Tea party activist criticizes Stefani Carter, R-Dallas, for support of Straus in Texas House speaker race

There's already friction between a local tea party leader and one of the Republicans newly elected to the state House. In a recent open letter, Dallas tea party activist Ken Emanuelson expressed "considerable dismay" that Stefani Carter, R-Dallas, was supporting incumbent Joe Straus for House speaker.

Gromer Jeffers: http://dallasne.ws/gqDg3K

Gov. Rick Perry's office asks tech fund panelist involved in stock deal to consider quitting

Gov. Rick Perry's office wants a member of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund's advisory committee to consider resigning in the wake of a Texas Rangers investigation into a stock deal. Austin entrepreneur William E. Morrow "has been asked to evaluate whether his continued service on the TETF advisory committee is in the best interest of the program," Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger told The Dallas Morning News.

Drew, McGonigle report: http://dallasne.ws/hQ0E0q

In budget wars, a counter volley ...

Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, has responded to criticism that he's ignoring the state's so-called structural deficit. Late today, an Otto spokeswoman said Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, will be alone in not signing a special money panel's final report to the House.
Garrett follows the action: http://dallasne.ws/i8TaRZ

Let the Texas budget wars commence ...

A disagreement between key House tax-policy writers went public today, foreshadowing partisan rhetoric we're going to hear about Texas' budget crisis next session: The Republicans will say the state spends too much, and has a hard time hitting the brakes when times are flush. The Democrats will say the state doesn't raise enough revenue to have healthy kids and an educated workforce, especially after the 2006 tax swap.

Garrett: http://bit.ly/heYtsK

Slater: Bristol Palin, Tom DeLay reflect the country's polarized political dance

"Compromise was bad. Partisanship was good. Dividing voters, us vs. them, was the way to win elections."

http://bit.ly/e2iZRm

Jury convicts Tom DeLay in money laundering trial

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay - once one of the most powerful and feared Republicans in Congress - was convicted Wednesday on charges he illegally funneled corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002. Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before returning guilty verdicts against DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge.


The AP's Juan Lozano reports: http://dallasne.ws/hmTHbW

State will audit Texas technology fund over ties between Perry, donors

AUSTIN – The state auditor is launching an examination of Emerging Technology Fund following reports that private start-up companies whose investors and executives are large contributors to the governor have benefited from the fund.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/fmlWiH

Farmers Insurance files for homeowners rate increase in Texas

AUSTIN – Farmers Insurance filed for a 3.9 percent rate increase in homeowners insurance Tuesday, a change that will affect about half of its customers in Texas. The rate hike is necessary to handle the increasing cost of claims in Texas, mostly related to weather losses, said Luis Sahagun, a spokesman for Farmers, the second-largest home insurer in Texas.

 Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/idGITD

Texas legislator denies targeting foes of House Speaker Joe Straus

AUSTIN – The unnamed House member whom Rep. Bryan Hughes accused of planning to take revenge on opponents of Speaker Joe Straus turned out to be the vice chairman of the House investigating committee that addressed the complaint Tuesday.
http://dallasne.ws/fAyqfK

Conservatives target health care overhaul, Medicaid in Texas

AUSTIN – Tea party members and other conservative activists pushed state lawmakers Tuesday to vote to nullify the federal health care law and get out of Medicaid, though one GOP senator said the largely federally funded program pays for nursing home care for the elderly and disabled and is "not all bad." Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina and dozens of others said the Legislature should declare the federal law void and also refuse to set up a state health insurance exchange.

Garrett reports:  http://dallasne.ws/gvTKnf

Study of Texas without a Medicaid program is 'looking at all options,' says social services czar

A legislatively mandated study of what Texas would do if the national Medicaid health program for the poor were abolished -- or federal matching money to states were slashed -- will examine how the state might improve its existing Medicaid or scrap it, Health and Human Services Commission chief Tom Suehs said today.
Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/fJbpwF

Phillips identified as lawmaker who spoke to Hughes

The House Investigating and Ethics committee almost immediately broke into executive session to discuss allegations against the House Speaker Joe Straus, R- San Antonio.


