EDDIE LUCIO JR.

The year 2022 witnessed the close of a South Texas political era as state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. wound down his final year in office representing Dist. “Forty-eight years is a long journey in the political arena,” Lucio told the Brownsville Herald in October. He recalled that when he became state representative in 1987 Lucio was representing just Brownsville, though when Lucio became senator he was responsible for Cameron and Hidalgo counties — until redistricting. 27 will be Democrat Morgan LaMantia, a South Padre Island resident and attorney employed by her family’s business, McAllen-based L&F Distributors. The results of the recount did not change the outcome of the election, but netted 73 more votes for LaMantia and 55 more for her opponent in Cameron County.

With only 63 of the 300 precincts in Texas Senate District 27, Republican Adam Hinojosa was leading Democrat Morgan LaMantia as of press time Tuesday night, though it wasn’t clear what the outcome would be. While Hinojosa far outpaced LaMantia in counties such as Kleberg and San Patricio, LaMantia had an edge over Hinojosa in the Rio Grande Valley. Unofficial results from Cameron County showed LaMantia with 54.6 percent of the vote to Hinojosa’s 45.4 percent with 88.1 percent of precincts reporting. In Hidalgo County, LaMantia had 63.2 percent of the vote to 36.7 for Hinojosa with 82.3 percent of precincts reporting. In the District 20 state Senate race, with only 7 of 299 precincts reporting Democratic incumbent Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa was ahead of Republican challenger Westley Wright by 60.2 percent to 39.8 percent, according to the Texas Secretary of State.

The endorsement comes after Patrick’s Democratic opponent, Mike Collier, received endorsements from two Republicans, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo.

Republicans are starting to pay more attention to Texas Senate District 27 — the only competitive Senate seat in November — but whether they will go all in remains an open question.

SAN BENITO — County officials issued a proclamation Monday designating June 13 as “Blue Tie Day” to remind and encourage men to be aware of preventable health problems by getting regular check-ups. The event at the county annex building followed Friday’s Blue Tie Day event of 5K and one-mile runs at Lon C. Hill Park, along with a Walk With Your Sweetie one-mile trek. “We’re asking you today to focus on Blue Tie Day and obviously make the men in your life and each of us aware of our own mortality, and pay attention to the signs and signals that we have in our lives and not take them for granted,” County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said. “In 2019, I offered Senate Bill 430 which designated June 13 as Blue Tie Day,” Lucio said. “I chose the color blue because blue is the color associated with the birth of a baby boy.

SAN BENITO — County officials issued a proclamation this morning designating June 13 as “Blue Tie Day” to remind and encourage men to be aware of preventable health problems by getting regular check-ups. The event at the county annex building followed Friday’s Blue Tie Day event of 5K and and one-mile runs at Lon C. Hill Park, along with a Walk With Your Sweetie one-mile trek. “In 2019, I offered Senate Bill 430 which designated June 13 as Blue Tie Day,” Lucio said. “I chose the color blue because blue is the color associated with the birth of a baby boy. So when he got to the doctor, it was so advanced that we lost him shortly after that.”[email protected]

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s too-close-to-call runoff got most of the attention, but three other primary runoffs Tuesday carried big stakes for Democrats as they try to defend South Texas from a new GOP offensive.

Democratic primary runoffs for two congressional districts and two legislative seats in South Texas highlight the candidates’ divergent visions for the party in a region the GOP is heavily targeting.

HARLINGEN — The final resting place of military veterans is being debated in Cameron County, with officials gauging public support for a veterans’ cemetery here.

Days ahead of the scheduled execution of Melissa Lucio, advocates continue to pressure Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution warrant. When Gonzalez became district attorney, he did not have a set position about the death penalty. “As I got educated and wanted to learn about the death penalty, I started to evolve my stance on it,” Gonzalez said. According to Death Penalty Action, more than 8,000 letters have been sent to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. However, Gonzalez is less optimistic about how successfully that faith pans out for death penalty trials and appeals.

Texas Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, is once again at the forefront of the state’s economy and budget after being snubbed last legislative session.

Dan Patrick announced Wednesday that he once again appointed Hinojosa as vice chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which allocates the state’s budget. Governor Patrick has entrusted me with the important responsibility of serving on the Senate Finance Committee as vice chair,” Hinojosa said Wednesday. Eddie Lucio has dedicated his life to public service,” Hinojosa said when Lucio announced his retirement. Patrick, himself, pointed to Lucio’s willingness to break party lines when Lucio announced his retirement. As vice chair, Hinojosa will help craft the budget for the ninth largest economy in the world.

The Democratic Party’s nomination for State Senator District 27 and House District 37 will be decided in a runoff election May 24, after no candidate in either race drew a clear majority of votes in Tuesday’s primary elections.

HARLINGEN — The race to replace long-time state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. was too close to call late Tuesday night for both Democrats and Republicans seeking to take his spot in State Senate District 27. All the vote totals from the Texas Secretary of State’s office and Cameron County are unofficial. The 27th Senate District is regarded as competitive between the two parties but Democrats have a rating of D-57 percent in the Texas Partisan Index. Among Republicans in Cameron County, with 58 percent of precincts reporting, Hinojosa had 3,374 votes, or 45.5 percent, Torres had 2,682 votes, or 36 percent, and Salinas had 1,374 votes, or 18.5 percent. Lucio announced his retirement from the state Senate last November after first being elected to the office in 1990.

Tuesday is primary Election Day in Texas as the Lone Star State leads off the 2022 primary election season with the nation’s first primary. Texas is an open primary state, meaning voters can declare their party preference when they vote. “We’re hoping that the early voting turnout is a good indication that we’re going to have a good turnout on Election Day. For State House District 37, which includes all of Harlingen and a portion of Brownsville, the Democratic candidates are Ruben Cortez, Luis Villarreal Jr. and Frank Puente. In State House District 38, Democratic candidates are Erin Elizabeth Garza and Jonathan Gracia.

