The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 22, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Well, howdy folks, today is Friday, May 22nd, 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, two Democrats and two Republicans are vying in runoff elections to replace Harris County Judge Lena Hidalgo as the chief executive of Texas' most populous county. In the March 3rd Democratic primary, former Houston mayor, Anise Parker, emerged with 47% of the vote, just three points shy of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Parker faces former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer, who came in second place with 37%. On the Republican side, former Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez won 26% and businessman Warren Howell took second

Starting point is 00:00:54 place with 21%. Narrowly edging out third place candidate, Houston Professional Firefighters Association President Marty Lankton, by 0.23%. Parker, who also previously served as the Houston controller and a city council member, announced her candidacy in June 2025, months before Hidalgo announced she would not be running for re-election. Next, the decision by two prosecutors in the Texas office of the Attorney General to offer a Waco man a plea deal that will see him serve a light jail sentence, after being charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, has become a major issue heading into the U.S. Senate-GOP primary runoff, as Attorney General Ken Paxton seeks to unseat U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Cornon, state lawmakers, and the victim's family have all heavily criticized the deal, arguing the

Starting point is 00:01:47 punishment was far too lenient. Waco attorney Adam Hoffman was indicted in 2024 on a first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child, an offense punishable by 25 years to life in prison. The McLennan County District Attorney's Office later recused itself from prosecuting the case because Hoffman had previously sought legal advice from then defense attorney Josh Tetons, who was later elected District Attorney of the county. Two prosecutors from the OAG, Brenda Cantu, and Dorian Kotlar, were instead appointed to handle the case. In other news, Stacey Chops. Childs and Lawrence Allen will face off for the Democratic nomination for Texas House District 131 on May 26th, after current state representative Alma Allen announced her retirement at the end of her term.

Starting point is 00:02:36 The winner of the runoff election will face Republican candidate Scott Whitmarsh during the general election in November. During the March primary election, Childs received 45% of the vote, while Lawrence Allen received 28%. According to the Texans Texas Partisan Index, H.D. 131 has a partisan rating of D-77%. Representative Allen has endorsed Lawrence Allen, her son, for the seat, stating that, quote, Because I'm retiring, it's important who takes my seat. So I am endorsing my son, Lawrence Allen, to sit in my seat when I go out to retire. Last but not least, runoff elections are underway in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the Open Texas House seat. that is being vacated by Democratic State Representative Bobby Guerra, who announced his retirement in October. Guara was first elected in 2012 and sworn into office in 2013, after serving two terms

Starting point is 00:03:32 as chairman of the Hidalgo County Democratic Party in the early 2000s. He has served on multiple committees, including as the vice chair of the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee during the 89th legislative session, as well as on the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting, which progressed the highly contentious GOP-favored congressional redistricting map passed during the second special session of 2025. The district leans slightly Democratic, with a D-53% rating from the Texas Partisan Index, a three-point drop from D-56% since the election cycle of 2020 through 2022. In the Democratic primary, Julio Salinas captured 39% of the vote, while banking executive and former McAllen City Commissioner Victor Haddad received 37%.

Starting point is 00:04:20 In the Republican primary, former prosecutor Sergio Sanchez received 46% while Gary Groves garnered 38% of the vote. 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 - May 22, 2026

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