Before the committee broke into executive session, committee chair Rep. Chuck Hopson identified Rep. Larry Phillips, vice chair of the committee, as the lawmaker who spoke with Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola alleging inappropriate behavior from the Speaker's camp.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/eSoXwI

Zedler, two West Texas freshmen back Paxton

Returning Fort Worth GOP lawmaker Bill Zedler (right, photo courtesy of Zedler campaign) has endorsed Collin County Rep. Ken Paxton for House speaker. That's not surprising, given that Zedler was a loyal supporter to the end of former SpeakerTom Craddick, R-Midland, and that he yanked his name from incumbent Speaker Joe Straus' pledge list the day after this month's election.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fSxKGS

'Tough duty,' says trail-driving Chisum

"I think me and Paxton are on the same little inner tube," he mused. "So maybe we go down at the same time. It may be one of those water wing things. ... You know, they cost 10 bucks and you put your kid out there in them and dadgum! The kid went down when the water wings went down!"
http://dallasne.ws/bzIMJr

Debt limit will be test of resolve for GOP freshmen from tea party

WASHINGTON – The federal government will run out of money next spring. Tapped out. Credit line depleted. Nothing to do but borrow more – or let the government screech to a halt, with all the damage that would inflict on the economy. Only the U.S. government can raise its own credit limit. States can't do it, or homeowners, or businesses. But here's the rub: The tea partiers are in no mood to spill more red ink. Scores of freshman lawmakers elected this month ran on anti-spending platforms.

Gillman: http://dallasne.ws/bdOPOW

Texas Rangers' probe of state technology fund ended with no action taken

As Gov. Rick Perry traveled Texas this summer touting successes of the Emerging Technology Fund, the Texas Rangers were investigating a stock deal between the fund's former director and a member of its advisory committee. The Travis County district attorney's office quietly closed the inquiry in September after its public integrity unit concluded that "no criminal offense was committed over which our office has jurisdiction and venue."


McGonigle, Drew report: http://dallasne.ws/b2PJTg

Burkett for Paxton for speaker

Rep.-elect Cindy Burkett, R-Mesquite, just endorsed the speakership candidacy of Collin County lawmaker Ken Paxton, R-McKinney.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/aJZcTh

Texas adds almost 48,000 jobs in October, but jobless rate stays at 8.1 percent

Texas employers expanded payrolls by 47,900 jobs in October, the most since May, but the state jobless rate remained unchanged at 8.1 percent, the Texas Workforce Commission said Friday. The October jobs gain followed three consecutive months of falling payrolls. A preliminary gain of 3,700 jobs in September was revised to a loss of 7,600, according to data released Friday. The state also lost jobs in July and August.


Brendan Case: http://dallasne.ws/9Jy3bt

Dallas ISD adopts anti-bullying policy that includes protections for gay students

The Dallas school board on Thursday passed an anti-bullying policy that includes protections for gay and lesbian students.
Haag reports: http://dallasne.ws/cjspoh

Analysis: Perry's 'states' rights' battle cry evokes history that could damage his message

AUSTIN – In trumpeting states' rights, Republican Gov. Rick Perry has tapped a fierce anti-Washington sentiment with a phrase that long had a mixed meaning in the segregated South. To some, "states' rights" evokes an earlier era when it was a rallying cry against civil rights.

