of a grassroots movement dedicated to blocking the buildout of 765-kilovolt transmission lines across the state. A coalition of those groups gathered on the steps of the Capitol building in the morning as testimony got underway for the House Committee on State Affairs’ interim meeting dedicated to the backlash against the transmission lines and data centers. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he plans to call for a ban on school districts employing anyone with an H-1B visa, a move that could cost hundreds of Texas teachers their jobs. At a news conference in Austin, Abbott said the ban was part of a sweeping effort to stamp out “indoctrination in the classroom” that includes forbidding schools from accepting gifts or partnerships with foreign governments. “Bottom line is this: foreign influence of any kind has no place in our classrooms,” Abbott said at a Tuesday news conference in Austin. view article

Texas lawmakers will examine Tuesday whether colleges are doing enough to protect research from foreign adversaries, while Gov. Greg Abbott plans to unveil measures aimed at limiting foreign influence in education during a campaign event later that day.  The House Higher Education Committee’s agenda does not name a specific law. However, its focus on screening, reporting, oversight and the Higher Education Research Security Council closely tracks House Bill 127, which committee chair Rep. Terry M. Wilson, R-Georgetown, authored last year. The law created the new council and set safeguards for certain researchers, foreign gifts, academic partnerships and work-related travel.  Texas universities must screen foreign citizens who are not permanent residents, as well as people with certain work, training or institutional ties to a foreign adversary, before hiring them into research jobs or giving them access to research data, according to the law. view article

EDINBURG — At 50 years old, Abel Gonzalez says he’s happy to be involved in his eight-year dream career of filmmaking, something he sees as fostering the budding film industry in the Rio Grande Valley. But, he still has some anxieties.  He’s worried that a family member — who’s a U.S. citizen — will be targeted by immigration officials because he speaks minimal English. He’s concerned that rural parts of the Valley are not adequately represented politically, and that environmental concerns over pesticides and chemicals in those areas receive little attention.   He’s also frustrated over stagnant wages. He said businesses often don’t want to pay competitive wages for services because they believe they can find someone just a few miles south in Mexico to provide the service for a cheaper price.   Gonzalez believes in voting as an important way for communities to make their voices heard about their concerns, but said underrepresentation continues to be a problem. He doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.   “We’ve been under Republican governorship for so long,” he said. “It’s like a big tanker truck that you can’t just turn around. You just have to move slowly.”    view article

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico unveiled a veterans and military agenda Friday aimed at ending forever wars, strengthening support for military families and increasing the resources available to veterans for health care, housing and employment. view article

Education experts say the numbers confirm their early warnings: Finding a private school is challenging. view article

Campaigning for the U.S. Senate, Paxton says he was “delivered by God” to protect Texas from leftists. Talarico’s focus  Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico portray their U.S. Senate campaigns as a fight for the soul of America — one in which God plays an active yet vastly different role.  Talarico, believing God is on the side of the oppressed and the marginalized, focuses his message to voters on equity and protecting personal freedom.  Paxton sees God as on his side — a force safeguarding his ability to protect Texas and the nation from disaster at the hands of the “radical left.” view article

Hemp businesses and consumers asked to block state regulations on THC, but their lawsuit remains pending. view article

What information is accessible about a data center project can differ from place to place and depend on whether a project seeks out tax breaks, whether it needs local rezoning or special permits, and how it will get its power and water. view article

The state has released the first in-depth look at the more than 85,000 students participating in Texas’ voucher program, shedding light on who will benefit from the state’s new $1 billion initiative. The report, which was required by the Legislature, provides high-level demographic data on recipients and where they live. But it leaves some questions about the program unanswered, and some data required by law wasn’t released. view article

Residents questioned whether officials in the closely watched purple county will make election decisions fairly in a “hyperpartisan environment.” view article

A northeast Tennessee school board this week became at least the third in the state to approve the display of the Ten Commandments in its public schools since a new GOP-backed law giving districts the option took effect July 1.   With little debate, the Washington County Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of the text’s display in a “prominent” place in each of its 15 schools, alongside the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, in accordance with the new state law.   Last month, the Wilson County Board of Education voted to post the same documents in common areas of its schools. In anticipation of the then-bill becoming law, the Rutherford County Schools in April also voted to approve displaying the documents in all of the county’s K-12 public schools.   On Wednesday, only one member of the Washington County Board expressed reservations about the measure, but said he felt compelled to cast a “yes” vote after an “overwhelming response” from constituents in favor of it, including “a couple personal visits to my front door.”   Vince Walters, another board member, said he had no reservations. view article

In the survey released Tuesday, just 7% of Black Texans who voted in recent elections said they are less likely to vote in November due to Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Democratic primary loss.  Most Black Texas voters back Talarico over Paxton, poll finds, despite Senate primary tensions view article

Members of the hemp industry are suing Texas, claiming that the ban on hemp-derived THC products impose an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce..Three members of the hemp industry are suing the state of Texas for violating commerce protections after it was announced last week that nearly all hemp-derived THC products are illegal.   On Friday, two hemp retailers and a distributor filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against the Texas Department of State Health Services; Attorney General Ken Paxton; and the Galveston County criminal district attorney and sheriff, alleging that classifying hemp-derived substances as illegal violates the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed it from the federal Controlled Substances Act. view article

