The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 4, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy folks, today is Monday, May 4th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Senior Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Lygon won Saturday's special election for Texas Senate District 4, which was previously occupied by state senator Brandon Creighton. SD4 was vacated by Creighton when he became Texas Tech University. system chancellor in September. The election results showed Ligon with 75% of the vote to Democrat Ron Angeletti's 25%. SD4 is rated R-70% by the Texans' Texas Partisan Index. Ligon is endorsed by Creighton, Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Texas Land Commissioner Don Buckingham. He and Angeletti will face off again in the general election in November,

Starting point is 00:01:00 the winner of which will occupy the Senate seat for the next legislative session starting in January. Next, with South Texas being home to several congressional districts coveted by both parties, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCC, announced the addition of Congressional District 15 candidate Bobby Polito to their Red to Blue program, among others. Polito, a Latin singer and Latin Grammy winner, is preparing to face off against incumbent Congresswoman Monica de la Cruz, who has held the seat since 2023 after flipping the district from blue to red. With CD-15 highlighted by the DCCC on their 26 districts in play webpage, under the defeat category,

Starting point is 00:01:45 CD-35 is noted as the Texas district they're vying to keep blue. This is where the brother of Congresswoman de la Cruz, Carlos de la Cruz, is running against state representative John Lujan in the Republican primary runoff on May 20th. CD-35 also has a democratic primary runoff between Maureen Galindo and Johnny Garcia. Garcia has also been added to the red-to-blue program. In other news, the Texas Supreme Court reversed a lower court's injunction regarding the legality of hemp-derived Delta 8 THC, stating that the order, quote, transgresses the separation of powers. The Supreme Court ruled that the state is permitted to treat manufactured Delta-8 hemp products as Schedule 1 controlled substances, which overturned an injunction previously secured by the hemp company

Starting point is 00:02:35 Hometown Hero, along with other hemp industry leaders, in Travis County District Court. The previous injunction allowed for the continued sale and distribution of products containing hemp-derived Delta 8 THC, despite opposition from the Department of State Health Services. Hometown Hero responded to the court's decision on X, adding that their legal team was examining next steps, looking to make an appeal. Also, Fort Worth residents voted on May 2nd to approve a $645 million bond package, over half of which will go to streets and mobility infrastructure. They also approved increases that double the salaries for the Fort Worth mayor and city council. The mayor will now receive a salary of $60,000, up from $29,000, while council members' salaries will increase from $25,000 to $50,000.

Starting point is 00:03:27 The election included nine amendments to the Fort Worth City Charter. Voters were also asked to choose who will fill the Fort Worth City Council District 10 seat being vacated by Alan Blaylock, who is running this year as the Republican candidate for Texas House District 93, currently held by outgoing state representative Nate Shatsline. Chris Jamison, who was endorsed by Mayor Maddie Parker, appears to have won the race by a narrow 75 vote margin in Denton County. Last but not least, voters approved the Dallas Independent School District's $6.2 billion proposal, the largest in state history, with all four bond propositions passing with more than 70% of the vote. The district's citizens' bond steering committee said the bond proposal would result in a one-cent tax increase. For a Dallas resident with an average home worth $500,000 at market value, it is projected to cost an additional $33.43. cents per year. Proposition A, the largest of the measures, passed with 74.3% of the vote. It totals $5.93 billion and primarily funds building renovations and facility upgrades.

Starting point is 00:04:40 Dallas ISD has $4.6 billion in outstanding debt. If the newly approved bond is fully issued, the district's total debt could approach $11 billion. 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 4, 2026

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