Slater: http://dallasne.ws/aDfInm

Paxton endorsed by newbies Sheets, Simpson

Newly elected Reps. Kenneth Sheets, R-Dallas, and David Simpson , R-Longview, today endorsed the speakership candidacy of four-term House lawmaker Ken Paxton, R-McKinney. It brought to four the number of Paxton's GOP colleagues who've publicly pledged to vote for him to replace incumbent Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio , in January.

http://dallasne.ws/bMEDvR

2 from News' Austin bureau win national awards

Two reporters from the Austin bureau of The Dallas Morning News have been honored nationally for their work in covering state government. Robert T. Garrett and James Drew were among the recipients of the 2010 Cappie awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors.

http://dallasne.ws/d0Kmxn

Heat Index: A fact check of Straus foes' suggestion he always sides with abortion-rights group

Conservative pastors and Republican activists wanting to unseat House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio , suggest he's a down-the-line supporter of abortion rights. On Wednesday, the Texas Pastor Council questioned Straus' fidelity to "core principles" of the GOP. "His 100% National Abortion Rights Action League rating" is among the reasons to oust Straus, the group said, referring to Straus' score of 100 in NARAL Pro-Choice Texas' legislative ratings for the 2007 session.
Garrett looks iunto it, and finds a serious distortion of facts:

http://dallasne.ws/b5An04

Texas Gov. Rick Perry stays course on film incentives despite advocacy group's criticism

AUSTIN – A national liberal advocacy group says states are wasting precious dollars on tax breaks for filmmakers, but Gov. Rick Perry insists it's a good deal for Texas. States would be better off plowing the film incentive money into roads, schools and other "proven" economic development strategies, said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group in Washington.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/btIO7V

Rick Perry open to sending the US military into Mexico

Gov. Rick Perry says he's open to the idea of sending U.S. troops into Mexico to fight the drug war. The Texas governor told MSNBC this morning that border violence has escalated dramatically since George W. Bush was governor a decade ago. He said more aggressive federal tactics are needed. "You have a situation on the border where American citizens are being killed, and you didn't see that back when George Bush was the governor," he said.

Slater: http://dallasne.ws/dfa33M

Doctors disciplined by Texas earn money from drug firms, records show

An investigation by the journalism website ProPublica, in conjunction with The Dallas Morning News, found that 46 physicians in Texas who have been disciplined by the state medical board have received more than $800,000 from pharmaceutical firms since 2009.
RYAN McNEILL and MARINA TRAHAN MARTINEZ report: http://dallasne.ws/90HJLR

Speaker candidates condemn e-mails injecting religion into race

Reps. Warren Chisum and Ken Paxton, conservative Republicans who've launched long-shot bids to unseat House Speaker Joe Straus, on Wednesday condemned campaign e-mails that have introduced candidates' religions. E-mails, some of unknown origin, have surfaced in recent days that mention Straus' rabbi and underscore the Christian faith of his leading critics in the House Republican Caucus. One e-mail promises that "Straus is going down in Jesus' name."

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/dycl9V

E-mails targeting Texas House Speaker Joe Straus cite his Judaism, rivals' Christianity

AUSTIN – Some conservative Republican activists working to unseat House Speaker Joe Straus are circulating e-mails that emphasize his Judaism. Several e-mails have surfaced in recent days that mention Straus' rabbi and underscore the Christian faith of his leading critics in the House Republican Caucus.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/cQ0PJS

Texans paying highest home insurance rates nationwide

AUSTIN -- Texans are once again paying more to insure their homes, on average, than anyone else in the nation, according to new figures from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. After slipping behind Florida a year ago, Texas jumped back into the top spot among the states with an average annual premium of $1,460 for the most common type of homeowners policy sold across the country.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/akHsat

State leaders call for Texas agencies to make more trims

AUSTIN – Legislative leaders want state agencies to further trim spending over the next 10 months, roughly doubling the budget cuts ordered last spring, they said Monday. In a foretaste of heavy cuts expected as lawmakers write the next two-year state budget in next year's session, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, said they want to minimize red ink that's pooling rapidly in the current cycle, which ends Aug. 31.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/cxprdY

Kay Bailey Hutchison backs tea party's earmark moratorium

WASHINGTON – Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison – an ardent purveyor of earmarks throughout her congressional career – fell in line this morning behind a two-year moratorium demanded by tea party conservatives.
Gillman: http://dallasne.ws/ds1ccP

Austin Democrat says GOP leaders use 'trickery' to patch over budget woes

AUSTIN — Texas’ leaders must quit writing budgets in “back rooms” and stop hiding the state’s fiscal troubles, a leading Democratic lawmaker said today. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said the state’s GOP leadership has used “accounting trickery” and dispensed tax cuts without equivalent reductions in spending.

