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It has been an ugly campaign for state Senate District 25 almost from the get-go. Now, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth says opponent Elizabeth Ames Jones made "false criminal accusations" in her campaign ads, and is hitting her with a libel and slander lawsuit. Thursday evening Ames Jones fired back, announcing she'll file a counter claim Friday, saying her ads are true.

“I will be filing a counterclaim in Bexar County District Court tomorrow because truth is an absolute defense, and my television ads are true. It is undeniable that Senator Wentworth has billed his campaign for travel-related expenses, then been personally “reimbursed” by the State of Texas for those same travel-related expenses. That is called “double-dipping," Ames Jones said in a press release.

Wentworth says Elizabeth Ames Jones ads are "a disgrace to democracy" and criticized her for not making the claims during more than 30 debates.

"I have never heard or seen such malicious defamation. To be falsely accused of committing a crime is over the line of political discourse and has forced me into filing this defamation lawsuit against Jones. I filed this lawsuit to defend my honor and the integrity of our democracy," Wentworth said during a press conference, according to a campaign press release.

According to the Houston Chronicle, this isn't Wentworth's first defamation of character lawsuit. He sued an opponent in 2002 for running an ad that claimed he was involved in a special interest group.

Rep. Ron Paul will lead one of the breakout sessions at the state Republican convention, next month. The Republican Party of Texas made that announcement, today. The session for Convention attendees is called "Uniting Republicans and Balancing the Federal Budget."

In a statement, RPT Chairman Chris Elam said Paul's breakout session will "undoubtedly be one of the most highly attended special events during the three-day Convention and I know many of our delegates will be interested in hearing about his principled approach to shrinking the size of our federal government from such a major national figure in our Party."

On Monday, Paul announced that he wouldn't be campaigning in any new states. He is, however, still attending state conventions and working to collect delegates in states that have already held their primaries and caucuses.

In addition to Rep. Paul's breakout session, the RPT Convention schedule includes a gala speech by former Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum and a keynote speech by Rep. Paul Ryan.

Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst took advantage of early voting Wednesday morning. The duo cast their ballots at a West Austin polling location.

They also stopped to talk to reporters and members of the community, mostly about the upcoming U.S. Senate race in which Dewhurst is the frontrunner.

The lieutenant governor touted his conservative record just seconds after casting his vote, separating himself from the crowded Republican pack running against him.

“We’re running for the United States Senate seat to represent the people of Texas as a strong conservative, to fight for them in Washington, and it seems like all the others are running against David Dewhurst,” Dewhurst said.

Just last week, the conservative Tea Party activist group, Club for Growth, announced its plans to spend more than $1 million on anti-Dewhurst ads. The group supports former solicitor general, Ted Cruz.

Gov. Perry stole the spotlight outside the polling location, sharing his thoughts on the presidential race he dropped out of four months ago.

“He [President Obama] is mortgaging this country’s future everyday with his spending,” Gov. Perry said. “For me, that’s what it gets down to -- if you are not able to have a job, if you’re not able to take care of your family. And that’s one thing Mitt [Romney] will bring to the table. Not only his private sector experience, but also he understands the government is not the answer to everything.”

The governor also reflected on the recent rumors surrounding University of Texas President Bill Powers’ job after Powers publicly expressed his disappointment in Perry’s call for a tuition freeze.

“When Barack Obama and myself, David Dewhurst, Francisco Cigarroa and Chairman [Dan] Branch are all for not raising tuition, and you’re on the other side of that, you may be on the wrong side of that issue,” Gov. Perry said.

Asked if he would accept a cabinet position in a Romney administration, the governor simply answered, “I have a job.”

Rick Santorum is scheduled to speak during the Texas Republican Party's convention. But if you want to hear from the former presidential candidate, you better buy a ticket soon. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Santorum's speech at the annual convention Gala Banquet will not be open to the media.

"Santorum is the main attraction at the June 8 Gala Banquet, a private party fundraiser at the convention, that at least for now will be reserved for delegates, alternates and those who buy tickets to the event at the Fort Worth Convention Center. "There has never been media availability at the state party's premier banquet," said Chris Elam, the state party's communications director," Star-Telegram reporter Anna M. Tinsley writes.

The Star-Telegram article says RPT officials are talking to Santorum's people to see if he wants to make himself available to the media. According to the party's website tickets cost $200 each and are selling fast.

