At a public meeting where families that lost children in the school shooting said he should resign, McCraw said members of the Department of Public Safety made mistakes. But he said he’ll step down only “if DPS as an institution failed the families.”

In some battleground state legislative races, Republicans have been making overtures to those who believe the ban is too extreme. They have said they are open to revising the ban to include the exceptions — and even voiced confidence that the Legislature will do so when it reconvenes in January.

AT&T and Valero were among a handful of political action committees that donated to candidates this cycle who have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election results.

Early voting runs until Friday, Nov. 4. The last day to apply to vote by mail is Friday, Oct. 28. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Department of Public Safety Sgt. Juan Maldonado is the first state police officer fired in the aftermath of a botched police response to the shooting. He was the highest-ranking state trooper to initially respond to Robb Elementary School.

Asian voters were most disproportionately affected by the new ID requirements included in voting restrictions passed by the 2021 Legislature, a Brennan Center for Justice analysis found.

Although there are laws on the books preventing certain people from possessing guns, there are few places in the state where the criminal justice system has programs to hand over firearms to law enforcement — leaving survivors at a heightened risk for gun violence.

That Paxton is so close to securing his reelection this November as the state’s chief legal officer is raising alarms from election experts about the impact he could have on future contested elections, particularly if Trump runs for president again in 2024.

With the 2022 midterms less than a month away, election administrators in Texas and elsewhere continue to face a level of harassment and threats that experts say had never been experienced before the November 2020 presidential election.

The three GOP candidates raked in a combined $4.3 million over the past three months, while their Democratic competitors got $2.4 million together, according to new campaign-finance filings.