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There's just one more full weekend left before the filing period to get on the March primary election ballot ends.

Since last week, the basic shape of the primary election has come into sharper focus. By our reckoning, only one race has yet to have anyone file. That's in Bexar County's HD-116 where people are waiting to hear from the incumbent, Trey Martinez Fischer, on what his future plans entail.

He's promised a special announcement on Sunday, the day before the filing period closes.

Elsewhere, Austin Democratic state Rep. Elliott Naishtat injected some uncertainty into the safely Democratic HD-49 when he announced on Thursday that he's changed his mind and won't seek re-election. So far, we've seen three contenders file for the Democratic contest — Gina Hinojosa, Huey Rey Fischer and Matthew Shrum.

While Naishtat remains on the ballot for the time being, we have removed him for our list as he's declared his intent to withdraw his name.

We'll update the list next week with what should be a finalized lineup for the respective party primaries.

Here's the candidate filings for the Texas House:

^{Sources: Texas Secretary of State, Republican Party of Texas, Texas Weekly Research}

And here's the candidate filings for the Texas Senate:

^{Sources: Texas Secretary of State, Republican Party of Texas, Texas Weekly Research}

Enlarge Marjorie Kamys Cotera

Rep. Jonathan Stickland R-Bedford speaks during the Texas Tax Day Tea Party Rally at the Texas Capitol on April 15th, 2015

Tarrant County state Rep. Jonathan Stickland has decided to get involved in the GOP primary contest for the HD-84 seat in Lubbock County.

Calling in to a local radio talk show, he endorsed the challenger, former Plainview state Rep. Jim Landtroop, against the incumbent, John Frullo, who is running for re-election.

Talking on Lubbock radio station KFYO, Stickland said that while he believes “John to be a nice guy,” he wants to see Landtroop win.

Stickland added, “the folks that I’ve talked to out in West Texas are very conservative folks, and it’s my belief that that is not the way that John Frullo has been legislating while in the Texas House, and I personally look forward to the opportunity to have Jim come down there and do a better job representing the values of West Texas.”

When he officially announced his candidacy yesterday, Landtroop highlighted his tea party credentials. Frullo, who supported Joe Straus for Speaker last session, has received criticism from some in the tea party wing of the Texas House.

KFYO has the audio of the conversation here.

It used to be that it was unusual to see a sitting member endorse against a fellow incumbent running for re-election.

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Rand Paul's presidential campaign filed Thursday afternoon to place him on the ballot for the Texas primary. 

The Kentucky senator's Texas team visited the state GOP headquarters in Austin to submit the $5,000 check to place Paul's name in the mix for the March 1 nominating contest.

"Rand knows Texas," said state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas, the Texas state chairman of Paul's campaign. "He knows how important Texas is, and he is going to do what he needs to win every delegate in this state to be the next president."

Also on hand for the filing was Mary Jane Smith, a longtime ally of the Paul family who was recently named the campaign's Texas political director. 

"I know Texas politics, and I know the name of our game is to get delegates. Forget everything else," she said, alluding to the state's system of mostly selecting delegates by congressional district. 

Huffines and Smith were joined at the Texas GOP office by Steve Munisteri, the former chairman of the state party who is now a senior adviser to Paul. Munisteri brushed off months-long speculation that Paul's campaign is in decline, saying "rumors of our demise were a little bit premature."

Munisteri also took note of the crowd that showed up to watch Paul's Texas team file for the primary, saying it was larger than the turnout at similar events for the Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush campaigns "by all accounts." Roughly 60 people were spread throughout two rooms at the Texas GOP headquarters Thursday afternoon. 

Paul is the 10th major GOP candidate to file for the Texas primary. The others are Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie.

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A former supporter of Rick Perry has joined the presidential campaign of another Texas Republican, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Erik Corcoran announced Wednesday morning he has been tapped to serve as Cruz's faith director in South Carolina. Corcoran was a member of Perry's team in the state until the former governor dropped out of the race for the White House in September.

Corcoran broke the news in a tweet, writing that he was "Fired up to support a God fearing conservative in" Cruz.

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The Donald Trump presidential campaign announced on Thursday the creation of the Texas Women for Trump Coalition, dropping a list of 99 supporters who make up the group’s leadership committee.

One of the members of the leadership committee is Trump’s national spokeswoman Katrina Pierson, a Tea Party leader in North Texas and a former congressional candidate.

The press release announcing the coalition also noted supporter Pamela Martin Duarte, who is one of the women featured in the reality TV series Big Rich Texas.

