The 2022 midterm election season opens Tuesday in Texas.

Democrat Beto O’Rourke is running for governor of Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday to prohibit any entity, including private business, from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on workers and called on state lawmakers to pass a similar ban into law.

The government’s top infectious diseases expert says families can feel safe trick-or-treating outdoors this year for Halloween as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. decline, especially for those who are vaccinated.

In a story published Oct. 10, 2021, about Allen West being hospitalized with COVID-19, The Associated Press misspelled Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's last name in two references in the story.

In a story published Oct. 9, 2021, about Allen West being diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia, The Associated Press misspelled Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s last name in two references in the story and once in the summary.

Republicans in America’s largest conservative state for years racked up victories under the slogan “Keep Texas Red,” a pledge to quash a coming blue wave that Democrats argued was inevitable given shifting demographics.

Republicans in America’s largest conservative state for years racked up victories under the slogan “Keep Texas Red,” a pledge to quash a coming blue wave that Democrats argued was inevitable given shifting demographics.

Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he’d need to coast to reelection in deep-red Oklahoma.

Former Florida Congressman Allen West says he’ll challenge Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the Republican nomination next year.

Texas GOP Chairman Allen West is stepping down after a short but combative run of using the job to antagonize top Republicans in America’s biggest red state.

The Christian imagery and rhetoric on view during this months Capitol insurrection are sparking renewed debate about the societal effects of melding Christian faith with an exclusionary breed of nationalism. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)WASHINGTON – The Christian imagery and rhetoric on view during this month’s Capitol insurrection are sparking renewed debate about the societal effects of melding Christian faith with an exclusionary breed of nationalism. The rise of what’s often called Christian nationalism has long prompted pushback from leaders in multiple denominations, with the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty forming the Christians Against Christian Nationalism coalition in 2019. “But as a Christian, my highest allegiance is to Christ.”Yet some supporters of former President Donald Trump say that denunciations of Christian nationalism are a way of attacking them politically. Ad“The fact that we saw QAnon, white supremacy and white Christianity all carried together in a violent attack on the Capitol means that particularly white Christians have got some real soul-searching to do,” said Jones, author of two books on white Christianity in America.

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol in Washington. Militia members, white supremacists, paramilitary organizations and fervent supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stood shoulder to shoulder, unified in rage. I’m afraid that we’re going to have to be prepared for some worst-case scenarios for a while," said Amy Cooter, a senior lecturer in sociology at Vanderbilt University who studies U.S. militia groups. To understand the mix of extremists in the Capitol melee, it helps to look at history. ___This story has been corrected to show that the “Texas Militia” group gathered at the Statehouse in Auston while Trump was at the Texas border.

Kathy Kratt of Orlando, Fla., displays her Trump flags as she and other protesters demonstrate their support for President Donald Trump at the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Trump bemoaned the decision late Friday, tweeting: “The Supreme Court really let us down. Two days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed his suit, Trump jumped into the high court case. “If the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!” he tweeted Friday afternoon. Many Republican voters in several states won by Biden have demanded that their elected officials find a way to invalidate the president-elect's victories.

The Latest: Gimenez wins House seat over Mucarsel-PowellRepublican Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has won a Florida seat in the U.S. House, defeating a single-term Democrat. The 41-year-old Democrat easily defeated Republican H. Wayne Clark in the heavily Democratic county. _____8:17 p.m.Republican Kat Cammack has won Florida’s U.S. House seat held by her former boss, retiring Florida Republican Rep. Ted Yoho. _____7:22 p.m.Republican state Rep. Byron Donalds has been elected to the U.S. House seat now held by Florida Republican Francis Rooney. “I feel he’s just more level-headed.”______7 a.m.Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden have campaigned heavily in Florida, each hoping to win the prized battleground state’s 29 electoral votes.