The Democratic Party faces existential questions after Donald Trump’s resounding victory.

The Associated Press declared that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz successfully defended his seat against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred based on the incumbent’s competitive showing in the state’s large population centers, bolstered by his overwhelming leads in more conservative rural areas across the state.

Democrats backing Rep. Colin Allred’s bid to defeat Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are investing $5 million in an ad campaign focused on abortion.

Republicans have a stranglehold on every statewide elected office in Texas and control the state Supreme Court, both chambers of the Legislature and both U.S. Senate seats.

Democrats hoping to hold their slim Senate majority after November are looking for wins in two unlikely places that could neutralize potential setbacks elsewhere, Florida and Texas.

Kimberly Mata-Rubio's 10-year-old daughter was one of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the May 24, 2022, shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Democratic Rep. Colin Allred of Texas says he'll run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, becoming an early challenger to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

No current or former Texas politician has announced a campaign for the 2024 presidential race.

Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke catapulted to Democratic stardom in 2018 by defying expectations and nearly pulling off upsets in Georgia and Texas.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has won a third term following one of the most expensive races of the 2022 midterm elections.

Families of some of the 19 children killed in the Uvalde school massacre commemorated the Day of Dead with a rally, procession and decorated altar outside the Texas Capitol on Tuesday night.

The Uvalde school massacre has cast a long shadow in the midterm elections in Texas, intensifying Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign against Democrat Beto O’Rourke and driving a blitz of television ads.

Presidential aspirants running for reelection while dreaming of the highest office in the land often face an uncomfortable question: Will they commit to serving a full term — should they win one — when their best moment to take a shot at the White House may come sooner than that.

Many of the 39 Native American tribes based in Oklahoma have played a role in state politics for decades, often quietly and behind the scenes.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's reelection campaign is focused more on his political future and overhauling the Democratic Party's messaging than on his race.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in his first debate against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke that Texas would send busloads of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to more cities.

The stakes are high for Democrat Beto O’Rourke on Friday night in his only debate against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for an overhaul of Democrats' political strategy.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing back on calls by Uvalde families for new gun control measures in Texas in wake of the Robb Elementary School massacre.

Texas Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O'Rourke says he has cleared his campaign schedule after receiving treatment at a San Antonio hospital for an unspecified bacterial infection.

Anticipation has been growing all year for one of the fall’s likeliest bestsellers, Colleen Hoover’s “It Starts With Us.”.

The entire elections staff in a rural Texas county has quit less than three months before November's midterm elections.

Democrat Beto O’Rourke has raised nearly $32 million during the first half of 2022 in his run for Texas governor.

President Joe Biden’s top political advisers are bracing for big election losses in November.

Democratic Texas governor’s race candidate Beto O’Rourke is hoping the Uvalde school shooting can reset the contest in America’s largest red state.

One by one, speakers took the stage at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston and denounced the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school across the state.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke has blamed Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for inaction on gun control.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will face Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke after voters in Texas opened what could be a lengthy, bruising primary season.

The 2022 midterm election season opens Tuesday in Texas.

Early voting in the first primary of the 2022 midterm elections is starting in Texas.

President Joe Biden will appear in Pittsburgh on Friday as an opening step in a broader campaign to promote the White House’s achievements in key states before the midterm elections.

President Joe Biden has visited the bridge in Pittsburgh that collapsed just hours before his previously scheduled trip to promote his infrastructure package — a new law that aims to prevent just such disasters.

Money is pouring fast into the Texas governor’s race headlined by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

Democrat Beto O’Rourke is running for governor of Texas.

Texas Republicans are trying to shore up their slipping dominance in America’s biggest red state with redrawn voting maps.

Texas Republicans have advanced bills that would make voting harder in a state that already has some of the nation’s toughest restrictions after hundreds spoke against the proposals.

Some Texas Democrats say they're ready to stage a second walkout to again stop one of America’s most restrictive voting measures.

Former Florida Congressman Allen West says he’ll challenge Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the Republican nomination next year.

Former Texas congressman and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is contemplating a new political decision.

The ranks of big corporations now criticizing GOP efforts to restrict voting access are spreading to Texas.

Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Proposed legislation before the GOP-led state Senate and House mirrors a nationwide campaign by Republicans that aims to restrict voting even more, with rules Democrats say disenfranchise racial and ethnic minorities. AdAmy Litzinger, of Austin, is among Texans who say the very health issues keeping her from testifying before lawmakers in person will also penalize her if stricter voting legislation becomes law. Brian Kemp drew protests Thursday when he signed into law a sweeping GOP-sponsored overhaul of state elections — and the fights will undoubtedly end up in the courts. AdBack in Austin, Jose Colon Uvalles was back at the Capitol again Friday to advocate against voting restrictions.

Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Acacia Coronado)AUSTIN, Texas – A procedural gaffe on Thursday forced the abrupt end of a Texas House hearing on a Republican-backed voting restrictions bill and at least temporarily deprived more than 100 people of the chance to testify about it, including some who said they had driven hundreds of miles to be there. The bungled end to the hearing stunned an overflow room of people who had waited hours to address lawmakers, including some who said they had traveled for hours to speak against the measure known as House Bill 6. That Democrat was state Rep. Nicole Collier, the chairwoman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. “Any delay is good," said Emily Eby, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project who had traveled from Houston for the hearing.