Garett: http://dallasne.ws/dDxZiF

Expert: 'One or two' of Texas' three or four new seats in Congress will be Democratic seats

It appears as if Republican state lawmakers will have "unilateral authority" to draw 197 U.S. House districts next year, up from 98 a decade ago and only a few dozen after the 1990 census, he said. But even though Democrats in the 1990 cycle had nearly as free a hand in drawing lines, Storey said, that didn't prevent the 1994 GOP takeover of the U.S. House. And then there's the simple demographic facts on the ground: "Just because they have 197 where they have unilateral authority, there's still a lot of Democratic districts," he said, citing Texas, which is expected to gain three or four new congressional seats next year because of population growth.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/bMhtQS

TEA: Rich districts kept their money

HALLSVILLE, Texas – Dozens of wealthy Texas school districts held on to more than $40 million in tax money that should have gone to poorer districts under the state's "Robin Hood" law until the state demanded they pay up this year, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Danny Robbins, The Associated Press  http://dallasne.ws/aaNJzJ

Texas speaker race means war among Republicans

AUSTIN – House Republicans have launched open warfare against one another as they vent spleen and fight over whether Joe Straus should remain speaker. In open letters and news releases that came very close to being vitriolic, members on Wednesday impugned each other's integrity and warned that dangerous new lows were being set for what's acceptable in a no-holds-barred leadership contest.


Garrett is following the story: http://dallasne.ws/cv0o4P

State rebids IBM deal that's gone awry

Texas' Department of Information Resources has hit the re-set button on an outsourcing scheme gone awry: It's asked IT companies to submit bids by Jan. 5 for the work that an IBM-led consortium, Team for Texas, has performed since 2006 under a 7 1/2-year, $863 million contract.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/cmfkCL

Straus: Hughes should ID the caller

Speaker Joe Straus says Rep. Bryan Hughes should identify which member of Straus' "leadership team" supposedly told him last weekend that redistricting maps are being prepared to punish lawmakers not on the speaker's list of supporters.

Garrett with an update: http://dallasne.ws/boOXHb

Ambitious deficit plan is "provocative," Rep. Jeb Hensarling says

The co-chairs of the White House fiscal commission issued a set of recommendations today that are bound to stir controversy -- rollbacks to Social Security benefits promised to younger workers, higher payroll taxes for higher incomes, cutting the home mortgage interest deduction, deep cuts in defense spending, a pay freeze for federal workers and staff cuts in the bureaucracy.
Gillman: http://dallasne.ws/deqZx1

One member bolts from Straus, cites strong arm

Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, has taken his name off Speaker Joe Straus' list of supporters, citing a weekend phone call in which an unnamed Straus lieutenant allegedly described how redistricting would be used to punish House members who don't back the current speaker.


Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/9Ppz4P

The day George W. Bush and LBJ first met

Slater continues to mine Bush's book:  http://dallasne.ws/cs7pUf

Sales tax receipts up 6.6% last month

Good news, bad news. First the good: State sales tax revenue in October was $1.62 billion, up 6.6 percent compared with October 2009. And that's the seventh consecutive month of increases over a year earlier, Comptroller Susan Combs just announced.

Garrett has the good news. Garrett has the bad news. http://dallasne.ws/d5qqsw

Guardian employed by VA accused of stealing from veterans

HOUSTON – When Shirley German couldn't get her son's guardian – an attorney handpicked by the Department of Veterans Affairs – to fork over $250 for Thanksgiving dinner for the disabled U.S. Marine and his family, she sensed something was wrong.


