Texas Take

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace examines the desperation gripping Texas Republicans as Election Day approaches. Houston Chronicle opinion editor Evan Mintz joins the show to discuss the bizarre conspiracy theory targeting James Talarico, while Jeremy breaks down the one county in South Texas that could still save Ken Paxton’s political career. Plus, Jeremy catches up with House Speaker Mike Johnson who made a mad dash into the Rio Grande Valley where he says his job - and Donald Trump’s final two years in office - hinges on protecting the most endangered Republican member of Congress in the Lone Star State. Finally, they’ll get into why Vice President JD Vance’s stop in Tyler is a giant flashing red warning sign for the GOP faithful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace examines a major voter registration backlog with Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt and what it could mean with Election Day approaching. The glitch has affected at least tens of thousands of voters in an election cycle that could be one of the closest in Texas history. Later, Austin American-Statesman reporter John Moritz joins Jeremy to break down the flood of money pouring into the U.S. Senate race, while Houston Chronicle reporter Ben Wermund explains Gov. Greg Abbott’s rapidly changing stance on data centers. Plus, Jeremy looks across the border in Texarkana at the backlash surrounding Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ controversial welfare ad and how it ties into the backlash against Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French and his criticism that the University of Texas has too many non-white students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As if the GOP needed another hurdle to overcome this cycle, a statewide GOP candidate turned the Longhorns magical comeback into a litmus test for every party candidate by saying non-white University of Texas students are “the problem.” Host Jeremy Wallace and Austin American-Statesman political reporter John Moritz dig into the backlash against Railroad Commission candidate Bo French and how he’s hijacked Republican messaging at a critical juncture when they need to focus on saving Ken Paxton. Plus, they catch up with Democrat James Talarico in Houston to show how he’s still working on winning over Black Texans. And are national Democrats going to help him now that over $80 million in attack ads are being dropped in Texas by super PACs tied to Donald Trump, Elon Musk and others? Finally, Harris County Judge candidate Orlando Sanchez sits down for an exclusive interview with Jeremy to explain why he thinks he can flip Texas's largest blue county back to Republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices