Texas has gained more than 2.5 million new residents since 2020, reshaping the electorate and injecting new uncertainty into this year's marquee Senate race.

Why it matters: Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is favored to defeat Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in November, but the influx of new arrivals — along with fading Latino support for President Trump — has scrambled the political math in typically red Texas.

By the numbers: Texas added nearly 400,000 residents in 2025, the most of any state, bringing its population to 31.7 million, per an Axios review of U.S. Census data analyzed by Mendoza Law Firm.

Zoom in: The big unknown is which party the new arrivals favor. Signals are mixed.

• Newcomers tend to be less tied to Texas' long-standing political patterns, Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, tells Axios. That gives Democrats more persuadable voters.
• New residents often fall into two broad camps: "economic migrants" and "political refugees," Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, tells Axios.
• The first group moved for jobs, lower living costs or family and are more politically mixed. The political types often fled liberal states for lower taxes and more conservative politics.

State of play: The migration churn matters even more because Latino voters — another key piece of Texas' changing electorate — are showing signs of moving away from Trump.

• President Trump's disapproval has climbed to 67% among Latino voters in Texas, per a recent poll.

Reality check: No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994, and Paxton has already won three statewide general elections.

• Democrats have repeatedly underperformed in the urban areas they need, Rottinghaus says.

The bottom line: Texas isn't suddenly blue. But it is bigger, newer and less predictable — and that's enough to make Paxton's Senate race uncomfortable for Republicans.

A new exhibition showcasing portraits of late Tejano star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez is now open at the Briscoe Western Art Museum downtown.

Why it matters: The images show Selena between 1992 and 1994 during her rise to the international stage, in central moments of her short-lived career.

• Briscoe officials say it's the most complete and comprehensive exhibition of large-scale Selena portraits to ever be displayed.

Zoom in: "Selena Forever/Siempre Selena" features images by San Antonio photographer John Dyer alongside never-before-seen boutique photographs, magazine covers and ephemera.

• It aims to offer an extensive, up-close view of Selena's life and effect on Tejano music and representation for Mexican American women in popular culture.

What they're saying: Selena "embodied the independence, determination and entrepreneurial spirit that have long defined the American West, while proudly carrying her culture and community with her every step of the way," Liz Jackson, museum president, said in a statement.

State of play: The exhibition will be accompanied by three screenings as part of the Briscoe's summer film series. The movies, included with general admission, are:

• "Selena y Los Dinos," a 2025 Netflix documentary: June 21 at 2pm.
• "Selena," the 1997 movie starring Jennifer Lopez: July 19 at 2pm.
• "Take It Away: The Rise and Fall of Tejano Hollywood," a 2025 documentary that covers late television host Johnny Canales: Aug. 16 at 2pm.

If you go: General admission costs $16 for adults. The first Sunday of each month is free for Bexar County residents.

What's next: The exhibition will run through Jan. 4.

💵 The city collected 72% more tax revenue from the owners of short-term rentals like Airbnbs last year after cracking down on tax collections. (Express-News 🔑)

🏗️ The Barn Door Restaurant and Meat Market will be demolished next month as the owners of Soluna plan a new restaurant in time for Fiesta 2028. (SA Report)

✈️ Several Knicks fans say it is cheaper to fly to San Antonio to attend NBA Finals games than to purchase tickets at Madison Square Garden. (KSAT)

🇫🇷 A new French restaurant, Voila! Cafe, opens Saturday inside the Oxbow Building near Pearl. (CultureMap SA)

The pickleball craze — so hot in the pandemic and immediately afterward — may be cooling off.

The big picture: The number of outdoor, government-funded pickleball courts across the 100 most populous U.S. cities increased just 4% from 2025 to 2026. That's compared to 13% growth in 2025, and 14% in 2024, per the Trust for Public Land (TPL).

Yes, but: Parks in the country's biggest cities now have 3,765 pickleball courts, TPL says — up nearly 900% from 2017.

• That includes those striped for both tennis and pickleball.

Zoom in: San Antonio was slow to pick up on the pickleball craze. We have 68 public pickleball courts — or just 0.5 per 10,000 residents, per TPL.

• That's still up from 54 courts two years ago.

What they're saying: "Local leaders are balancing tighter budgets, aging infrastructure and growing demand for many different kinds of recreational amenities," Will Klein, TPL's director of parks research, tells Axios.

Local journalism plays a vital role in a strong, informed community. Your newsletter is built to help you understand what's happening around you.

By becoming a member, you help support reporting that keeps local news focused on what matters most.

👉 Join today.

Thank you for supporting local journalism.

After we shared new data showing Americans are talking with their neighbors far less than they used to, we asked how you've bucked that trend and built community here in San Antonio.

Why it matters: Casual neighborhood ties are quietly disappearing, and the health consequences run deeper than most people realize.

Here's what you had to say about expanding your social circle.

🐶 On pets: "My neighbor told me, walking her dogs on weekends and after 5:30 is how she's met several families on every block in less than a year," reader Karen V. says.

👀 On observation: "You have to recognize them in their yards, in the street when they walk or walk their dogs, and then in nearby stores, etc," reader Court T. says.

• "A good way to start this strategy is to recognize and say hello to your postman/woman."

What's next: Say hello to a neighbor this week.