The Moody Clinic, a Brownsville institution providing therapy services to special-needs children since 1952, on a blustery Monday morning celebrated 70 years in operation as well as the occasion of joining the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. “It’s the only nonprofit outpatient rehabilitative clinic for special-needs children in the Lower Rio Grande Valley,” Tumlinson said. “Today we are in a new chapter for Moody Clinic,” she said. “We consider ourselves the leading outpatient rehabilitative clinic in our community. … Our standards have never wavered from being the best outpatient rehabilitative clinic in all South Texas.”

The race to replace state senator Eddie Lucio Jr. features four candidates, each with a competing vision for the future of their party.

The four Democratic candidates running for their party’s nomination in the District 27 race for state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.’s old seat listed the district’s assets along with their qualifications and ideas to meet its challenges during a candidates’ forum Wednesday night at the VentureX shared working space in Brownsville.

Texas state Rep. Alex Dominguez announced Wednesday he will be seeking State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.'s soon-to-be vacant seat.

Lucio is retiring from the Rio Grande Valley seat, and Dominguez wants to continue his legacy of focusing on education in the region. But he suggested he would take a different approach to at least a couple issues, including abortion.

Constitutional trial lawyer and government reform activist Sara Stapleton Barrera announced earlier this month she is once again running for Senate District 27 in the 2022 Democratic Texas Primary. Stapleton Barrera will travel to Austin this weekend to officially file for the seat. “There is much to be done in restoring equality of laws without discrimination and in guaranteeing constitutional protection for all Texans,” Stapleton Barrera said in a news release. If the mother of three were to win the seat, Stapleton Barrera plans on assisting economic growth through sustainable expansions. Her announcement came days after Lucio announced his retirement at a news conference he held at his offices in Harlingen Nov. 4.

At first thought, many people might not consider state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. a rebel, but few would deny his willingness to go against the grain.

Lucio announced Thursday that he is not seeking reelection after three decades in the Senate.

HARLINGEN — Long-serving state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election after three decades in the job.

The Brownsville Democrat, who made the announcement Thursday, has served in the upper chamber since 1991.

It has begun. Developers and San Benito city leaders met Saturday to break ground on Phase One of the RGV Epicenter.

The likely new district comes as Texas Republicans continue to try to make new inroads in South Texas after the 2020 election.

Texas law requires people to provide their dogs with adequate shelter from extreme weather.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The new proposal, like its predecessor, would amend the health and safety code to make the unlawful restraint of a dog a criminal offense — and more clearly outline proper treatment.

The initial redistricting maps released this week are raising fresh questions about Texas Republicans’ hopes of flipping seats in South Texas.After President Joe Biden underperformed there last year, [San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

With proposed maps out, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, says he might switch to a neighboring district where U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, is retiring. The initial maps are also sure to impact decisions in regional legislative races.

The Brownsville school district celebrated the enactment Wednesday of Zariah’s Law, legislation that requires the University Interscholastic League to provide students with disabilities greater access to competitive team sports.

Proponents of House Bill 9 denounced the Biden administration’s approach to border security, saying the state had no choice but to step in to ramp up enforcement.

From curriculum requirements and state testing to athletic programming, several bills passed during this year’s regular legislative session will affect public schools moving forward.

The year was 2003, and the cramped Speaker’s Committee Room next to the Texas House floor was overflowing with reporters and spectators.

Twelve of the vetoes targeted bills that originated in the House, and eight were from the...

Gov.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Also vetoed legislation to protect dogsGov. Greg Abbott vetoed 20 bills that were passed during this year’s legislative session, including two criminal justice priorities of the House speaker, legislation that would have banned tethering dogs outside with heavy chains, and a bill that would have required students to be taught about the perils of domestic violence.

Abbott vetoed 13 bills authored by Democrats and seven by Republicans. Twelve of the vetoes targeted bills that originated in the House, and eight were from the Senate.

Gov.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Abbott said the increase in fentanyl seizures correlates with President Joe Biden taking office in January and implementing new border policies.

Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, spoke during during a Senate State Affairs committee hearing on July 23, 2017. According to early returns from the Texas Secretary of State, Lucio was leading Stapleton-Barrera 54%-46%. Another Senate runoff that drew considerable attention was the Democratic race to go against state Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton. Flores fell short in his bid to upset state Sen. Carlos Uresti for the seat in 2016. As of late Tuesday evening, the special election to replace former state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, remained fluid.

Texans will be voting in the middle of a pandemic on Tuesday in a runoff election originally scheduled for May. The wild card: Robert MorrowFor Republicans in Texas, Robert Morrow advancing to the GOP primary runoff for a seat on the State Board of Education was nothing short of frightening. The winner in the GOP runoff Tuesday will face Texas State University English professor Rebecca Bell-Metereau, a Democrat, in Novembers general election. When he issued a statewide mask mandate, Abbott excluded churches and people voting in the primary runoff elections. Disclosure: Texas State University and the Texas secretary of state have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

Sara Stapleton-Barrera, a Democratic candidate for state Senate District 27, is facing incumbent Eddie Lucio Jr. in the July primary runoff. Brenda Bazn for The Texas TribuneJudging from March, the ideological left wing of the Democratic Party in Texas should be inconsolable. In the 10th Congressional District, Siegel is running on a platform that includes supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. I feel really good not just about my chances, but the movement overall, says Mike Siegel, a candidate for Texas' 10th Congressional District. Hes already endorsed at least seven Texas congressional candidates.