The Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion in Texas v. New Mexico, which was argued on October 5, 2020. The case is part of the court’s original jurisdiction, meaning it was the first and only court to hear the case. Texas v. New Mexico concerned an interstate water dispute. In 1949, the…
A special general election runoff is being held on December 19 for District 30 of the Texas State Senate. Shelley Luther (R) and Drew Springer (R) advanced to the general runoff. The winner will serve until January 2023. A candidate needed to earn more than 50% of the vote to win in the general election.…
Three state legislative seats up for special election in 2020 are still undecided as of November 20, 2020. All three are headed to runoff elections: Mississippi House of Representatives District 87 on November 24, Georgia State Senate District 39 on December 1, and Texas State Senate District 30 on December 19. Although special state legislative…
Beth Van Duyne (R) defeated Candace Valenzuela (D) and three other candidates in the general election for Texas’ 24th Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Kenny Marchant (R), who was first elected in 2004, did not run for re-election. Van Duyne worked as a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the…
Tony Gonzales (R) defeated Gina Ortiz Jones (D) and Beto Villela (L) in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. The seat was left open following Will Hurd’s (R) retirement. The district was one of five held by Republicans that Hillary Clinton (D) had carried in the 2016 presidential election. That year, she defeated Donald Trump (R) 50%…
Rep. Chip Roy (R) defeated Wendy Davis (D), Thomas Wakely (G), and Arthur DiBianca (L) in the general election for Texas’ 21st Congressional District. Roy was first elected in 2018, defeating Joseph Kopser (D) 50% to 48%. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee placed the district on its list of targets, while the National Republican Congressional…
Incumbent John Cornyn (R) defeated M.J. Hegar (D), David B. Collins (G), Kerry McKennon (L), and Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla (I) in the general election for U.S. Senate in Texas. Cornyn was first elected in 2002. The last Democrat to win a U.S. Senate election in Texas was Lloyd Bentsen (D) in 1988. Democrats last won a…
On October 15, 2020, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appointed Rebeca Huddle to replace Justice Paul Green on the Texas Supreme Court. Justice Green announced his retirement from the Texas Supreme Court in August 2020. Huddle is a Republican who served as a justice on Texas’ First District Court of Appeals. She graduated from Stanford University…
An effort in Granite Shoals, Texas, to recall Mayor Carl Brugger and Councilman Bruce Jones was approved for the ballot after petitioners submitted enough valid signatures. The recall election against Jones will be held on May 1, 2021. Brugger resigned on Oct. 13, 2020, four days after the signatures were verified. Brugger cited the recall…
On October 5, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge against Chevron deference brought by the Children’s Hospital Association of Texas. The association had asked whether courts should give Chevron deference to agency legal interpretations that are different from previous agency interpretations. Chevron deference is an approach to judicial review that compels federal courts to yield to a federal agency’s…