Time for the week that was in Texas Politics with Emily Ramshaw, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune.
Former President Barack Obama released a list this week of 260 Democratic candidates across the nation that he is endorsing. Eleven are from Texas. But one notable Texas name was not among them – Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke. Ramshaw says the explanation may be that O’Rourke doesn’t want Obama’s endorsement.
“[O’Rourke] told my colleague Julian Aguilar yesterday, ‘I don’t think we are interested in an endorsement from Obama,'” Ramshaw says. “So I think the issue here is that Beto is not sure how an endorsement from Obama will play in Texas.”
At the Texas Legislature, questions have arisen about how the body will address sexual misconduct allegations against State Sen. Charles Schwertner. The claims were made by a University of Texas graduate student who claims to have received unsolicited, inappropriate images from him. Schwertner has denied the allegations. Now, lawyers for Schwertner say UT has hired former federal prosecutor Johnny Sutton to investigate the accusations. The Senate will reportedly wait to see what comes of the investigation before taking action.
A new Texas Tribune investigation found that affordability is increasingly becoming a problem for the middle-class, and those who cannot afford to buy a home are the most affected.
“Rent is accounting for more of people’s paychecks than mortgages are,” Ramshaw says.
The interactive project allows readers to see whether they are spending too much on housing in Texas, relative to their income.
