The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 5, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy folks, today's Tuesday, May 5th, 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, a new poll from the University of Houston indicates that in the heated Republican primary runoff election for U.S. Senate, incumbent Senator John Cornyn continues to trail Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, while State Senator Mays Middleton holds a nine-point lead over U.S. Representative Chip Roy, as the two vie to become the GOP nominee for State Attorney General. According to the poll, conducted between April 28th and May 1st of 1,200 likely Republican primary voters, 48% of respondents plan to vote for Paxton, while 45% prefer Cornyn and 7% are undecided.

Starting point is 00:00:57 Paxton also touted a higher net favorability rating of 7% percent, percent compared to negative 2 percent for Cornyn. Of those who voted in the March 3rd GOP primary for U.S. Representative Wesley Hunt, who did not make the runoff, Paxton Leads Cornyn 54% to 35%. Poll respondents preferred Middleton over Roy by 48% to 39%, with 13% unsure. In the Republican runoff election to head the Texas Railroad Commission, incumbent commissioner Jim Wright led with 35% over former Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French's 28%, but another 37% were undecided. In other news, only one of three North Texas cities voted on May 2nd to end its relationship with Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or Dart. Dart is the multimodal public transportation

Starting point is 00:01:51 system in the Dallas area providing light rail, bus, and paratransit services across 13 cities. Highland Park residents voted by a 40-point margin to withdraw from the DART system, while voters in Addison and University Park voted to remain. Addison voters overwhelmingly chose to keep DART services, while University Park residents were more closely divided, with 54% choosing to remain and 46% choosing to leave. According to DART, its services in Highland Park will cease on May 14th after the election results are officially canvassed on May 3,000. According to Highland Park, while it projected paying about $9 million into the system in fiscal year 2006, only about 33 riders per day use the Preston Road dart bus route that runs through the town. Last but not least, the U.S. House announced the passage of the 2026 Farm Bill last week, and it has implications for the 1944 U.S. Mexico Water Treaty, under which Mexico currently owes water to the U.S.

Starting point is 00:02:58 The Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 advanced out of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, which includes Texas U.S. representatives Rodney Jackson and Monica Dilla Cruz. The bill's wide scope deals with topics ranging from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to pesticide liability protections to the 1944 Water Treaty. The treaty dictates that the U.S. provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre feet of water each, year from the Colorado River, and that Mexico in turn provide the U.S. with 0.35 million acre feet every five years from tributaries that feed into the Rio Grande. Since the 1990s, Mexico has not upheld its end of the agreement. A.N.A.N.A.R.L.R.L.R.E.R.L.E.R.E.R.R.E.R.R.

Starting point is 00:03:50 Valley, estimating the row crop and specialty crop losses due to irrigation losses to be approximately half a billion dollars. 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 5, 2026

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