CenTex Floods Worst in 50 Years

Nate Silver does electoral math for 5 Lone Star States

(NEWSER) - An obscure provision of Texas statehood gives it the right to split into five smaller states, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. He outlines the potential new entities:

1. New Texas: Centered on Austin, as populous as Kentucky, and split down the middle politically—city vs. suburbs.

(NEWSER) - Texas Gov. Rick Perry thinks this union of states we call America is a pretty good thing, but he warned that Washington better not take it for granted, the Dallas Morning News reports. "There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it," he told reporters after addressing the anti-tax, anti-big-government tea party in Austin. "But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that." More»

Home state paid for food and lodging for bodyguards

(NEWSER) - Gov. Rick Perry's ill-fated presidential run cost the taxpayers of Texas nearly $800,000, spent on travel fees for the security detail that followed Perry around on his campaign from September through November, a state report reveals. Perry took 48 trips across state lines, mostly to primary battlegrounds Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. One trip in September from South Carolina to Iowa and back racked up $45,122 in charges, including $10,834 for hotels and $7,526 for food, reports the Austin American-Statesman . More»

After failed presidential bid, Texas governor's popularity plunges

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry's presidential campaign went so badly that not only did he drop out, but his home state isn't exactly welcoming him back with open arms. His approval rating in Texas is his lowest in more than a decade at just 40%, lower than President Obama's ; another 40% disapprove of the job he's doing. A whopping 37% of Texans say they view him less favorably now than they did before he ran for president, according to the latest Dallas Morning News poll, and 45% think his campaign hurt Texas' image. More»

Nearly 40% think he's giving the state a bad name

(NEWSER) - The polls haven't exactly been kind to Rick Perry of late, but this one has to smart: Public Policy Polling now has the Texas governor in third place in his home state. That's a huge reversal from September, when he led Mitt Romney there by 39 points. In the latest figures, Romney has 24%, Newt Gingrich 23%, and Perry just 18%, down 31 points. In the fall, Perry beat Romney in a one-on-one matchup 72-18. Now he trails 46-45. More»