As the hour slipped past 2 a.m. on the East Coast, Democrat Raphael Warnock beat Republican Kelly Loeffler. King and MSNBC's Kornacki dominated their networks with headache-inducing number crunching. Warnock and Ossoff jumped to early leads, but as more votes came in, the Republicans swung in front. After midnight, the Times judged both Warnock and Ossoff had a better than 95% chance of winning. Fox News spent less time on raw numbers to showcase their prime-time stars, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

“There is no exaggeration here, the Texas state House is the key to future power in America. Holder's group has given money to 261 state legislative candidates who could influence redistricting in 11 states. Democrats are being countered financially by the Republican State Leadership Committee, which also coordinated the GOP's successful effort a decade ago. But Democrats need to flip just nine seats to take control of the state House for the first time since 2002. “If we flip the Texas House, redistricting is coming up!

Ann Grannan puts a flag on her car before a Ridin' With Biden event Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Plano, Texas. Democrats in Texas are pressing Joe Biden to make a harder run at Texas with less than three weeks until Election Day. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AUSTIN, Texas – The whispers about Texas are picking up again. “They've stuck their toes in the water and they figured out that it's pretty warm,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, the longtime chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. And Texas is just one Sun Belt state where Biden is making an unusual late push.

(Bob Daemmrich/Nexstar/KXAN via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Buoyed by massive fundraising success, Democratic Senate candidates are mounting a push in Republican states that few would have thought possible just a few months ago, placing continued GOP control of the chamber at risk. MJ Hegar in Texas reported raising over $13 million during the same period for her race against Republican Sen. John Cornyn. In deep-red Kentucky, Amy McGrath has posted strong fundraising numbers against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In Mississippi, Mike Espy reported raising $4 million in his rematch against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. O'Rourke was criticized for being too stingy with his cash, only reluctantly aiding other Democrats, though he eventually donated large amounts to the Texas Democratic Party.

For Graham, the Republican Senate majority and Trump himself, the hearings three weeks before Election Day could be a last stand. But they're also a real-time test of whether that's enough to counter a jaw-dropping $57 million fundraising haul by Graham's Democratic opponent in the South Carolina race, Jaime Harrison. He once vowed to oppose any Supreme Court confirmation hearings in presidential election years. But the days leading up to the Barrett hearings were particularly challenging for Graham. Back then, Trump had called Graham a “lightweight” and a “liberal,” and famously made public the senator's cell phone number.

WASHINGTON, DC Beto O'Rourke, the former Texas congressman, announced Friday that he was ending his Democratic presidential campaign, which failed to recapture the enthusiasm, interest and fundraising prowess of his 2018 Senate race. In an online post, O'Rourke said, "My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee." O'Rourke was urged to run for president by many Democrats who were energized by his narrow Senate loss last year in Texas, a reliably Republican state. But O'Rourke struggled to replicate that model in the presidential primary and both his polling and his fundraising dwindled significantly in recent months. "Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country."

Democrats met for their third debate of the 2020 presidential primary Thursday night in Houston. And he argued it's "the most cost-effective approach to providing health care" to everyone in the country. It was a notable shift in the tenor of a health care debate that had, to this point in the race, largely been dominated by the progressive candidates. And in the second debate, Warren and Sanders stood side-by-side and batted away criticism from candidates who didn't qualify for the third debate. She tried to be a unifying voice during the health care debate.

Cell phone video taken by hospital staff in El Paso shows President Donald Trump bragging about his earlier rally there and insulting El Paso native and presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke. Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(Trump) flies in the face of all the basic things that we've never really met the standard (of, but) we've never abandoned it before," Biden said. "He looks like he's just flat abandoned the theory that we are one people." But Biden stopped short of matching some of his primary rivals' descriptions of Trump himself, refusing to weigh in on the President's own beliefs. Asked what he would tell gun owners worried a Biden administration would be coming for their weapons, the former vice president jumped in to answer: "Bingo! "He's not tolerating racism, he's promoting racism.

(CNN) - Twenty people were killed and more than two dozen were injured in a mass shooting at an El Paso shopping center on Saturday, according to Texas and local authorities. FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie said more investigative work was needed before determining whether there was a possible hate crime. "Today's shooting in El Paso, Texas was not only tragic, it was an act of cowardice," the President wrote. "We know there is a lot of injury, a lot of suffering in El Paso right now," he said. "But I'll tell you, El Paso is the strongest place in the world," he added.

El Paso Police Sgt. Thirteen people were taken to the University Medical Center of El Paso, spokesman Ryan Mielke told CNN, and one of them has died. "We know there is a lot of injury, a lot of suffering in El Paso right now," he said. "But I'll tell you, El Paso is the strongest place in the world," he added. O'Rourke said he would be cutting short his trip to Las Vegas to return to El Paso.