Lise Olsen at the Houston Chronicle reports: http://dallasne.ws/cvsn1Z

Gov. Rick Perry calls for federal health care law's repeal as book tour returns to Texas

SAN ANTONIO – Gov. Rick Perry went to a barbecue restaurant Tuesday to throw out a little red meat and promote his new book after what he called a "whirlwind trip" into the seemingly enemy territory of Washington. Returning to Texas after five days on the East Coast to promote his book Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, he called for dismantling the national health care law, saying states could come up with better and probably cheaper plans.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/aJfb8T

Texas likely to lead nation in economic growth, researchers forecast

AUSTIN – Texas lost hundreds of thousands of jobs last year as it stumbled through the deep national recession. But the state is likely to shine as the nation's economic growth leader over the next decade, according to research and forecasting firm IHS Global Insight.

Brendan Case reports: http://dallasne.ws/bu5mc3

Dallas' Parkland hospital honored for high organ donation rate

"...the ICU staff had triggered Parkland's highly touted process for procuring organ donations after patients suffer severe head trauma. The program is so successful that it was recognized this week along with seven other U.S. medical centers."
Fine reporting from Sherry Jacobson: http://dallasne.ws/97S1NT

House Dems from GOP tilting areas wiped out

Of the 21 House Democrats blown away in last week's election, 13 represented districts that Barack Obama couldn't carry in 2008 -- and of those, all but three were out-fundraised by their Republican challengers.
Garrett looks at the numbers http://dallasne.ws/9msfOg

Texas GOP legislators flex new political clout in first bills filed

AUSTIN – Republican lawmakers flexed their clout and highlighted their agenda on Monday, showcasing bills that would create an Arizona-type immigration law, further restrict abortion, allow guns on campus and require voters to present ID at the polls. The ambitious lineup, filed on the first day for new legislation, probably has its best chance in years because of GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate.

Mulvaney and Hoppe report: http://dallasne.ws/9rGMIv

Rick Perry says Bush was guilty of 'big government' overspending

WASHINGTON – Texas Gov. Rick Perry , promoting a new book about the dangers of federal bloat, said today that George W. Bush’s presidency was marred by the same sort of “big government” mentality that voters rejected in last week’s GOP landslide.

Gillman reports: http://dallasne.ws/buXmtR

House GOP takeover will affect how issues vital to Texans are addressed

WASHINGTON – With Democrats in charge for the past two years, Congress made progress on issues of special importance to Texas, such as health care and the environment, while neglecting other subjects that matter greatly to the state, including immigration and trade. With the GOP's sweeping election victories last week, Republicans are poised to take those issues in a different direction. But the balance of power in next year's Congress presents obstacles that may hinder progress on most agenda items.

Michaels in DC bureau offers analysis http://dallasne.ws/bNKwl8

As Bush kicks off book tour, historians crown his family a Republican dynasty

AUSTIN – When three generations of Bushes assembled in May at a church in a fashionable part of Miami, it was more than a wedding and a family reunion. It was a gathering of the Republican Party's most enduring modern dynasty. "While they disdain it, especially George W. who recoils in horror at the whole thing, they are our royal family," said historian Doug Wead.


Slater: http://dallasne.ws/9PHGMG

Bush dynasty's best ally: the Clintons

Politics makes for strange bedfellows: http://dallasne.ws/bWrOK0

Will members' caution work to Straus' advantage?

Conservative activists are trying to start a dump-the-speaker bandwagon . But as Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, seeks another term running the House, he may have an overwhelming advantage -- and it ain't money. It's the two C's -- committees and caution.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/cPvUF8

Debbie Riddle pre-files immigration and voter ID bills

Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, set up a mini-campground with folding chairs to be the first in line to file bills for the upcoming legislative session. As promised, the first bill out of the chute was mandating that voters present a photo identification in order to cast a ballot. The other bills deal with clamp downs on illegal immigrants, including an Arizona-type law and prohibiting sanctuary cities. Both proposals deal with encouraging law enforcement to inquire about the immigration status of those stopped for routine and other policing matters.

Hoppe reports: http://dallasne.ws/ah36TE

Study: Joe Barton, other likely U.S. House panel chairs have industry ties

WASHINGTON – The top contenders to run committees in the approaching GOP-led House, including Arlington Rep. Joe Barton, have strong ties to the industries they would oversee. That's the conclusion of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan watchdog group, which analyzed the campaign contributions and other connections for 14 committee-chair candidates.

