With two sentences, a federal appeals court in New Orleans stopped the execution planned for Wednesday night of Scott Panetti.

An execution planned for Wednesday evening is focusing attention on the use of the death penalty on those with serious mental illness.

A story published over the weekend gave details on Gov. Rick Perry's prep work this week and month for a possible second run for the White House in 2016.

Rapidly falling oil prices might have drivers grateful at the gas pump, but indicators continue to grow that this lower price per barrel will soon have a significant impact on oil production.

Multiple political vacancies create opportunities, and risks, for several politicians in the run-up to the legislative session.

Texas will feel more of the effects of Obama's action while a proposed overhaul of the Secure Communities programs draws bipartisan criticism.

Despite his challenger's vow to take a speaker vote to the floor on the first day of session, backers of House Speaker Joe Straus spent Tuesday trying to demonstrate the race is already a foregone conclusion.

A new controversy could crop up this week as the State Board of Education is expected to adopt new social studies textbooks.

Seeking to quell a revolt before it has time to develop, allies of House Speaker Joe Straus late on Thursday night claimed to have the backing of an overwhelming majority of House GOP members.

Wendy Davis' rout was foretold by a couple of Democratic strategists who despaired nearly a year ago over the direction in which the Democratic gubernatorial candidate was taking her campaign.

Lawmakers filed 365 bills and joint resolutions on Monday, the first day they could pre-file legislation for the upcoming legislative session.

Examples are starting to pile up of the arrival of social media as a force with an effect on political campaigns as influential as traditional media coverage and advertising buys.

Greg Abbott readily took on the mantle of governor-elect on Wednesday while others searched for the reason for the Wendy Davis implosion in the governor's race.

As the night lengthened on Tuesday, the real contest, it seemed, was to find a fitting description as to how thoroughly Democrats were taken to the woodshed both in Texas and nationally.

It's the day before Election Day, meaning time for everybody to take a deep breath in anticipation of what might unfold on Tuesday. Here's what you might have missed over a busy weekend on the political front.

The raw number of voters is up slightly but is not keeping pace with population growth.

The Tribune today launches its 15-part The Shale Life series, which tells in a variety of visual styles the stories of those who are living through the effects, both good and bad, of the shale boom in Texas.

Monday night was a big one for a pair of Texas politicos who were both given a national stage from which to galvanize support among their respective voter bases.