Ben Wermund

@benwermund

Senior political reporter for Hearst Newspapers in Texas (@HoustonChron, @ExpressNews, @statesman) | Send me tips 📩 [email protected]

Austin, TX

Joined October 2008

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · 7 m

Travis County Jail records indicate TX-18 candidate Isaiah Martin is still in jail after he was arrested by DPS at the Capitol after he was removed from the House redistricting meeting. His brother has been posting updates on social media. #txlege

IIsaiah Martin@isaiahrmartin · 31 m

An update on Isaiah, we haven’t heard anything in close to 14 hours.

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Isaac Yu@isaacyu_ · 5 h

New w/ @taygoldenstein: 15 House Democrats leaving TX for 1 day to meet w/ @CAgovernor + @GovPritzker. Not a walkout, but a play to draw attention to redistricting. houstonchronicle.com/politics/artic…

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Neena Satija@neenareports · Jul 23

NEW: Despite having $3.4 million in reserves, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority in Kerr County chose to cut taxes and turn down a 0% interest loan from the state rather than fund a $1 million flood warning system upgrade. W/@keribla houstonchronicle.com/news/investiga…

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · Jul 23

Jeffrey Epstein files make appearance in college-sports hearing. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Tex., offers amendment that would keep bill from going forward unless President releases files related to Jeffrey Epstein that he says involves correspondence between Epstein and Larry Nassar.

SSteve Berkowitz@ByBerkowitz · Jul 23

At House Energy and Commerce markup of college sports bill, chair Brett Guthrie says it “clear this is the moment to act.” Ranking member Frank Pallone calls bill “nothing more than a major giveaway to the NCAA.”

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Hannah Norton@HannahDNorton · Jul 22

NEWS: Gov. @GregAbbott_TX tells me he wants to BAN intoxicating consumable THC products in Texas: "The only hemp product that's going to be out there is non-intoxicating hemp, which is below 3 milligrams of THC." Story tk via @impactnews #txlege

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Owen Dahlkamp@Owen_Dahlkamp · Jul 22

NEW: Gov. Greg Abbott told members of Congress he was skeptical about calling a special session to redraw Texas’ congressional maps. Most Texas Republicans were not a fan, either. Then Trump called. How the redistricting effort came to be: @TexasTribune texastribune.org/2025/07/22/tex…

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · Jul 17

FEMA's quick Texas response was 'the exception' as a disaster backlog grows under Trump, @osborneja reports. Five other states are awaiting a federal response more than a month after requesting a disaster declaration #txlege houstonchronicle.com/politics/artic…

benwermund's tweet card. As natural disasters like flooding, tornadoes and landslides piled up this spring, FEMA accumulated a backlog of disaster requests going into the Gulf of Mexico's hurricane season.

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · Jul 16

Search through the $20 million in donations @GregAbbott_TX received in just 8 days after the #txlege session with this very handy database by @matt_zdun: houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

benwermund's tweet card. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott raised $20 million over eight days in June, with several $1 million checks from GOP megadonors.

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · Jul 16

.@GregAbbott_TX logs $20M campaign haul after school voucher win #txlege houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

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Jake Sherman@JakeSherman · Jul 15

NEWS: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP told Texas Republicans on a call this morning that the GOP will seek to get 5 new red seats in the mid-decade redistricting effort in Texas. Big change in Texas that will have massive impact on the 2026 midterms. First on @PunchbowlNews text…

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Greg Abbott@GregAbbott_TX · Jul 13

The State is making rescues in— San Saba Co. Lampasas Co. & Schleicher Co. Evacuations are taking place in Lampasas Co. Menard Co. Kimble Co. & Sutton Co. We are expanding operations in all affected counties— all while monitoring the rising waters in Kerrville.

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Lauren McGaughy@lmcgaughy · Jul 10

NEW INFO: We just got Angela Paxton's divorce petition. She accuses her husband Ken Paxton of adultery and noted the couple ceased living together in June 2024. More: kut.org/politics/2025-… #txlege

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Jake Sherman@JakeSherman · Jul 10

🚨NEWS: PRESIDENT TRUMP met last night with JOHN THUNE and SLF officials in the Oval Office. They spoke about Senate races. And about JOHN CORNYN'S race against KEN PAXTON. W.H. SAID they are letting the race play out a bit before making a decision about how/whether to engage.…

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · Jul 9

Texas floods, THC and redistricting top @GregAbbott_TX's special session call houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

benwermund's tweet card. The governor directed lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, an effort President Donald Trump has been pushing ahead of the 2026 midterms.

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Jeremy Blackman@jblackmanChron · Jun 25

We have a rare opening on our Austin team for a stellar political reporter. This is a great role at a company that's eager to put resources into quality journalism. Check it out! eevd.fa.us6.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candidat…

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Taylor Goldenstein@taygoldenstein · Jul 8

NEW w/ @isaacyu_: 6 ways lawmakers could respond to the Texas floods in their special session houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

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Claire Hao@clairehao_ · Jul 8

After Hurricane Beryl, Houston-area Democrats redoubled their fight to require generators or other types of backup power at senior homes. A year later, none of their bills passed. The only new law cancels out Harris County's own backup power mandate: houstonchronicle.com/business/energ…

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Ben Wermund@benwermund · Jul 7

.@TedCruz said he called Trump in the first hours of the Texas floods. He made the call (& others) from Greece, where was seen touring the Parthenon Saturday. His office said he was on a pre-planned vacation & flew back Sunday on first available flight. houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

benwermund's tweet card. The Texas senator was seen touring the Parthenon in Athens. His staff said the senator booked the earliest flight back to Texas when he learned of the disaster.

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