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American Action Network, an advocacy group aligned with the U.S. House GOP leadership, announced on Tuesday a $3 million ad campaign on behalf of Speaker Paul Ryan’s allies.

That includes about $300,000 to support Texas House Republicans, including Kevin Brady (TV ad), Bill Flores (TV ad), Ted Poe, Brian Babin, Jeb Hensarling, Michael Burgess, Pete Sessions and Will Hurd.

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U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate Ted Cruz at a presidential town hall hosted by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., (r.) at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. on Dec. 7, 2015.

Allies of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are officially putting U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in their crosshairs.

Right to Rise, the super PAC backing Bush's presidential run, released a TV ad Tuesday that accuses Cruz of voting to "dramatically weaken counterterrorism surveillance." The 30-second spot imagines Cruz behind a desk in the Oval Office while taking issue with his vote earlier this year for the USA Freedom Act, which reformed U.S. surveillance programs. 

The ad, titled "Desk,"  began airing Tuesday in the first four early voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — as well as nationally on Fox News, according to Right to Rise. 

Cruz was not the only GOP rival the super PAC singled out in the spot. It also criticized U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida for his attendance record in Congress and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, calling him "impulsive and reckless."

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Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in Texas is drawing a not-so-subtle contrast with his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton.

The Vermont senator's Lone Star State campaign issued a news release Monday morning bragging that he is the "only presidential Democratic candidate to use the ballot petition method rather than paying a fee to participate in the 2016 Texas primary election." Last week, Sanders supporters submitted more than 12,000 signatures, at least 7,000 more than required, to place his name on the ballot for the March 1 primary.

"The impressive effort of the petitioners proves that this is a true grassroots campaign," Jacob Limon, Texas state director for the Sanders campaign, said in the news release. "This is not your typical top-down campaign."

The news release did not name Clinton, but it goes without saying the Sanders campaign has the former secretary of state on its mind. She is the only other major Democratic presidential candidate to file for the Texas primary, and she did so by using a second option: cutting a $2,500 check to the state Democratic Party.

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Clinton’s presidential campaign, meanwhile, is getting local in its efforts to promote her infrastructure plan.

The Democratic presidential frontrunner rolled out the plan last month, saying it would boost federal investment in infrastructure by $275 billion over the next five years. Her campaign says the set of proposals would specifically help Texas tackle clogged-up stretches of Interstate 35, which was recently named the most congested roadway in the state.

“Austin is a magical city, but we have a big challenge,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler, a Clinton backer, said in a statement. “The stretch of IH-35 that runs through downtown Austin is one of the worst roads in Texas and one of the worst of the country. During rush hour, it’s less of a road than a slowly moving parking lot. Everyone agrees that we need to do something ambitious to fix this, and Hillary Clinton’s 21st Century infrastructure plan is exactly the kind of thing that Austin needs to get traffic moving again.”

Another Clinton supporter in Texas, state Sen. Royce West of Dallas, is also plugging her infrastructure proposals. In a column published Friday by The Dallas Morning News, West highlighted how federal investment like the kind Clinton is pushing for has helped the Metroplex, citing the completion last year of the Tower 55 freight project in Fort Worth.

West also lobbed some criticism at Clinton’s GOP rivals for the White House, including Cruz. The Republican candidates, he said, “don’t get it” and want to cut federal infrastructure investment while keeping in place tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

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The state’s major drilling slowdown is also stalling sales tax collections.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Wednesday announced that collections of the crucial revenue source for the state totaled $2.58 billion in November, a 3.3 percent drop compared to the previous November.

Tax receipts have fallen in three of the past four months when compared to collections from a year earlier. And Hegar said the reason is clear:

“Sales tax revenue declined again due to reduced spending in oil and gas-related sectors,” the Republican said in a statement.
Per-barrel crude prices have plummeted below $40, the lowest since 2009 and a far cry from the heady days of $100-per-barrel oil from less than a year and a half ago.

In other gloomy news, energy giant Kinder Morgan said Tuesday that it will slash dividend payments by 75 percent next year. The announcement follows a plunge in stock prices triggered by a Moody’s Investor Service report calling the company’s outlook “negative.”

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For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked first about possible comebacks for once robust presidential candidates.

Former Gov. Rick Perry might have already pulled the plug on his presidential aspirations but a super PAC created last month — Bring Leadership Back PAC — is out to convince him that he was premature in making that decision.

