
Pete McRae’s
Rising LoneStars®
Executive Editor: Simon Nichols
Rising LoneStars® is committed to tracking Texas’ rising up-and-coming local government leaders and providing quality information, such as campaign finance documentation, salaries, and more.
About Rising Lonestars®
This site aggregates local city and county officials’ contact and election information in Texas’ major counties for political and policy professionals interested in the impacts of local government. Additionally, we collect news items that allow us to identify a non-partisan list of local government officials who take a consistent leadership role in public policy development. These are the Rising Lonestars®, or the “ones to watch,” from across the diverse state of Texas.
County Officials

Our team compiles data on the county elected officials of the 35 largest counties in Texas.
City Council Members

Access our database to find up-to-date information on city council members for over 200 of Texas’ largest cities.
School Boards

View contact and election information for school board officials from every ISD within Texas’ 34 largest counties.
Local News
Below is a constantly updating feed of local Texas news stories
- Texas, Oklahoma left Big 12 early for SEC. ESPN’s role in realignment – USA Todayon September 22, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark finalized Texas and Oklahoma’s departures from the conference. He replaced. Texas athletics director Chris Del …
- Here’s why Texas school districts are suing the education commissioner – KERA Newson September 22, 2023 at 11:52 am
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath speaks at a Dallas Regional Chamber event on Sept. 19, 2023. He told chamber members Texas students have …
- Florida leads the nation in school book bans. That should terrify us. – Tampa Bay Timeson September 22, 2023 at 11:30 am
Florida surpassed Texas this year — Texas! — by a huge margin. PEN America counted 1,406 cases of book banning in Florida and 625 in Texas. Also …

Get In Touch
E-mail: simonmunroenichols@gmail.com
Suggestions
Rising LoneStars invites suggestions of local elected officials for future Top Ten lists. For all suggestions please fill out the form below.