The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - October 10, 2024

Episode Date: October 10, 2024

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Howdy folks, today is Thursday, October 10th, 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, Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison visited the Tarrant County Democratic Coordinated Campaign Headquarters in Arlington on Wednesday, October 9th, exclaiming, quote, Are you ready to do something? Fight for something? When we fight, we win. He made a trip to Tarrant County to rally the local party activists, urging them to get out the vote, turn the county blue, and put Texas in play as a battleground state. Tarrant County remains one of the few urban counties in the country to have a majority of Republican elected officials.

Harrison told those gathered in the Democratic campaign room, We need to do something. Knock on more doors, write checks, make more phone calls. Several local and state officials also spoke at the rally in an attempt to convince their workers that Tarrant County can elect Democrats from the top to the bottom of the ballot. In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden received a larger percentage of the votes in the county at 49.31 percent than did Donald Trump at 49.09 percent. However, Republicans hold many of the state representative seats and local offices in the county of over two million residents.

Next, there are two battleground races for the Texas House in San Antonio, and both sets of candidates met this week to debate education savings accounts, school funding, abortion, and the chamber speakership. House District 118 stretches from the south side of San Antonio around to its east. Its incumbent state representative John Lujan was elected in 2021 in a special election and won re-election last cycle by less than 1,900 votes

in a district rated dead even by the Texans' Texas Partisan Index. He faces Democrat Christian Carranza for the seat highly sought after by both parties. The other seat, HD-121, is open after Republican Mark LaHood defeated incumbent state representative Steve Allison in the 2024 primary, one of multiple flips in Governor Greg Abbott's school choice crusade. LaHood faces Democrat Laurel Swift, who defeated Shakar Sinha in the Democratic primary. That district, which sits on the north side of the city, is rated R54% by the Texan Partisan Index. Both are massively competitive, and Democrats have their eye on flipping one or both. In other news, in a tumultuous series of legal events, a Galveston

County judge has now vacated his previous order to reopen a popular section of the city of Kima's entertainment district, partially based on the city's claim that a federal judge had already ruled on the matter. Last week, Judge Jared Robinson of the 405th District Court issued a temporary restraining order, or TRO, requiring KEMA officials to remove obstructions preventing vehicular access to 6th Street. But yesterday, he vacated the order after an emergency hearing with KEMA City Attorney Kyle Dixon. The KEMA City Council voted to close the street housing multiple businesses last March, and Harry White, owner of the Voodoo Hut bar and restaurant, filed suit in federal court. Following a hearing in

August, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown declined to issue an emergency TRO, opining that damage had not been substantial, but he scheduled further proceedings to fully consider the arguments and an injunction. White then non-suited the case, and Brown did not issue any further rulings. Last but not least, Asbury Automotive Group and multiple Texas car dealerships have filed a complaint against the Federal Trade Commission and its chair, Lena Kahn, after the commission alleged that they targeted Black and Latino consumers with, quote, unwanted and higher-priced add-ons. Back in August, the FTC filed an administrative complaint alleging that Asbury,

the owner of the three Dallas-based David McDavid used car dealerships, quote, charged consumers for add-ons they did not agree to, misled consumers into believing add-ons were required, and charged Black and Latino consumers more than non-Latino white consumers for the same products, including add-ons. The FTC complaint also highlights Ali Benly, the general manager of McDavid Ford Fort Worth, McDavid Honda Irving, and McDavid Honda Frisco, who is responsible for overseeing, directing, and managing the operations and practices at these dealerships. This includes handling financing, sales policies, and the sale of add-on products. The complaint alleges that Benley had knowledge of the unlawful practices

described in the filing. 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.