The current race for Kay Bailey Hutichson’s seat on the U.S. Senate is quite crowded on the Republican side.

Division within the party itself has become evident between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s and former solicitor general Ted Cruz’s campaigns. Cruz has won the support of national Tea Party groups, some of which are now running ads attacking Dewhurst for not being conservative enough.

However, some Republicans may differ on what ‘conservative’ actually means.

"A belief in the patterns of government that have existed and worked in the past," Jim Cardle with Texas Insider said.

Jonathan Saenz with the Liberty Institute says a true conservative believes in what some would say are the core values established at America’s birth.

"Where do you stand on the issue of the role of government? Where do you stand on religious liberty and Founding Fathers?" he said.

Most would say the candidates for U.S. Senate wouldn't differentiate a whole lot on those, but what about today's Texas conservative?

"A personal agenda, or something divisive, where you have to answer a score card or something like that," Cardle said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Perry, who's been considered one of the Tea Party's loudest voices, is coming to Dewhurst's ‘conservative’ defense in one of the lieutenant governor’s latest ads.

"The fact of the matter is, they're all conservative. They all believe in less government. They all believe in individual freedoms,” Cardle said. “They all believe in states' rights. They're conservatives, but again their problem is they're running in a conservative primary."

The U.S. Senate race will be among the topics during our weekly political show “Capital Tonight” this Thursday at 7 p.m.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison laid out her support for Mitt Romney today, and threw out the argument that the Republican party is waging a "war on women. in an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle.

"All Americans are suffering. Unemployment is too high, economic growth is too low, and the Obama administration seems incapable of doing anything about it. We all need a change for the better, and those politicians who prefer to divide us rather than seek solutions deserve our scorn.

I support Gov. Mitt Romney for president because he has a well-thought-out plan to get our economy back on track. He recognizes that it is not government but the American people who have made our country great. Men and women pursuing their hopes, seeking the fulfillment of the American dream. The success of our efforts to grow the economy will depend entirely on whether we make it easier or harder for them to accomplish that goal," Hutchison writes.

Hutchison writes that when she became the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, "it was with the help of a lot of women - and a large number of men, too."

Hutchison did not endorse Gov. Rick Perry while he was running for the Republican nomination. She had said on MSNBC in February, she thought Romney has the experience she hopes a president would have.

You can expect to see plenty more campaign ads, now that Texas primary early voting is underway.

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst released a new statewide television ad, today. The :30 second spot is called "Red Handed," and again takes aim at Ted Cruz for what Dewhurst calls his defense of a "Chinese company that stole blueprints from an American manufacturer."

We can also expect to see plenty of Ted Cruz in the coming days. Last week, the conservative group 'Club for Growth' announced it would funnel a million dollars into Cruz campaign ads. The first one was released, Thursday.

The Ron Paul campaign insisted Tuesday the Texas congressman's bid for the GOP nomination is not over. He will continue campaigning, however he won't spend money in upcoming primary states, including Texas.

"Yesterday Dr. Paul announced that our campaign is not going to spend resources in upcoming primary states. That decision was made largely made on financial decisions but also because of the effectiveness of our delegate strategy and what we've accomplished so far," Jesse Benton, Ron Paul National Campaign Chairman, said on a conference call with reporters.

"Dr. Paul is not suspending his campaign and he is not dropping out of the race. Dr. Paul plans to continue actively campaigning," Benton said.

The campaign did acknowledge is it "unlikely" they will be able to block Gov. Romney's nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa this summer, however they report they about more than 100 bound delegates. That number exceeds the amount usually reported.

Although he won't campaign in his home-state ahead of the May 29 primary, Rep. Paul will speak at the Texas GOP Convention in Ft. Worth in June. He will not attend a large rally planned at the University of Texas this Saturday. Organizers had planned on thousands attending. Instead, Paul will be in Minnesota this weekend, speaking at the state's GOP convention.

The municipal election just wrapped up Saturday, and now early voting has already begun for the state’s primary election.

Confusion over election dates due to the state's redistricting battle pushed primary election day to May 29, one day after Memorial Day.

UT Political Science Professor Jim Henson says encouraging voters to cast their ballot early is key for candidates.