The parents' suit leverages Texas law — versus federal First Amendment arguments — in the latest legal case involving the classroom posters. view article

Students and professors who say SB 37 led to censorship are holding a news conference before the Texas Senate’s hearing.   Texas university leaders on Tuesday will share their progress and challenges in carrying out a new state law that gives governor-appointed regents more control over what students learn.   A Texas Senate committee will hear invited testimony only. However, students and professors who say they experienced censorship and other effects under Senate Bill 37 are planning a news conference at the Capitol beforehand. view article

The poll found the Austin Democrat with a commanding lead among independents and a surprising edge with non-college-educated voters, who have consistently favored Republicans.  WASHINGTON — The latest survey of the U.S. Senate race from Texas Public Opinion Research shows Democrat James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton, 45% to 40%, marking the Austin state representative’s largest lead in any public poll taken during the general election period. view article

Texas may expand use of the Classical Learning Test despite a new report finding less evidence its scores predict college success than the SAT or ACT.  Texas’ higher education commissioner signaled last week that the state could expand the use of the conservative-favored Classic Learning Test in public university admissions even though an independent review found far less evidence linking the exam’s scores to college performance than SAT and ACT scores. view article

The laws, which make it easier to build apartments, face stiff resistance from North Texas suburbs. State lawmakers vow to force cities to comply. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to investigate birth tourism, a rare practice under scrutiny by Republican lawmakers.  Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday escalated a statewide crackdown on so-called birth tourism, a rare practice that has inflamed Republicans and drawn ire in the debate over immigration.   Abbott signed an executive order directing several state agencies to investigate health care providers accused of helping foreigners travel to Texas to give birth. Penalties include suspending or revoking licenses and losing state contracts.  "U.S. citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will put a stop to individuals seeking to profit from birth tourism," Abbott said in a statement. Birth tourism refers to pregnant women who travel to the United States to give birth so their baby has American citizenship. It is not illegal for foreign nationals to give birth on U.S. soil, although the law says tourist visas cannot be granted for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship. view article

Commissioners are expected to make their next decision on the proposed extra-high-voltage transmission lines in August. view article

Transmission Companies Push Forward Controversial 765-kV Lines  The same week state senators have planned to hear testimony on the impact 765-kilovolt transmission lines will have on private landowners, a transmission company is moving forward with its proposed transmission line and is holding a public meeting in Wharton County.   Another company has scheduled its own public meeting the evening before in Refugio County.   This centers on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT’s) 765-kilovolt Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP), a key part of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan (PBRP). Phase one is the STEP-Permian, which proposes three extra-high-voltage transmission lines, spanning over 1,200 miles to move power from East Texas into the natural gas-rich Permian Basin, with routes crossing North, Central, and South Texas. A pro-landowner group called this “akin to hauling water to the sea.” view article

U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks have filed legislation in their respective chambers to end the awarding of citizenship to the children of illegal aliens and foreign nationals temporarily in the country.  Entitled the Citizenship Act of 2026, the bill seeks to define “any person who enters the United States illegally or for birth tourism” as an “invader,” and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude the children of individuals designated as invaders from birthright citizenship.  Birth tourism is the practice of pregnant foreign nationals entering the country in order to have their children in the United States, thereby making them American citizens.   This practice is especially popular in nations like China, with conservative lawmakers warning it creates a large national security risk as American-born Chinese nationals would have the ability to influence U.S. elections in the future. “I have officially introduced the ‘Citizenship Act’ with Senator Banks, under which individuals who enter the United States illegally or for birth tourism would be classified as ‘invaders’ and therefore would be excluded from birthright citizenship,” wrote Gill in an X post.  Sen. Jim Banks (R–IN) has filed companion legislation in the Senate.  view article

During an interim hearing on Monday, members of the House Land and Resource Management Committee heard testimony on recently enacted housing reforms and considered additional proposals aimed at speeding permitting, trimming fees, and expanding pre-approved building plans.  The hearing comes as housing affordability remains a concern across much of Texas.    Ed Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center said housing is traditionally considered affordable when the median home price is roughly three times the median household income.    Many Texas markets exceed that benchmark, with committee Chairman Gary Gates (R–Richmond) noting the state’s median income is about $94,600 while median home prices in many of the state’s largest metropolitan areas range from the mid $300,000s to nearly $600,000.  view article

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne proposed a resolution condemning Imam Omar Suleiman for celebrating the senator’s death.​  U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne moved to condemn a Texas imam after he celebrated Lindsey Graham’s death on social media due to Graham’s support for Israel. view article

U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson wrote a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson backing the Trump administration’s investigation into two proxy advisory firms over concerns that they are pushing a woke agenda on companies.  Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis currently make up 90 percent of the advisory market, which Jackson argues means they dominate it.    Jackson (R–Amarillo) said he is demanding answers over potential antitrust law violations. view article