The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 25, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Monday, August 25th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans assistant editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, one hurdle remains before the new Texas congressional map can become law, after the Senate gave it final passage early Saturday morning, voting along party lines to send the plan to the governor. Senator Carol Alvarado had announced on Friday that she would filibuster the bill, receiving a statement of support from the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus. The Senate adjourned around 8.30 p.m. Friday after a long day of debate and passing the bill on second reading and did not reconvene until around 1230 a.m. When it did, Senator Charles Perry moved the previous

Starting point is 00:00:54 question on final passage, a parliamentary maneuver to bypass speeches and take an immediate vote. Perry said on the floor, quote, after recessing, it was discovered Senator Carol Alvarado had issued a campaign email approximately three o'clock this afternoon to promote her filibuster as a campaign fundraising event. He added it was unprecedented and, quote, highly offensive to the body. Next, the early favorite for the most interesting 2026 race in Texas is the campaign for the state's attorney general and two new endorsements have ramped the intrigue up to 11. Four candidates are vying for the spot, state senators Joan Huffman and Mays Middleton, former Department of Justice appointee Aaron Wright, and Congressman Chip Roy. Last week, Roy jumped into the race after a couple months of

Starting point is 00:01:46 speculation, the same day that polling showed 73% undecided in the then three-person field. Over the weekend, two established GOP figures broke their impartiality in the race and endorsed competing candidates. First, Senator Ted Cruz backed Roy, his former chief of staff, then Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was endorsing rights. Two weeks before Roy's entry, Paxton stated that he wouldn't endorse in the race, though he did say he had his preferences. In other news, Congressman Greg Kassar has launched a bid for the newly redrawn 37th congressional district under the Texas legislature's redistricted map. Kassar made the announcement via a social media post Monday morning. He then held a campaign event later in the day flanked by a number of local, state, and federal

Starting point is 00:02:37 officials, including Congressman Joaquin Castro, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, and Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, among many others. When the new map is implemented, it will move Kasar's current 35th congressional district to a solidly Republican area near San Antonio and force him to potentially face off against fellow Austenite, Representative Lloyd Doggett. Doggett has stipulated that he will continue to campaign for his current district, but will step out of the race if the newly drawn congressional map is upheld in court. Also, a Texas House committee gave approval to a bill authored by State Representative Tom Oliverson Friday that would shift control of a contract policing program from the Harris County

Starting point is 00:03:21 Commissioner's Court to the elected sheriff and county constables. Under the county's unique deputy contract program, the sheriff and eight elected county constables contract with homeowners associations, neighborhood associations, and public school districts for extra police patrols. But the commissioner's court has in recent years sought to restrict or eliminate the program altogether. Both Oliverson and state representative Mike Schofield filed bills on the matter, but last week, Oliverson refiled his version as House Bill 26. Harris County Constables Alan Rosen and Mark Herman testified in favor of HB26 and all eight county constables submitted letters in support. In addition, Acting Texas comptroller Kelly Hancock released proposed rules for implementing the newly passed Education

Starting point is 00:04:11 Savings Account program on Friday, August 22nd. During the 89th legislative session, Senate Bill 2 created the contentious ESA program that was opposed by every House Democrat and two Republicans. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law on May 3rd. In an August 22nd press release, Hancock stated, quote, It's important that the rules for our first school choice program adhere strictly to the enacting legislation and keep us on track to have the program ready for families by the 2026-27 school year. but not least, the Texan sat down for a conversation with Senator John Cornyn last week to discuss Congress, his race for reelection against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and the state of his

Starting point is 00:04:58 party. Visit the texan.News to read that conversation. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan. News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts. Thank you. Thank you.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 25, 2025

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