“The impression we're getting is that the campaigns are working very hard to mobilize their voters early in order to sort of back fill against the possibility of folks coming back from a three-day weekend, and not being particularly attentive to politics and not turning out to vote," Henson said.

Robert Eller works for Adan Ballesteros' campaign for Constable Precinct Two. Eller posted campaign signs outside a polling location Monday in hopes that it will remind voters to come out and cast their ballot.

"I'm hoping that it does draw attention, and hopefully it will get people out here to vote," Eller said.

Henson says on the crowded Republican side of the U.S. Senate race, low turnout could prove problematic for the frontrunner, David Dewhurst. Polls show challenger Ted Cruz is steadily gaining support.

"If the Cruz campaign can make some inroads among conservative voters, convince them that Cruz is the more conservative candidate than the more established politician David Dewhurst, then the low turnout could break Cruz's way," Henson said.

If the race goes to a runoff, that election would happen in July—an even worse time for voter turn out.

Due to the unusual timing of the primaries, some election offices are also having problems finding election judges.

Travis County is still in need of about 100 judges for May 29.

Ron Paul says he is done spending money on his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Paul on Monday issued a statement that insisted he would continue the fight for delegates, taking the battle to the GOP convention in Tampa. But the favorite of libertarians and tea partyers says he would no longer spend “many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.''

Mitt Romney is 171 delegates shy of the 1,144 needed to capture the nomination, and Paul faces an all-but-impossible task of catching him. Paul's supporters have been causing trouble at local delegate selections but are unlikely to derail Romney's route.

Paul, a longtime congressman, is not running for another term to represent his Texas district.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press, All rights reserved.
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It's a work 10 years in the making--two-time Pultizer Prize winning author Robert Caro released his fourth biography on Lyndon Johnson this month.

"The Passage of Power" has flown off the shelves at area book stores.

“Some folks were commenting that it’s been about 10 years since the third volume, ‘Master of the Senate,’” Book People Manager Bryan Sansone said. “And folks have been waiting quite a while to get that in their hands.”

The staff at Book People in Downtown Austin say the first 25 copies of "The Passage of Power," signed by the author, flew off the shelves and sales have stayed steady since its May 1 release.

“I’ve always been interested in LBJ. I think he’s the most interesting and well, after FDR, the most important president of the 21st century,” Book People customer Tom Hackett said. “He tells a really good story, so I’ve been wanting to dive in, but I’m afraid it’s a huge undertaking.”

Roughly 3,500 pages, Caro’s latest book is his fourth volume depicting Johnson's rise to power and what he did once he arrived in the country's top seat.

“He did the right thing, but he also knew how to twist arms to do it. He wasn’t just a do-gooder. He was a do-gooder who was willing to use whatever means necessary to accomplish good,” Hackett said.

Robert Caro plans to publish a fifth volume of the "The Years of Lyndon Johnson." No word yet on when the last installment will be released.

University of Texas President Bill Powers has ignited a firestorm of support from UT faculty and state leaders after rumors erupted Wednesday evening that his job was in jeopardy.

Texas Monthly Senior Executive Editor Paul Burka wrote a blog post, citing unnamed sources, that Powers "may be in danger of losing his job." Burka claims it stems from Powers publicly opposing Gov. Rick Perry's call for a tuition freeze.

Last legislative session, Perry led the charge to cut $900 million from higher education. The move forced Powers to make up the difference, so he asked for a tuition hike.

The UT System Board of Regents, whom Perry appoints, ultimately approved a two-year tuition freeze over Powers' protest on May 3.

"I am disappointed that our very thoughtful proposal, every penny of which would have gone to student success, which itself would help keep the cost of higher education down, was not an adopted," Powers said after the Regents’ decision.

If blog rumors prove true, Perry may have his first political battle on his hands since leaving the presidential campaign trail.

Glenn Smith, a democratic strategist with Progress Texas, says Perry has a monopoly of higher education in the state.

"Rick Perry has put a noose around the neck of Texas colleges and universities and Texas families trying to get their children into to them," he said. "Tuition is up 70 percent on his watch, but that's because he slashed funding on universities."

Monday, the UT Faculty Council Chair will consider a resolution its chairman drafted in reaction to the rumors that supports President Powers and his administrative team.

