The longtime editor of Texas Monthly magazine will team with an Austin venture capitalist to form a nonprofit news Web site devoted to government and politics in the Lone Star state.

With a large bankroll, a staff at the outset of about eight journalists, and the cachet of Evan Smith, the Texas Monthly editor, the new venture, called the Texas Tribune, hopes to be an immediate force on the state’s political landscape, much as Politico became two years ago in national politics. Many local news organizations have cut back on statehouse coverage, and the creators of the Texas Tribune plan not only to post news on their own site, but also to supply it to newspapers around the state.

“This is not about horse race politics, primarily,” Mr. Smith, who will have the title of chief executive, said in an interview. “It’s going to be a lot of deep-dive policy stuff. We have the lowest voting turnout in the country. We have a number of major issues that get no attention or insufficient attention by the people we elect.”

The chairman of Texas Tribune is John Thornton, general partner of Austin Ventures, a venture capital firm, who said he has given $1 million to the project and has raised $2.2 million, and plans to raise $4 million from individuals and foundations by the time it begins, possibly in November. Other nonprofit local news sites in places like the Twin Cities, San Diego, St. Louis and Chicago started with significantly less money behind them.

“We want to have at least two years’ runway, even if there’s no additional revenue, and preferably three,” he said.

An active supporter of Texas Democrats, Mr. Thornton, 44, who is based in Austin, said he is giving up partisan politics for the sake of the Texas Tribune. He said the new venture has quietly approached reporters and editors about joining, and that with many journalists unemployed, and others worried that their employers will keep shrinking, “talent ain’t the issue.”

In the last two years, news organizations that publish solely or primarily online, most of them nonprofits, have become an important force in American journalism, growing fast while the traditional news media shrink. In addition to the local sites, there are bigger operations with a broader scope, like Politico, which is for-profit, and ProPublica, which does only investigative work.

Texas newspapers and people who follow the state’s politics will have to take Texas Tribune seriously, said Rich Oppel, who retired last year as the top editor of the Austin American-Statesman. “I think this is significant,” he said. “Evan Smith has been an excellent editor of Texas Monthly, which may be the best regional magazine in the country. He’s drawn talent.”

The timing plays into what promises to be a fertile period in the state’s politics. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison may challenge Governor Rick Perry in the Republican primary next year, in what political analysts predict would be the hottest race the state has seen in years.

When he makes the transition in mid-August, Mr. Smith, 43, will leave behind a magazine with a much heftier reputation than its regional focus and 300,000 circulation would suggest.

In 20 of the last 29 years, Texas Monthly has been a finalist for the prestigious National Magazine Award for general excellence in its circulation class, competing against nationally known publications like The Atlantic, New York, W and Harper’s. It won that award in 1990, 1992, 2003 and again this year.

Texas Monthly combines in-depth articles on serious topics, lifestyle reporting and a strong sense of its place; this is a magazine that can treat barbecue and football as seriously as tort reform and capital punishment. Its owner, Emmis Communications of Indianapolis, does not report results for individual publications. Executives say Texas Monthly remains profitable, but in the first half of this year, it had 27 percent fewer pages of advertising than in the same period last year.

Mr. Smith has worked for the magazine for 17 years, serving as editor for eight years. Last year, he became president and took the new title of editor in chief.

“I’ve been here a very long time,” Mr. Smith said. “I told the staff two and a half years ago that I was beginning to think about what comes next. I love these guys, I love this magazine, but I’m ready to do something else.”