Source: Politics<\/p>\n
A strict new abortion law kicked off a huge national backlash. Thousands of Haitian migrants seeking asylum prompted mass deportations and scrutiny on Border Patrol policy. State officials announced four new reviews of the 2020 vote.<\/p>\n
And that was just in September \u2014 and just in Texas.<\/p>\n
The massive, Republican-controlled state has dominated the national political spotlight this year, driving increasingly conservative policies into the heart of big debates over everything from voting to public health initiatives, critical race theory and more. These legislative moves have positioned Texas as a counterweight to Democratic-dominated Washington \u2014 and a leader charting the potential course of the Republican Party nationally. <\/p>\n
This year, the state was one of the first to reverse mask mandates and block local Covid-19 vaccine requirements. In the summer, Democratic state lawmakers fled Texas for a month to delay GOP voting legislation, which passed shortly after they returned. Laws that allowed carrying a gun without a permit, penalized reducing police budgets in large cities and limited discussion of systemic racism in classrooms went into effect on Sept. 1. <\/p>\n
And other times, big events in Texas took center stage: A massive winter storm exposed the state\u2019s weak energy infrastructure in February, and Texas\u2019 southern border has been at the front of this month\u2019s national news.<\/p>\n
Even for a big state, Texas has seen an outsized amount of political attention as conservatives try to break new ground, expanding on decades of GOP control and a national political environment that tilts toward Republicans. Two more key trends are also behind the attention-grabbing policy drive: The Republican governor is preparing to face primary challengers in his 2022 reelection race and potential presidential run, while conflicts are mushrooming between diverse, liberal cities and the Republican-dominated state government \u2014 mirroring the same tensions animating national politics. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou put all those things together, and I think there\u2019s been basically no lane markers for Republicans in this session,\u201d said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project, which conducts public opinion polling in the state. \u201cThey\u2019re very confident about the 2022 election given recent precedents and\u2026 a Democrat in the White House, so there have been no natural checks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump\u2019s influence still looms large in the state\u2019s politics \u2014 as seen in his open letter to GOP Gov. Greg Abbott last week. Trump demanded the state legislature pass House Bill 16, which would allow state officials to request an electoral audit for future elections as well as for 2020. <\/p>\n
Despite Trump\u2019s nearly 6-point win<\/a> over Biden in Texas last year, the secretary of State\u2019s office soon announced a \u201cfull and comprehensive forensic audit\u201d of Collin, Dallas and Tarrant counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as Houston\u2019s Harris County. The release did not provide any details but said the agency expects the state legislature to fund the effort.<\/p>\n Former Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs, who previously called the 2020 election \u201csmooth and secure,\u201d resigned in May when the state Senate did not take up her nomination. The Texas secretary of State\u2019s office is currently helmed by a former Abbott staffer on an interim basis.<\/p>\n In a Fox News Sunday interview, Abbott said election audits by the Texas secretary of State\u2019s office already began \u201cmonths ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are audits of every aspect of government,\u201d Abbott said when asked about the potential waste of taxpayer money. \u201cWhy do we audit everything in this world, but people raise their hands in concern when we audit elections, which is fundamental to our democracy?\u201d<\/p>\n