Mason reports: http://dallasne.ws/bvWep9

Conservative groups formally oppose Straus as speaker of Texas House

AUSTIN – Dozens of conservative groups are urging House members to replace Speaker Joe Straus and his leadership team with more conservative lawmakers. Heads of more than 40 groups, ranging from anti-tax and tea party organizations to home schoolers and anti-abortion activists, said in a joint letter Thursday that Republicans' huge election-day gain of 22 House seats stemmed from a citizens revolt that can't be ignored.

Robert T. Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/cy1v2C

Kuempel dies of heart attack, colleague says

Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, has died of a heart attack, a colleague confirmed this afternoon. "The House lost an irreplaceable friend and colleague this morning," said House GOP Caucus Chairman Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood. "Edmund Kuempel dedicated 27 years to his community and this state. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

http://dallasne.ws/deOZ1n

Texas Gov. Rick Perry heads on book tour

The rest of the week, Gov. Rick Perry is in New York promoting his book Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington. But starting next week in Texas, he'll do a victory lap and book promotion tour.

Hoppe:  http://dallasne.ws/bSnVdL

GOP's surge in Austin to resurrect divisive bills

AUSTIN – Republicans on Wednesday celebrated their huge wins in the state Capitol, particularly in the House, where the party may revive efforts on issues that have failed in the past, including illegal immigration, voter ID and school vouchers. Democrats' losses were so staggering that they may only be able to block some of the bills in the Senate because of procedural rules.

Garrett and Stutz on the shape of things to come. http://dallasne.ws/8XBXPY

Gov. Rick Perry: shifting sands on release of tech fund contract

Gov. Rick Perry's office appears to have changed its position on public disclosure of the contracts it signs with recipients of awards from the state's Emerging Technology Fund.
Jim Drew reports: http://dallasne.ws/bbJExJ

Ciro Rodriguez concedes in TX-23

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez has lost his San Antonio-based seat to GOP businessman Francisco "Quico" Canseco, further pointing to a rough election night for Texas Democrats.

Rodriguez issued a concession statement Wednesday morning.


Mason:  http://dallasne.ws/9l9d59

Republicans add diversity to their overwhelming numbers

The earthquake that swallowed Democrats on Tuesday night also produced something that the Texas House hasn't seen in a few years: minority GOP members. Not only that, the election produced a record number of black (1) and Hispanics (5 -- with an asterick) Republicans that will serve in the House.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/9SAGVx

Republican Bill Flores ousts Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards from Congress after 20 years

WACO – Rep. Chet Edwards – one of the last standard-bearers for conservative Texas Democrats – has been vanquished after 20 years in Congress. The congressman from Waco lost to Republican Bill Flores in a landslide, proving that not even Edwards' patented brand of intensely local campaigning was immune to the anti-Washington wave sweeping the country.

Benning reports: http://dallasne.ws/bjPEPa

Dunnam: National wave rolled through Texas

It wasn't money or state issues but just the big national tsunami that gave Republicans an open seat and swept out 21 Democrats in the 150-member Texas House, says one of them, defeated Democratic leader Jim Dunnam of Waco.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/amEyso

Chisum still targets Straus, who's confident

Veteran lawmaker Warren Chisum says he'll pursue a bid for speaker, despite claims by current Speaker Joe Straus that nearly four of five Republican members back him. "The race is not over," Chisum, R-Pampa (at bottom in AP photo), said Wednesday.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/cqeHAO

Texas Republicans maintain firm grip on statewide offices

Republicans again captured Texas' major offices. Stutz and Meyers take a look at the most competitive statewide races, along with State Board of Education results:  http://dallasne.ws/b7kTsy

Straus releases 126 names of House backers

In the wee hours after the big GOP sweep, Speaker Joe Straus released a list of 126 returning House members who he said have pledged to elect him to a second term as the chamber's helmsman in January. The San Antonio Republican said his party's net gain of 22 seats shows voters want "continued fiscal responsibility and conservative leadership in Austin. I am proud that Republicans have gained a record number of seats in the Texas House, reversing the losing trend for the past three election cycles."

