Dan Patrick

The former George W. Bush political strategist had launched a bid to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. On Tuesday, Dowd said he’s stepping aside to make way for a “diverse field” of candidates in the race.

The Houston-area Democrat has officially announced his candidacy. He will face Matthew Dowd in a Democratic primary race.

"I'm going to spend the next 405 days telling the truth about Dan Patrick, and he's probably not going to like it," Dowd told the Standard.

Dowd said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has focused on “culture war” issues to divide and hurt Texans.

Patrick made the call on Twitter, hours after bills related to social media content policies, lobbying by cities and mandating which school sports teams that transgender athletes can play on missed a deadline.

House lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday that some of their priority legislation had not moved in the upper chamber, including a package of health care and criminal justice reform bills pushed by House Speaker Dade Phelan.

House Bill 1535 would expand the state’s medical cannabis program to include those with chronic pain, all cancer patients and Texans with post-traumatic stress disorder. But it hasn’t yet been referred to a Senate committee.

Efforts are underway to bring casinos to Texas, where gambling is illegal. Still, the state has a strong connection with gambling, from underground casinos to larger-than-life gamblers.

The budget does not factor in over $35 billion in federal aid. Senators said they don't yet know when that money will come in and what strings could be attached.

The state’s energy grid operator overcharged power companies by roughly $3 billion after the winter storm — not $16 billion, the chairman of Texas’ utility regulator said Thursday.

The lieutenant governor said Wednesday he wants the Senate to decrease the threshold required to bring legislation to the floor to 18 members, which would allow the GOP to continue sidelining Democrats.

The inauguration of the Texas governor and lieutenant governor — traditionally two days of parties, picnics and parades — has been transformed into a…