The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 21, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Well, howdy, folks. Today is Friday, August 21st, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan senior editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the Cook political report moved its ratings for Texas gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races toward the Democrats on Thursday, a shift that comes as Republicans face down a challenging political environment in the 26 midterm elections. Cook now believes the U.S. Senate race between Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his Democratic opponent, State Representative James Talarico, is a toss-up, meaning either candidate has a good chance to win and there is no clear favorite. It previously rated that contest as Leans Republican, indicating a competitive race that still clearly favored one party. The change comes amid tight polling between Paxton and Talarico. For example, a recent Texas Southern University,

Starting point is 00:01:02 poll found Talleyico narrowly leading Paxton 47% to 45%. The only statewide Republican in the survey found trailing his Democratic opponent. Another poll by Emerson College gave Paxton a narrow edge, showing him leading Tala Rico 47% to 46%. Both results were within the survey's margins of error. Next, this week, State Representative Vicki Goodwin, the Democratic candidate for Texas Lieutenant governor announced her plans for a statewide health care program. Goodwin referred to her proposal in a press release as a, quote, self-sustaining state-administered health insurance program that covers vision, dental, emergency, preventative, maternity, and mental health care, available to all Texans regardless of pre-existing conditions. The Texas CARES plan has three tiers, Medicaid expansion for

Starting point is 00:01:55 low-income Texans who qualify, Lone Star Basic, and Lone Star Prefer. According to Goodwin, the federal government would fund 90% of the Medicaid expansion, with Texas covering the remaining 10% plus administrative costs. In fiscal year 2024, the administrative costs for Medicaid and Texas totaled $2.24 billion, with $814 million as the state's share of administrative expenses, according to the Medicaid and CHIP payment and access commission. Goodwin's Medicaid expansion would require the Texas legislature to vote for it, an effort that failed. failed in 2021 despite bipartisan support. In other news, unlikely alliances have emerged in the debate raging through the Texas political world around the Permian Basin Reliability Plan. The Texas House State Affairs Committee met on Wednesday to hear testimony on data centers and the state's plan to build 765 kilovolt transmission lines to bring power from east and central Texas

Starting point is 00:02:54 to west Texas, allotting six hours apiece to each topic. A coalition of energy industry group, including the Texas Oil and Gas Association, supports the 765-kilovolt plan. Opponents include conservative organizations such as the Texas Public Policy Foundation and advocates for greater local authority, two camps that often disagree. Democratic local officials tend to oppose legislation by the Republican-led state government officials, and conservative organizations such as TPPF argue that local governments should be restricted in their activity. In 2023, the Texas legislature passed House Bill 5066, directing the Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to develop regional reliability plans starting with the Permian Basin. The PUC announced last

Starting point is 00:03:45 April that it had approved the state's first ever extra-high voltage transmission lines to serve the Permian Basin, where heightened industrial development is increasing the demand for power. Last but not least, a Texas appeals court has declined to block implementation of a Galveston County redistricting plan adopted after the March 26 primary elections, prompting an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas earlier this month. In June, Galveston County Commissioner's Court redrew the boundaries for the commissioners, constables, and justices of the peace. The new maps largely aligned the Constable and JP precincts with those of the commissioners and expand the boundaries of Commissioner Precinct 3 northward toward League City and Friendswood, but critics accused the

Starting point is 00:04:31 county of diluting the voting strength of Black and Hispanic residents. Constable Derek Rose and two other Galveston County residents filed a petition for a writ of Mandamus directly with Skodix, but the state's highest civil court denied the petition on August 14th without prejudice and directed plaintiffs to file with a lower court. The plaintiffs, who are represented by the Campaign Legal Center and the University of California Los Angeles Voting Rights Project, then filed with the state's 14th Court of Appeals, but a three-judge panel of that court denied the petition on Thursday. 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 - August 21, 2026

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