Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
bySarah Gonzales and Shunya Carroll
Kirk Watson says he’s ready to finish what he started after unofficially winning a third term as Austin’s mayor Tuesday night.
“These first two years in the mayor’s office have mostly been about getting us on the right track,” Watson said during his victory speech at El Arroyo restaurant. “But there’s more to be done. And while we’re finally now to build even more and really chart a new course for Austin’s future.”
He needed to finish with more than 50% of the vote to avoid a December runoff. Unofficial returns showed Watson getting the slimmest of majorities, with 174,904 votes, or 105 more than his four challengers combined. Community activist Carmen Llanes Pulido ran second with 20% of the vote and former Austin City Council Member Kathie Tovo third at 17%.
University of Texas students turned out in strong numbers at campus polling locations Tuesday for national, state and local elections.
Click for slideshow.
byMadeline de Figueiredo
In the leadup to the Nov. 1 implementation of Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring Texas public hospitals to report on health care for undocumented immigrants, advocacy groups raced to inform affected communities and providers about the policy’s implications and limitations.
byMeredith McKelvey
As former President Donald Trump surged ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in presidential returns Tuesday night, LGBTQIA+ community organizers and activists struck a defiant tone during an election watch party at an Austin gay bar. “No matter who the president is, things are going to be hard for progressive folks in Texas,” said […]
