The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 23, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks. Today is Thursday, May 23rd, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown, coming at you from our booth at the Republican Party of Texas Convention in San Antonio. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, a flaw in the state's election system has allegedly exposed voters' ballots due to publicly accessible data that can be decoded, and the news has sent the Texas political landscape into a tailspin. First reported by Current Revolt, a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson was filed in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas that

Starting point is 00:00:45 explains the nature of the data flaw exhibited in certain voting machines. The complaint states that Texas law requires ballots only be marked with consecutive numbers beginning with one. Instead, the SOS is allowing local jurisdictions to use machines that are marking ballots with unique data codes that contain information identifying who the voter is and how they voted. It goes on to say that these ballot codes, along with an encryption key, can be obtained by a public records request under the Texas Public Information Act, and the two can be used to decode a voter's ballot on the relevant machines. Next, the battle for Senate District 30 has only continued

Starting point is 00:01:26 to heat up since the May 28 Republican primary runoff election between Brent Hagenbue and Jace Yarbrough was set back in March. In a race that featured four candidates, two were left at the end of the night on March 5. After all the votes were counted, Brent Hagenbue garnered 36% and Jace Yarbrough took 34%. Hagenbue has been both challenged in court and denounced by local Republican parties over issues surrounding his residency or alleged lack thereof in the district. The Texans' Texas Partisan Index rates SD30 as R65%, meaning whoever wins this Republican primary will almost certainly represent the Senate district. In other news, while Texas Republicans are waging an electoral civil war largely over last year's impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and the leadership of House Speaker Dade Phelan, state Democrats are embroiled in a divisive battle

Starting point is 00:02:26 over a Houston-area primary runoff election. Incumbent state representative Sean Thierry made national news last year after an impassioned House floor speech explaining her vote to ban medical gender transition procedures for minors. Activists decried Theory's vote on SB14 as anti-LGBT and were further outraged by her votes for other GOP bills, including the Reader Act to remove explicit library material from public school libraries and for the Save Women's Sports Act prohibiting biological males from competing in collegiate women's sports. Theory's votes drew a censure resolution from Meyerland-area Democrats, and earlier this year she faced primary challenges from Lauren Ashley Simmons and Ashton P. Woods. In the March 2024 Democratic primary election, Simmons nearly won outright, claiming 49.39%

Starting point is 00:03:23 to Theory's 44%. On top of that, the Republican runoff between Cheryl Bean and John McQueenie to fill the seat for House District 97 being vacated by Representative Craig Goldman will be decided on May 28th. House District 97 takes in part of Fort Worth and White Settlement and runs south to encompass Benbrook and Crowley. It leans Republican by a margin of 16 points, rated R-58%, according to the Texans' Texas Partisan Index. Bean came close to winning the primary election, but was just shy of the 50% necessary threshold. Like other races around the state, well-known Texas Republican officeholders are dividing their endorsements between Bean and McQueen. Also, on May 28th, the voters of House

Starting point is 00:04:12 District 76 will choose between Republicans Sumara Kanwal and Leah Simmons in the primary runoff. The victor will face off against incumbent Democratic Representative Suleiman Lulani. The district encompasses a portion of Fort Bend County, including the major cities of Sugar Land, Houston, Missouri City, and smaller municipalities such as Richmond and Rosenberg. While Kenwall is joining the race for HD76 without prior experience in politics, Simmons is entering after serving as the Fort Bend County Republican Precinct 3 chair. According to the Texans Texas Partisan Index, House District 76 is rated D59%, making the district still more favorable for Democratic candidates. However, it has decreased from its prior D61% rating in 2022.

Starting point is 00:05:10 Last but not least, on the morning of May 23, 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed after law enforcement officers from Texas and Louisiana ambushed them, riddling their stolen car with bullets. Check out thetexan.news to learn more about the grisly deaths of Bonnie and Clyde today in Texas history. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 23, 2024

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