"Based on the actions of this Board of Regents over the last year or so, it seems to me much in keeping with who they are and what they are and what they have done," Chair Alan Friedman said. "It [The University of Texas] can weather only so many frontal assaults before it can begin to suffer. It's very easy to destroy excellence. It's very hard to rebuild it."

Read UT Faculty Chair Alan Friedman’s letter calling for support for Powers, sent to UT staff Thursday:

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, President Powers proposed a modest tuition increase for the next two years that fell within the guidelines that the Regents had established early on.

Yet he was pressured to withdraw the proposal, and when, unlike the President at Texas A&M, he refused because he thought it was crucial to the life of the institution to maintain educational quality to the extent he could, the proposal was nonetheless rejected.

Now rumors abound that his job is in jeopardy because he didn't do as he was told.

At its regular meeting this coming Monday at 2:15pm in Main 212, the Faculty Council will consider a resolution I have drafted in support of the President and his administrative team. I think that a strong show of support from the campus community would be invaluable at this time, so I hope that every faculty member, student, and staff person who can make the meeting will be there. Please come if you possibly can and urge your colleagues to do so as well.

UT AUSTIN FACULTY COUNCIL RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT BILL POWERS

Recognizing the extraordinary efforts exerted by UT Austin President Bill Powers and his administrative team in support of the recent proposal for a modest, well-documented, and crucial tuition increase, the Faculty Council strongly commends them for seeking to protect and enhance the quality of our students’ education and the value of their degrees, as well as the research and public service achievements of the faculty.

The fact that the Regents ultimately rejected the proposal diminishes neither the campus’s need for such financial support nor the efforts made to attain it.

Best,

Alan W. Friedman

Chair, Faculty Council 2011-12

Republican Senate candidate Glenn Addison has released a new online ad, entitled "Dave and Ted's Epic Misadventures." Addison is who is trailing both Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz. His new spot calls Cruz a 'political insider' and criticizes Dewhurst as a 'career politician'

The ad is online online right now. Addison is asking supporters for donations, so he can buy television time.

Ted Cruz is having a good week. First, he got a million dollar ad campaign paid for by the Club for Growth. Now, Sarah Palin is throwing her support behind Cruz's Senate campaign.

According to a campaign press release, Palin's endorsement came as a response to a letter Cruz sent her.

"We’re proud to join conservatives in Texas and throughout the nation in supporting your campaign to become the next Senator from the Lone Star State," Palin wrote. "Your conservative principles, passionate defense of our Constitution and our free market system come at a time when these cornerstones of our freedom and prosperity are under attack. Our shared goal isn’t just to change the majority in control of the Senate, but to assure principled conservatives like you are there to fight for us."

Cruz called Palin "an inspiration to conservatives" and says he's honored to have her support.

The same group that helped defeat longtime U.S. Senator Richard Lugar in the Indiana Republican Primary, is now backing Ted Cruz in an effort to defeat frontrunner David Dewhurst, in the form of lots of cash. The Washington-based Tea Party Club for Growth rolled out a one millon dollar ad campaign against "moderate tax-raising David Dewhurst."

"Texans looking for a principled defender of economic freedom should vote for Ted Cruz in the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola in a press release. “Texas newspapers describe David Dewhurst as a moderate at heart because he has grown the size of government, supported new taxes, and has done his best to stop conservative policies in Austin. Texas Republicans should vote against David Dewhurst and his support for higher taxes on May 29th.”

The Dewhurst campaign released a new ad today as well, starring Mike Huckabee.

"We need different people in Washington with different values – conservative people like David Dewhurst," Huckabee says in the ad. "David’s conservative leadership helped Texas pass more pro-life legislation than any state in America. And David stood with taxpayers, cut spending and cut taxes. There’s only one proven conservative in this race for Senate, so stand with him."

You can watch both ads below.

Club for Growth

Team Dewhurst

It's easy to assume Republicans don't agree with Pres. Obama's change of heart on same-sex marriage. But, 3 hours after ABC News broke in with part of the president's interview, few Texas Republicans have responded.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's U.S. Senate campaign released this statement around 4 p.m:

“President Barack Obama continued his assault on traditional values today when he flip-flopped on his position and announced his support for same-sex marriage. This cynical, desperate move demonstrates that President Obama will do anything to cater to his extreme liberal base."