El Paso Police Sgt. Thirteen people were taken to the University Medical Center of El Paso, spokesman Ryan Mielke told CNN, and one of them has died. "We know there is a lot of injury, a lot of suffering in El Paso right now," he said. "But I'll tell you, El Paso is the strongest place in the world," he added. O'Rourke said he would be cutting short his trip to Las Vegas to return to El Paso.

Police responded Saturday to an active shooter at a sprawling shopping complex in El Paso, Texas. How many victims there areMultiple people have been killed, though there is no concrete number yet, El Paso Mayor Dee Margo and Police Sgt. Thirteen people were taken to the University Medical Center of El Paso, where one later died, medical center spokesman Ryan Mielke said. "Today, the El Paso community was struck by a heinous and senseless act of violence," his statement said. "The state of Texas and the Department of Public Safety are assisting the El Paso Police Department as they conduct their investigation.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks while former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) listen during the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre July 31, 2019, in Detroit. Hide Caption

A report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, drawn from the work of hundreds of scientists, uses 2030 as a prominent benchmark because signatories to the Paris climate change agreement have pledged emission cuts by then. ... We need every country working together if we're going to deal with climate change in a real way." THE FACTS: The nations most concerned with climate change certainly do not consider the U.S. a "template" for a solution. SANDERS: Benefits under his health care plan "will be better because 'Medicare for All' is comprehensive and covers all health care needs." But other countries with national health care plans are not as generous with benefits and also make use of copays to manage costs.

DETROIT - Liberal firebrands Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren slapped back against moderate rivals who ridiculed "Medicare for All" during Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate in which lesser-known pragmatists warned that "wish-list economics" would jeopardize the presidency. Over and over, Sanders and Warren insisted their plans to transform the nation's economy and health care system make up the core of a winning message. While much of the debate was dominated by attacks on Medicare for All, the issue of race emerged in the second hour. But perhaps no issue illustrates the evolving divide within the Democratic Party more than health care. "They're running on telling half the country that their health care is illegal," Delaney said.

DETROIT - A high-profile clash pitting pragmatism against ideological purity dominated the early moments of the second round of presidential debates on Tuesday as moderate Democrats warned voters against nominating liberal candidates who embrace "wish-list economics." Steve Bullock in a clear swipe at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who stood at center stage. It was the candidates with the most to lose who were most aggressive with their fellow Democrats in the early going Tuesday night. "We have a choice: We can go down the road that Sen. Sanders and Sen Warren want to take us, which is with bad policies like "Medicare for All," free everything and impossible promises," Delaney said. CNN Democratic debate lineup.

Though Warren and Sanders have each indicated they will avoid attacks on one another because of their mutual respect, Sanders needs a jolt of electricity for his campaign in this chaotic field of more than 20 candidates. Meanwhile Warren has steadily moved into the upper tier of candidates in the last few months -- at the expense of Sanders -- making her a potential target on the Fox Theater stage in Detroit. Meanwhile Warren has maintained a steady rise, jumping past Sanders to 15% in the Quinnipiac poll released last week. Steve Bullock, a late entrant to the race, is taking the debate stage for the first time since he did not qualify for the first Democratic debate in Miami. Meanwhile, Ryan and Delaney will be looking to break out after anonymous performances in Miami's first round of debates.

April Ryan and Kamala Harris speak during a Democratic presidential candidates forum July 24, 2019 in Detroit. (WDIV)DETROIT - The NAACP's Democratic Presidential Candidates Forum at the 110th National Convention was held Wednesday, July 24, 2019 in Detroit. Here's who participated:Joe Biden , Former U.S. Vice President, Former U.S. Vice President Cory Booker , United States Senator, United States Senator Julin Castro , Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Kamala Harris , United States Senator, United States Senator Amy Klobuchar , United States Senator, United States Senator Pete Buttigieg , Mayor of South Bend, Ind. Beto O'Rourke , Former Member of the United States House of Representatives, Former Member of the United States House of Representatives Bernie Sanders , United States Senator, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren , United States Senator, United States Senator Bill Weld , Former Governor of Massachusetts, Former Governor of Massachusetts Watch each candidate's segment below. Elizabeth Warren speaks at NAACP forum in Detroit:Cory Booker speaks at NAACP forum in Detroit:Beto O'Rourke speaks at NAACP forum in Detroit:Pete Buttigieg speaks at NAACP forum in Detroit:Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Beto O'Rourke was among a list of Democratic presidential candidates who took part in forum July 24, 2019 in Detroit. The forum was moderated by April Ryan. This was during the NAACP's National... Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

MIAMI - Democrats hoping that Wednesday night's first presidential debate of the 2020 campaign would be clarifying probably came away disappointed. But they largely passed on those opportunities, even when Warren was virtually alone in her stance on overhauling the health care industry. The question is whether Warren and Castro's performances still stand out after night two of the Democratic debate on Thursday, when former Vice President Joe Biden and nine other candidates take the stage. No issue in the first Democratic debate showcased the contrast with Trump more than immigration. "If you truly want to change the system, we have to change that section" of federal law, Castro said.