The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 27, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy folks, today is Monday, April 27th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Managing Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Texas' primary runoff is now less than one month away, marking the last chance for candidates in several heated races who failed to clear more than 50% of their party's support in March to now win those nominations for the November general election. Early voting for the runoff kicks off on May 18th and concludes on May 22nd, while Election Day is May 26th. Visit the Texan.News for a look at all of Texas' biggest primary runoff races. Next, various Texas officials are responding to the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and most members of his cabinet at the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday night. During the annual dinner hosted by the association, a nonprofit organization, a nonprofit organization,

Starting point is 00:01:03 comprising media members who cover the presidential administration, several shots were heard outside the main ballroom, prompting U.S. Secret Service to promptly evacuate Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and several other cabinet members. No one was injured as a result of the gunshots, although a secret service member was struck by a round in the chest, which was deflected due to his bulletproof vest. The shooter was stopped by security as he charged one of their checkpoints in an attempt to enter the main ballroom and was arrested. In other news, state representative Briscoe Cain is calling on Deer Park Independent School District to remove, quote, obscene library books that he says violate Senate Bill 13. SB 13 was passed during the 89th legislative session and signed by Governor Greg Abbott

Starting point is 00:01:51 on June 20th of last year. Under the law, schools must provide a public catalog of their materials, give parents access to their children's checkout records, and allow parents to submit book lists restricting their child's access. School District boards of trustees must establish local library advisory councils to, quote, ensure that local community values are reflected in libraries. Kane invited parents and community members to join him for tonight's Deer Park ISD Board of Trustees meeting at 6.30 p.m. at the Deer Park Educational Support Center. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a November 2025 ruling by an El Paso-based federal judicial panel that claimed Texas lawmakers illegally considered racial factors when redrawing the congressional map last year,

Starting point is 00:02:39 with the intent for Republicans to pick up five new seats in the 26 election. Initially, Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay of the ruling in November, pending further consideration by the full court. The temporary stay was later made permanent in December, for which Justice, Justices Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Katanji Brown Jackson dissented. In addition, the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas rejected a petition by a Dallas County Republican Party precinct chair to enforce precinct-specific voting on primary runoff election day, May 26. Barry Wernick, a local Republican precinct chair and candidate for the Dallas County Commissioner's Court,

Starting point is 00:03:25 filed a petition seeking enforcement of a December agreement between then-Dalice County Republican Party Chair Lieutenant Colonel Alan West and Dallas County Election Administrator Paul Adams for precinct-specific voting on election day. Precinct-level voting was conducted for the March 3rd primary and resulted in confusion for a reported 13,000 voters who went to the wrong voting locations. Dallas Republicans announced on March 17th that they would return to county-wide voting for the runoff on May 20th. Last but not least, after several years of legal wrangling over a 2023 Texas law making illegal immigration a state crime, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed depending lawsuit against the measure and lifted an injunction that had prevented the law from taking effect. Senate Bill 4, authored by Texas Senator Charles Perry during the fourth special session of the 88th Texas legislature, established a criminal offense for illegal entry into the state from a foreign nation, and also provided,

Starting point is 00:04:25 a mechanism for judges to order offenders to return to their nation of origin. Before SB4 could take effect, however, it was met with a slew of legal challenges. U.S. District Court Judge David Allen Ezra issued an injunction blocking implementation of SB4 in February 2024. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan.news to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 27, 2026

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.