Our insiders, though, are convinced that Perry was right to halt his run for the White House. More than four in five said his candidacy could not be reanimated.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, meanwhile, has seen his presidential hopes battered by the ascendancy of outside candidates like Donald Trump and Ben Carson. And it hasn't helped that his performance on the campaign trail has been widely panned.

We asked if his candidacy could be revived. More insiders thought he had a chance to rise again but a solid three-fifths didn't think he could return to a position at the front of the GOP presidential pack.

We ended this week's survey by asking which of the four early voting states would be won by Trump and Ted Cruz.

New Hampshire was the state most often named by the insiders as going for Trump. In all, 37 percent believed Trump would win the Granite State. Meanwhile, 26 percent said Trump would take South Carolina and 24 percent named Iowa.

Cruz, meanwhile, is strongest in Iowa, according to the insiders. A total of 63 percent of the insiders thought the Texas senator would win the Hawkeye State. Thirty percent said Cruz would take South Carolina. But just 7 percent said he'd win New Hampshire.

We collected comments along the way, and a full set of those is attached. Here’s a sampling:

Enlarge Emily Albracht

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With talk of a super PAC trying to lure Rick Perry back into the presidential race, can this zombie candidate be reanimated?

• "He's deader than dead. And the indictments had nothing to do with it. It's all on the exceptionally mediocre Rick Perry."

• "He has to be on the VP list, as well as U.S. Ag Secretary list, doesn't he?"

• "Zombies are still dead even though they walk around."

• "Why not? With enough money and, frankly, compared to the rest of the group, he's a much better option."

• "Heavens no. It is literally too late to get on the ballot in several states."

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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush continues to languish in the polls despite the financial largesse of affiliated super PACs. Can his candidacy be revived?

• "Trump will lose Iowa and he will not handle it the right way. Trump's departure will open up the pathway for Jeb. All Jeb has to do is avoid the bully during lunch and recess."

• "There seems to be a dullness associated with his performance, it certainly isn't inspirational and he's oblivious to the populist zeitgeist... in fact, he doesn't even realize he and those like him are the reason for the populist wave."

• "Presidential campaign have become long games. As the fads flame out, the standards will emerge."

• "Yes, because he's paid for organization, which will get him to March 1. But Florida is March 15."

• "The next Bush to watch is George P. Not this one."

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Which early nominating states does Donald Trump win?

• "Trump is fading fast, even though the polls don't indicate it. The GOP cannot win with him on top."

• "I really have no idea, and anyone who says they do is selling a bill of goods. These are not 'normal' times, it makes the use of the axiom 'crazy season' seem quaint."

• "He'll be the proverbial '3-day-old fish' by then and destined for the trash heap."

• "He won't win a single one and he'll cry that the RNC is 'unfair.' Then he'll launch a 3rd party campaign."

• "If he wins, we should secede."

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Which early nominating states does Ted Cruz win?

• "He will be overall delegate leader on Mar. 2"

• "Cruz has run a steady, low-error campaign that features exceptional organization. Cruz himself has proved an adept campaigner, both as orator and in arm-squeezing small events."

• "He'll win Iowa. For some perspective, Santorum also won Iowa."

• "He had a chance in Iowa until he told the 'Don't Tread on Me' crowd he wants to end their feeding at the trough of government corn subsidies."

• "Ted is trending up. He's built the campaign on a solid foundation — grassroots, issues, and money. It's a winning combination."

Our thanks to this week's participants: Gene Acuna, Brandon Aghamalian, Brandon Alderete, Clyde Alexander, George Allen, Jay Arnold, Dave Beckwith, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Chris Britton, Raif Calvert, Lydia Camarillo, Corbin Casteel, William Chapman, Elna Christopher, Harold Cook, Kevin Cooper, Randy Cubriel, Beth Cubriel, Denise Davis, Nora Del Bosque, Tom Duffy, Richard Dyer, John Esparza, Tom Forbes, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Eric Glenn, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, Susan Hays, Jim Henson, Ken Hodges, Deborah Ingersoll, Mark Jones, Walt Jordan, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Nick Lampson, Pete Laney, Dick Lavine, James LeBas, Luke Legate, Ruben Longoria, Homero Lucero, Matt Mackowiak, Jason McElvaney, Bee Moorhead, Mike Moses, Todd Olsen, Nef Partida, Gardner Pate, Jerod Patterson, Robert Peeler, Tom Phillips, Wayne Pierce, Allen Place, Gary Polland, Jay Propes, Ted Melina Raab, Patrick Reinhart, David Reynolds, Carl Richie, A.J. Rodriguez, Grant Ruckel, Tyler Ruud, Andy Sansom, Jim Sartwelle, Barbara Schlief, Stan Schlueter, Robert Scott, Ben Sebree, Ed Small, Martha Smiley, Larry Soward, Leonard Spearman, Dennis Speight, Jason Stanford, Colin Strother, Sherry Sylvester, Sara Tays, Trey Trainor, Vicki Truitt, Ware Wendell, David White, Darren Whitehurst, Seth Winick, Angelo Zottarelli.