Garrett on the first post-election move in the anticipated struggle for Texas House leadership: http://dallasne.ws/bEEdIS

Analysis: Texas Gov. Rick Perry set to take next step, onto national stage

AUSTIN – Next stop for Rick Perry: a national campaign. The Republican governor insists he's not running for president. But he's made no secret of wanting to raise his national profile on the right, starting with a book tour trumpeting the season's hottest political subjects: states' rights and smaller government.

Slater: http://dallasne.ws/a7ALJd

GOP blowout in Texas House: 99 of 150 seats

The dimensions of a staggering GOP victory in the Texas House are now clear: Republicans posted a net gain of 22 seats -- far, far more than anyone I know predicted. Labor and liberals are cringing because if the GOP caucus holds together, it's just one vote shy of the two thirds needed to pass constitutional amendments. Pretty big stuff.

http://dallasne.ws/bWTLGe

Republicans grab big majority in Texas House

AUSTIN – Republicans smashed their way to their biggest modern-day majority in the Texas House on Tuesday and are now very likely to draw claret-red political maps and deeply cut education and social programs next year. The big uncertainty after the GOP in one night rolled back Democratic gains of the last three election cycles was whether Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, could withstand an infusion of new conservatives, despite his helpfulness to embattled Republican incumbents. Republicans' 19-12 edge in the Senate remained unchanged.

Garrett on the huge Republican victory: http://dallasne.ws/bLT233

Republicans crush Democrats in Texas; historic gains in TX House

Study all state results here, compiled by the Associated Press:

http://dallasne.ws/dnkuPQ

Anti-Washington sentiment sweeps Rick Perry to third full term as Texas governor

AUSTIN – The roiling anger at big-spending Washington helped whisk Texas Gov. Rick Perry to an unprecedented third full term Tuesday, swamping the hopes of Democrats who believed they had fielded their strongest contender in more than a decade.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/bWvnwo

In book, Perry blasts Social Security and other entitlements

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry says in his new book that Social Security is a failure and compares it to a Ponzi scheme, excerpts accidentally released Monday show.

Hoppe and Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/aA7uNQ

England declares war on U.S.? Fake letter says so

 A fake letter surfaced today that uses the official letterhead of Rep. Kirk England, D-Grand Prairie, to associate him with socialism, higher taxes, ceding of U.S. sovereignty to the United Nations and U.S. government-led chemical warfare against Americans.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/9yaAXS

Texas governors race: Money never sleeps

Neither does Slater:
http://dallasne.ws/bYXSWK

Late money helps Carter, Driver, Kent, Turner

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/cGMo8x

Perry donor's daughter got $70,000 to promote governor's technology fund

A company run by the daughter of a big-money donor and former adviser to Gov. Rick Perry was paid nearly $70,000 to promote the governor's Emerging Technology Fund, The Dallas Morning News has learned. Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger confirmed that Verve Public Relations Inc. of California was paid to do promotional work for TexasOne. The nonprofit program, affiliated with the governor's economic development office, was created to entice companies to move to Texas.

Drew, McNeill, and McGonigle report. http://dallasne.ws/cT48iX

Bill White, Rick Perry troll for votes in upscale areas of Texas

SUGAR LAND, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry scoured for support Sunday in Houston’s vote-rich suburbs as Democratic rival Bill White looked to the World Series to jump-start his behind-in-the-polls campaign. Both candidates used their final weekend of politicking to target upscale communities, especially those where Barack Obama ran well in 2008 and helped bring Democrats to power in Congress. Discontent with the economy, health care and other issues have swung the pendulum the other way in Sugar Land, and a rally crowd of about 150 people greeted Perry with hearty applause.

Kim: http://dallasne.ws/bwjTYD