The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - October 22, 2026

Episode Date: October 22, 2026

The Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Visit The Texan for complete access to our in-depth articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to follow us and leave a review!

Well, howdy folks? Today is Thursday, October 22nd, 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, Texas Third Court of Appeals Justice Shari Kelly, the Democrat who is challenging Republican Justice James P. Sullivan for his seat on the Supreme Court of Texas, joined the Texans reporter Isaiah Mitchell to discuss her legal background and philosophy, her thoughts on the state's judicial system and how it affects Texans every day, the 2026 election as compared to 2018, and more. Visit the texan.News, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts to watch or listen now. Next, with early voting underway, the contest to succeed Ken Paxton as Texas Attorney General has become a closely watched statewide race,

though polls suggest most voters still don't know the two veteran state lawmakers vying for the open seat. Senators Nathan Johnson and Mays Middleton emerged as the nominees after each one hard-fought Democratic and Republican primary runoff elections last May. Middleton, who served two terms in the Texas House before he was elected to the state Senate in 2022, has consistently led in top polls by single digits. Johnson was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2018. A recent University of Houston survey of 2,000 likely voters showed Middleton with a five-percentage point lead over Johnson, but also found that 50% and 71% of respondents did not know enough about

Middleton and Johnson, respectively, to have an opinion of them. During Paxton's nearly 12-year tenure, the Texas office of the Attorney General became a high-profile vehicle for conservative legal challenges on immigration, election integrity, abortion, and cultural issues such as protecting women's sports, especially under President Joe Biden. On the campaign trail, Middleton has pledged to continue and intensify that approach, while Johnson has criticized the use of the office for what he calls culture war litigation. In other news, incumbent U.S. Representative Monica de la Cruz and Democratic challenger Bobby Polito are trying to persuade voters in the heavily Latino congressional District 15 that they are fit to represent those living within its limits. CD15 is a largely

vertical district that carves out a massive section from near San Antonio down to the Rio Grande Valley. The Texans' Texas Partisan Index has the district-leaning Republican at R-55 percent, unimpacted by last year's congressional redistricting. In 2022, De La Cruz flipped the historically Democratic-held seat. Then in 2024, President Donald Trump secured the district's votes in the general election. Polito, a Tehano music star since the 1990s, is part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red to Blue program, a Democratic Strategic Strategic Initiative aimed at turning GOP-held districts into democratic ones. Hemmed in by Mexico's border,

CD-15 is primarily Hispanic at 81% of its population. Both candidates have appealed the CD-15 constituents on issues important to the community, including the district's heritage, the well-being of working-class families, agricultural growth, a flourishing small-business economy, and immigration-related issues.

Last but not least, after Governor Greg Abbott pledged to turn Harris-Coun, dark red last year, he invested heavily in outreach in the county and recruited Republicans to run in all of its Texas House races, including in the Democratic-held House District 148. For Republicans, the benefits of Harris County are obvious, the home of the city of Houston and over 15% of Texans, flipping the nation's third-most populous county to Republicans would be a significant boost to the GOP. However, to say the plan is met with headwinds is understating the case. Rather than building on the 46% of the vote President Donald Trump received in the county in 2024, Republicans looked

to slide further back, at least in the context of the 2026 midterms. In this environment, Democratic State Representative Penny Morales Shaw is seeking another term in office. A lawyer, she served as deputy chief for the Harris County Commissioner's Court before being elected in 2020. The Republican candidate is Amanda LeBree, a petroleum worker and small business owner. Thanks for listening. To support the a Texan, please be sure to visit the texan.news to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.