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

Saturday, Dec. 12

• Houston holds mayoral runoff election between Sylvester Turner and Bill King.
• Annie’s List Ready to Run Candidate 101 Training; 4818 E. Ben White Blvd., Austin (9 a.m.-5 p.m.)
  

Sunday, Dec. 13

• State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, Winter Holiday Party & Special Announcement; 3202 W. Woodlawn Ave., San Antonio (1:30 p.m.)

Monday, Dec. 14

• Filing period for primary election candidates closes at 6 p.m.

A task force at the University of Texas at Austin has recommended guns be prohibited in residence halls, at sporting events and in certain laboratories. But the suggestions do not call for banning handguns in classrooms.

Paul Chu, founding director and chief scientist at the University of Houston’s Texas Center for Superconductivity, said finding new ways to store excess energy could revolutionize the grid, and how Texas plays a role in advancing the technology.

Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats on Thursday endorsed Ted Cruz for president, giving the Texas senator's campaign one of its biggest boosts yet in the first-in-the-country caucus state.

Experts at the Public Utility Commission of Texas are urging its three commissioners to reject plans by a Dallas oilman and real estate tycoon to take over the state’s largest electric transmission company, a recommendation that could loom large for Texas' ratepayers and electric grid.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s second attempt to immediately block the arrival of additional Syrian refugees was even shorter-lived than the first. A federal judge on Wednesday quickly rejected his request.

A gun rights group plans to hold a fake mass shooting Saturday near UT-Austin to protest gun-free zones. The group decided to move it just off campus after the university said demonstrators could face criminal trespassing charges. The group, Come And Take It Texas, will have a presentation featuring cardboard guns, fake blood and fake gun shot noises.

As state officials consider licensing two private detention facilities as approved residential centers for undocumented children, they heard several hours of testimony in opposition to the move Wednesday.

Wendy Davis, the former Texas gubernatorial candidate and state senator, will campaign for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Iowa, the Clinton campaign announced Wednesday.

U.S. Supreme Court justices dissected UT-Austin's unusual admissions procedures on Wednesday, questioning whether Texas' flagship campus should keep using race as a factor when evaluating some of its applicants. The court's decision in Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin, expected sometime next year, could have a transformative effect on how students get into college, in Texas and across the country.

One year after a federal judge heard evidence alleging that Texas Child Protective Services had violated foster children’s civil rights, lawyers for the state and the advocates who filed suit are awaiting a potentially sweeping legal decision. The class-action lawsuit, brought by the New York-based advocacy group Children’s Rights, Inc. on behalf of children currently in long-term foster care, argues that Texas caseworkers are assigned too many children for them to effectively monitor and that kids are placed too far away from home into settings where they do not get appropriate care.

The makeup of the Texas public school system has become less white and poorer in recent decades, according to the most recent data from the Texas Education Agency reflected in The Texas Tribune’s Texas Public Schools Explorer. It’s a change that’s largely attributable to massive growth in the state’s Hispanic and Asian populations.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday over a Texas case that sought to clarify what “one person, one vote” means in American politics, some justices questioned the argument that the state's current system diminishes the power of some voters. And others considered arguments that would upend how voters are sorted into legislative districts. The question before the high court was "who counts as a person?" when it comes to dividing up Americans in state legislative districts.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller faced pointed questions from lawmakers Tuesday over his plan to dramatically hike fees on a host of licenses, registrations and services that his agency provides.

The end of the widely reviled No Child Left Behind Act — and Texas’ standoff with the federal government over that 2002 law — is in sight, to the elation of the state education commissioner, superintendents and teachers. A rewrite of President George W. Bush’s signature education policy is poised to win final passage in Congress this week after winning preliminary approval in the Senate on Tuesday.

Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas teamed up Tuesday to push new curbs on Syrian refugees entering the United States, unveiling a new bill that would let states "opt out" of accepting refugees from certain countries.

