The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 30, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Thursday, May 30th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the new Republican Party of Texas Chair, Abraham George, said he would not consider the Senate District 30 residency challenge filed by Jace Yarbrough against Brent Hagenbue, who defeated Yarbrough in the May 28th GOP primary runoff for the district. George said that while he supports the party taking residency issues seriously, and that as Collin County GOP chair, he did remove someone from the ballot over residency issues. He is, quote, opposed to retroactively undoing the will of the voters through a primary and runoff election, and that, quote, the Texas GOP just opposed our speaker for attempting to overturn the election of Ken Paxton.

Starting point is 00:01:00 Next, challengers Alan Schoolcraft and Helen Kerwin defeated state representatives John Kempel and Dwayne Burns in two of the four school-choice-themed runoffs on Tuesday's ballot. Schoolcraft defeated Kempel by 11%, and Kerwin defeated Burns by 15%. Both of the incumbents were among the 21 House Republicans who voted to strip education savings accounts from the November omnibus bill last year. That vote triggered unprecedented involvement by Governor Greg Abbott against the incumbent-seeking re-election, along with the various third-party groups bullish on the issue. Among those was the high-spending and punchy Club for Growth, which spent $8.4 million against incumbents in the primary and runoff elections. Both Schoolcraft and Kerwin were endorsed by Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick,

Starting point is 00:01:51 and former President Donald Trump in their races. Both will now enter the Texas House as freshman members who've signed the contract with Texas in what's sure to be a chaotic session for next year. After that, residents in House District 30 now know their likely next state representative after a runoff on Tuesday settled the race of who will succeed retiring Representative Jeannie Morrison. Former Jackson County Sheriff A.J. Lauderback took the nomination with 55.04% of the vote Tuesday, or around 9,000 votes, while opponent Jeff Bownight received 44.96 percent, or around 7,400. The results represent a complete turnaround of the March primary results, where Bownight came in first place. He had been endorsed by both Morrison

Starting point is 00:02:38 and Governor Abbott in the race. Louderback, on the other hand, was endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lieutenant Governor Patrick. One of several, on the other hand, was endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lieutenant Governor Patrick, one of several races where the duo fell on opposite sides of the governor. Also, Jay Furman has defeated Lazaro Garza Jr. in the GOP primary runoff for Texas Congressional District 28. Furman will now face U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, who is currently facing criminal charges from the Department of Justice over alleged bribery and money laundering. Furman picked up 65.3% of the

Starting point is 00:03:11 vote, while Garza received 34.7%. General Michael Flynn, Senator Bob Hall, and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller all endorsed Furman. In other news, Senators Ted Cruz and Katie Britt introduced the IVF Protection Act to legally protect access to in vitro fertilization across the nation. Cruz said in his press release on May 20, quote, IVF has given miraculous hope to millions of Americans, and it has given families across the country the gift of children. The bill, if passed, would amend the Social Security Act to require that states do not prohibit IVF services as a requirement for receiving federal Medicaid funding. Cruz's website states that while the bill wouldn't compel any individuals or organizations to provide IVF services, states would be ineligible for Medicaid funding if found to be banning them.

Starting point is 00:04:05 Last but not least, another $20 million is expected to be allocated in the next 60 days toward more engineering design work for the flood control portion of the Panther Island project in Fort Worth. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in early May that it had submitted its 2024 work plan to Congress. The plan includes an additional $20 million in funding for the modified Central City project, locally encompassed in the moniker of Panther Island. The additional funding brings the total federal funding of the project to $443 million over the last three years, and will allow for the design completion of all major components, the Army Corps of Engineers said in its press release. The overall allow for the design completion of all major components, the Army Corps of

Starting point is 00:04:45 Engineers said in its press release. The overall cost for the project is estimated at nearly $1.2 billion from both federal and local funding sources. 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.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 30, 2024

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