Austin, Texas – While the race for the White House is certainly a big political topic right now, there were other hot topics in Texas politics this week.
FOX 7 Austin’s Chief Political Correspondent Rudy Koski and a panel of experts discuss what happened in Texas politics this week.
Rudy Koski: Let’s hear the headlines from the panel. Let’s start with Philip Jankowski of the Dallas Morning News. Philip, what’s the headline?
Philip Jankowski: Four weeks. Just over 4 weeks left.
Rudy Koski: Brian Smith of St. Edward’s University. What are the headlines this week?
BRIAN SMITH: It feels like summer, but Election Day is less than a month away.
Rudy Koski: Annie Spielman and Main Street Relations? What are the headlines this week?
Annie Spielman: Texas adds business court as caseload increases across the state.
Rudy Kosky: And Brad Johnson from Texas News. What are the headlines this week?
Brad Johnson: Campaign settles on last-minute wedge issues.
Rudy Koski: State lawmakers did damage control during this week’s hearings on the Texas Energy Fund. This involved something like a team of two energy companies that shortlisted a special financing program to build the power plant. The problem, however, is that the application was not properly reviewed by a contractor hired by the state, Deloitte. After some tongue-lashing during the hearing, the contractor agreed to pay a $7 million penalty. So, Philip, this undermines confidence in the fund. And will there be ripple effects downstream?
Philip Jankowski: If the vetting process is easily revealed to be inadequate by a Google search, it could have a ripple effect on choosing Deloitte as an accounting firm again.
Rudy Koski: We’ve seen a strange development of yet another infighting within the Texas Republican Party. Audio has been released in which a member of the Dallas Republican Committee allegedly says he doesn’t care if Democrats beat local Republicans. If that local Republican refuses to sign a loyalty oath saying they will not support the appointment of a Democrat to a leadership position in the state legislature. Brad, what’s going on here?
BRAD JOHNSON: But this is a talking point for activists, and if they think that these two, especially the embattled Republicans in Dallas County who are the only two remaining in Dallas County in the Texas House of Representatives, That could be the case if you’re advising voters not to support . Please be aware, it may influence the votes of these members.
Annie Spielman: To me, this is the epitome of hypocrisy. This is a real-life example of cutting off a nose even though it has a face.
Philip Jankowski: It could have a real impact on major policy issues. I’m considering a school voucher plan.
Rudy Koski: Top Republicans like Chip Roy and Ken Paxton continue to push for an overhaul of the voter rolls this week. Because there are concerns that illegal immigrants are putting their names on voting lists, Brian, the review is already underway. Is this a last minute emergency button?
Brian Smith: At this point we’re still trying to maximize your votes. New voters cannot be registered. So you’re trying to get rid of old voters. One could add that the Biden-Harris administration will tolerate voter fraud in order to galvanize its base. The downside, of course, is that it calls into question the legitimacy of the election.
Philip Jankowski: As Bill Shakespeare wrote, “The Sound and the Fury.” Yadda, yada, yada. They can ask for it all.
Rudy Koski: I don’t remember reading that with sound and anger, yada, yada.
Philip Jankowski: Yeah, I think it’s somewhere in Macbeth. But as you know, it is too late to remove them from the voter rolls at this point.
Brad Johnson: You know, I think it’s important to note that there are ineligible voters who are registered. As you know, Governor Abbott announced earlier this year, at the beginning of the summer, that he would remove 6,500 people from the rolls who were suspected of being non-citizens.
Rudy Kosky: So in terms of getting people to the polls, the North Texas Democratic Party convened the DNC chairman for a large rally in the Metroplex on Wednesday. As you know, Republicans are making a big push focused on South Texas, which is the opposite of Texas. However, some seats can be flipped like a pancake. So my question is, Annie, which pancake are you looking at?
Annie Spielman: I’m getting hungry. I’m really focused on the fact that there’s a seat south of Corpus that has been a Democratic seat for a while. It’s Flippable for sure. This is the woman who is in conflict with Sergio Muñoz, who is well known there thanks to his father. And he has served before. As you know, the Uvalde seat is here in the suburbs of San Antonio and has been held by Democrats since the ’90s. But Mr Abbott took over the seat in 2022 by a six-point margin. So it is certainly reversible.
Brad Johnson: Another thing I was looking at that caught my eye that I wasn’t expecting was HD 74. It is one of the largest districts in the state, along the state line. Eddie Morales is the current incumbent.
Philip Jankowski: I also want to mention the Collin County area. Michael Presa, that’s a Democratic seat. I believe she is the only Democrat representing Collin County.
Rudy Koski: You can watch our full discussion on the FOX 7 YouTube page, but let’s hear the final words of this discussion. Let’s start with Philip. What is your one word?
Rudy Koski: I vote.
Rudy Koski: What would you say this week?
Annie Spielman: To commemorate a big game? Hook em.
Rudy Koski: Brian, this week’s quote.
Brian Smith: Game over.
Rudy Koski: Brad, your words.
Brad Johnson: We’ll move forward with the discussion next week.
Rudy Koski: So, it’s another week in Texas politics.