A new breed of app-based moving companies has drawn the interest of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, which wants to ensure that companies with names like Buddytruk and PICKUP are following state laws.

Disclosure: The University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Gov. Greg Abbott named Steve Cooper of El Campo to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Board of Directors for a term to expire on Feb. 1, 2017.

Abbott on Monday announced a set of appointments to the OneStar National Service Commission, first naming a chairman — Ronnie Hagerty of Houston — and vice chairwoman — Lisa Lucero of Austin — for the board. For terms expiring March 15, 2018, he appointed Sonal Bhuchar of Sugar Land, Laura Dixon of San Antonio, Roger O’Dell of El Paso, and reappointed Hagerty and Kirk Beckert of Richardson. For terms expiring March 16, 2016, he appointed Annette Juba of Austin and Kate Williamson of Midland. And for a term expiring March 15, 2017, he appointed James Senegal of Conroe.

Abbott named Loretta Bradley of Lubbock, Brenda Compagnone of San Antonio and Christopher Taylor of Dallas to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors for terms to expire Feb. 1, 2021.

Longtime state Rep. Elliott Naishtat announced Thursday that would not seek re-election to the House seat he has held since 1991. The Austin Democrat had said earlier in the week that he would run for another term but he said he changed his mind because of "the caliber, quality and commitment" of potential candidates who would seek the office if he opted not to run.

Former Plainview state Rep. Jim Landtroop ended speculation about his political future on Monday, announcing that he will run for the HD-84 seat, based in Lubbock County. In opting to run in HD-84, he sets up a contested primary race with the incumbent, John Frullo of Lubbock.

Longtime Perry loyalist, Rob Johnson, has signed on with the Carly Fiorina presidential campaign as a senior adviser.

Austin-based Democratic consultant James Aldrete has signed on with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Aldrete, a veteran of Barack Obama's presidential bids, will lead Clinton's Spanish-language paid-media efforts. Aldrete will join a group of Latino staffers that includes another Texan: Xochitl Hinojosa, the daughter of Texas Democratic Party chief Gilberto Hinojosa.

Michelle Mitchell, who served as city finance director under past Mayor Bill White, announced support for Bill King ahead of Saturday's Houston mayoral runoff election.

U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio, last week endorsed state Rep. Sylvester Turner ahead of Saturday's mayoral runoff election. On Wednesday, Turner won an endorsement from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

The Republican field for the SD-1 open seat thinned some on Monday. Carthage optometrist Dennis Golden dropped out of the race and endorsed state Rep. Bryan Hughes for the spot. The Texas State Association of Fire Fighters later in the week endorsed Hughes.

The Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC announced Monday that they are endorsing Justice Paul Green for re-election to the Supreme Court of Texas, Place 5. Said PAC Chairman Richard J. Trabulsi, Jr. on the contest, “His challenger is a person who has never been a judge and whose judicial philosophy and temperament cannot be known.” Former state Rep. Rick Green announced on Thursday that he's filed his paperwork to run for the seat.

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey has endorsed Lynn Stucky in the GOP race to succeed HD-64 state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton.

Kevin Roberts’ HD-126 campaign has a new supporter: Alan Robertson, the oldest member of the group who together are the Duck Commanders on the A&E Network reality TV show, Duck Dynasty.

The Houston Police Retired Officer Association last week announced its endorsement of GOP HD-130 candidate Tom Oliverson, praising his commitment to public safety. On Tuesday, Oliverson received an endorsement on Tuesday from Texas Right to Life. He received further help on Thursday when Mike Wolfe announced that he was halting plans to run for the House seat and instead support Oliverson.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has named state Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, "Legislator of the Year," for his work on legislation requiring ignition interlocks in the cars of those who drive after being convicted of drunk driving.

Missouri Republican Congressman Sam Graves endorsed Ted Cruz for president on Monday, praising Cruz’s efforts to “to make this nation secure, while protecting our constitutional rights.” Cruz now has 12 congressional endorsements.

Deaths: Betty Horton, 64, who worked 19 legislative sessions at the Texas House from 1975 through 2013, passed away Nov. 29. She served on the staffs of Garland representatives Kenneth Vaughan (1975-77), Anita Hill (1977-93) and Joe Driver (1993-2009). In 2011 and 2013, she worked in the office of Round Rock state Rep. Larry Gonzales.

Disclosure: The Lower Colorado River Authority is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. Judy Trabulsi is a major donor to the Tribune. Elliott Naishtat is a donor to the Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.