"In Texas, David Dewhurst helped lead the effort here in Texas to enshrine in the Texas constitution that marriage is between a man and a woman, and he is running for the U.S. Senate to stop the Obama Administration’s efforts to eradicate the traditional values that have made our country great.”

Former Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum sent out a statement, he said it was "no surprise," accusing President Obama of "consistently fighting against protecting the institution of marriage from radical social engineering at both the state and federal level."

We will post a statement from the governor's office if they send one out.

The Texas Voter ID law likely won't go into effect before the November general election. Attorney General Greg Abbott's office fired back at the US Justice Department after the federal government said the state failed to act with "a sense of urgency" or "diligence" required to decide on the law before November.

Texas has repeatedly ignored or violated directives and orders of this Court that were designed to expedite discovery, and Texas has failed to produce in a timely manner key documents that Defendants need to prepare their defense. Most troubling is Texas’ conduct with respect to producing its key state databases, which are central to Defendants’ claim that S.B. 14 has a disparate and retrogressive impact on racial and/or language minority groups.

Abbott spokesman Jerry Strickland said DOJ is playing politics.

"In an ongoing effort to prevent Texas from enforcing its Voter ID law during the November election, the Department of Justice and partisans who oppose the Voter ID law, have issued endless discovery requests seeking millions of records that have nothing to do with this case. The State has already produced roughly 25,000 pages of information and millions of records from State databases," Strickland said in a statement. "The DOJ and their partisan allies need to end their fishing expedition and stop their attempts to deny Texas the same right to require the very same type of photo identification from voters that has already been upheld by the Supreme Court. The needless delays imposed by the opponents of Texas' Voter ID law continue to prove that Justice Kennedy was correct when he noted that the Section 5's preclearance requirements put Texas at a disadvantage compared to other states."

In the court documents released on Monday the court says it is no longer granting an "expedited review," and now Texas might have to pay a fine.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst might wrap up the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in a little over 2 weeks, that is if you believe a new poll which gives Dewhurst 51 percent of the vote. The Conservative Republicans of Texas polled 400 likely Republican primary voters from April 27-30. Ted Cruz is at 16 percent, Tom Leppert 7 percent, Craig James at 2 percent, and 24 percent said they weren't sure or refused do take part in the poll.

The Quorum Report points out that the CRT hired Dresner, Wickers, Barber, Sanders to conduct the poll l-- a group which lists Dewhurst as a client.

The poll also looked at the 2014 race for lieutenant governor. Susan Combs receives 28 percent of the vote, Dan Patrick 15 percent, Todd Staples 7, and Jerry Patterson 5. However, the majority of people, 39 percent, say they aren't sure who they are voting for.

The margin of error for the poll is +/- 4.5 percent.

Federal Appeals Judge Jerry Smith says there is sufficient evidence the state law excluding Planned Parenthood from receiving money as part of the Texas Women's Health Program is unconstitutional. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission says it will "comply with the court order as the case proceeds."

"We also will continue to work toward a state program that provides women with access to vital family planning services and complies with the law that bans abortion providers from getting those funds," HHSC said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood said their doors will remain open tomorrow.

"This case isn't about Planned Parenthood — it's about the women who rely on us
for cancer screenings, birth control, and annual exams, Sarah Wheat, Interim Co-CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region said in a statement. "We won't let politics interfere with the health care that nearly three million people a year rely on Planned Parenthood for in Texas and around the country."

A trial date will be set during a hearing in district court on May 18.

The same judge sided with the state earlier this week with a stay to the injunction decided on Monday. Judge Smith had said he granted a stay so he would have more time to review the law.

State officials say if Texas is forced to include Planned Parenthood in the WHP they could shut down the program all together.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A darling of Republicans across the country will deliver the keynote address at the Texas GOP Convention in Fort Worth June 9. Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee, is often placed by pundits at the top of the vice presidential short list for Mitt Romney.

In a press release from the Texas GOP, Steve Munisteri says, "I am grateful to Congressman Ryan for agreeing to speak at our State Convention on June 9th. His leadership on shrinking the size of government and cutting federal spending aligns well with the platform of the Republican Party of Texas. I look forward to welcoming him to Fort Worth and our State Convention!"

The Republican state convention will be June 7-9 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. The Democrats will hold their convention the same weekend in Houston.