Andrew Cates

If they keep this up, the “ineffectual” D’s in Congress who have sat idly by may prove to be geniuses. The GOP just can’t help but do something dumb just as soon as everyone forgot the last insane thing they did. All right before midterms too. Unreal nytimes.com/2026/05/05/us/…

@granitewinger Agree with other that this could be tortious interference, but on a larger scale, don’t forget who they are reporting these dinners for. The lobby takes a lot of bullets for electeds to keep the system going, but that magnanimity only goes so far. Careful what you wish for, Dave

ProTip: IMHO lobbyists who trash the top lege priority next session with their secret dinners should remember that the system works both ways... unless they only have taxpayer funded clients they should get on board or their other clients might just drop your firm. #txlege

Good reminder for candidates out there. Paying your family members to work on your campaign is okay only as long as it’s fair market value. Anything more and you invite a formal complaint. nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-a…

@PhilJankowski @lmcgaughy @benwermund Glad this is getting so much attention. Shame it didn’t at the capitol

Texas law prohibits deepfakes in campaign ads. Why are we seeing so many use AI? From @benwermund houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

@data_atx @MQSullivan Some of y’all have never looked at the state lobby laws nor interacted with the TX legislature and it shows.

City council dropped the requirement they keep logs of meetings with lobbyists Harper Madison defended the change, saying filling out the forms is a lot of work and causes staff to miss citizen calls Dang, how many lobbyists are yall meeting with for that to be an issue? 😅

@taygoldenstein @elyseyates @HoustonChron @TexasTribune Hooray! Congrats Taylor! Looking forward to what’s next

After seven years (🤯) at the @HoustonChron covering state politics, today is my last day. I’ll be joining the enterprise and investigative reporting team at the @TexasTribune on Tues. It’s bittersweet to leave a newsroom I love, but I’m so beyond excited for this next chapter!

Let’s just keep this in mind the next time we hear those from the GOP screaming about “CLOSE THE PRIMARIES” and trying to call it election fraud. washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/…

@LordDraco3004 @tx_cole @ChristiCraddick Purple?! What world are you living in? The GOP has had almost a supermajority in the legislature since 2010 when the tea party came in and the D’s haven’t won statewide in like 40 years. If there’s a systemic problem, the call is coming from inside the house.

@tx_cole @ChristiCraddick But have they though? Texas very much been a purple state for those decades. The GOP has only enjoyed that slim majority. Some male claims that the Dems have more control based on what gets passed or not passed.

Texans shouldn’t have to check the fine print to make sure their tax dollars aren’t funding radical ideology. Whether it’s gender theory in schools or climate alarmism disguised as infrastructure, I’ll say it plainly: I won’t let Texas taxpayers bankroll nonsense.

@deevah007 @MarcVeasey That’s what I was thinking. I’m pretty sure this dude isn’t elected at the statewide or federal level at all.

@MarcVeasey Plenty of reasons to dislike Rep Money but this is not him in the video

We have state representatives in TX. Not state congressman. That’s a total misrepresentation!

@scottbraddock Wonder how whoever you’re talking about rationalizes their way around the personal use of contributions prohibition

Using cash from a campaign account to pay someone to book you for TV and print interviews when you're not even on the ballot is an interesting move. Trying to remember if I've seen that before now #txlege

@Hey_Lauri @RafaelAnchia @MALCTx He actually is suing Jane Nelson already, but because she won’t close the GOP primaries. It’s a mess over there.

@RafaelAnchia @MALCTx VDRs have 1 job: to assist people registering to vote. Doesn’t matter where or when. If Ken Paxton has a problem with the process, he needs to be suing the Sec of State, Jane Nelson. But he wouldn’t do that because he knows Jolt’s process is legal.

AP: Attorney General Ken Paxton cannot shut down Texas Latino voting group, judge rules. He failed to offer “any plausible proof” that Jolt Initiative, a nonprofit that aims to increase civic participation among Latinos, is violating the law. @MALCTx #TXLege apnews.com/article/ken-pa…

@moniconga @MikeBoard1200 @KenPaxtonTX @JoltInitiative @MariaBartiromo Problem is, those punitive damages don’t come out of Paxton’s pocket. They come from tax dollars at the state level. So that’s cool.

@MikeBoard1200 @KenPaxtonTX @JoltInitiative @MariaBartiromo Courts may impose sanctions, award attorney's fees to the opposing party, or award punitive damages to punish the wrongdoing and deter future misconduct.

The suit filed @KenPaxtonTX against @JoltInitiative, accusing them of registering non-citizens to vote (based on @MariaBartiromo's fever dream), was so full of lies and half-truths that a federal judge issued a rare "bad faith" ruling when it was tossed out. #txlege #txsen

Well, hate to say I told you so, but I told you this was going to happen. And by invoking @realmitchlittle’s “parody” phrase he used so much on the back mic, there’s nothing she can do about it. youtube.com/shorts/f8r9bDS…. Welcome to the new AI campaign hellscape.

@GenxShitpost @ReichlinMelnick Still wrong buddy. Nice shitpost attempt, though.

@ReichlinMelnick Reading is fundamental. Read more carefully next time, mindless automaton. Says in paragraph 2 there is a warrant for these folks for final removal.

🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional! ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth.

@Jaebi_oce @CloseAirMeme @benrman @ClipInsanity Confidently incorrect. Time stamp on the video shows 2024, so the Florida story is not this video. Also Texas plates

@CloseAirMeme @benrman @ClipInsanity Just google the officer Florida Deputy Zachary Wester. lots of links

How to lose your job in 3 seconds

@AmousIsFamous @itzJuztThomas @ClipInsanity Grok is wrong and it’s easy to prove. Texas plates on the vehicle and body cam timestamp shows 2024.

@itzJuztThomas @ClipInsanity What makes you think this is Wayne Thompson? Grok tells a different story.

As we move into the midterms, expect the line between "voter" and "investor" to blur. If you are involved in political consulting, compliance, or campaign strategy, you cannot afford to ignore it. linkedin.com/pulse/kalshi-p…

I’ve been saying for over a year that the federal govt cavalry is not coming to our rescue on AI regs and that we’ll end up with a 50 state patchwork. This may “fix” the patchwork by forcing everyone into a federal standard, but don’t think for a second that this is a good thing.

I’ll stay in my lane and say that as it relates to AI in elections, this could be disastrous for the public and the ability to believe what they see in campaign ads. 1/2 wired.com/story/trump-pr…

@LemonLymancom Also worth noting the Mary Louise Parker was a much better actress overall. Helped sell it

aaron sorkin creating mandyville 😂