The Texan Podcast - Drafting the Next Statewide Candidates: Smoke Filled Room Ep. 2

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

In episode 2 of The Texan's "Smoke Filled Room" podcast, Senior Editor McKenzie DiLullo and Senior Reporter Brad Johnson hold a mock draft–giving their best predictions for who they think will be most likely to run for statewide office in the near future.Use the coupon code "SMOKEFILLEDROOM" to get 10% off any hat or shirt on The Texan's store: https://store.thetexan.news/Subscribe to The Texan for full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/

Yeah, there's that. I'm still not over the fact that you did not think hypothesizing was a word. Brad, are you right for a living? Nobody's perfect. In the words of a philosopher named Hannah Montana. I'm so glad that that happened. That's our cold open. That's got to be it.

That's got to be it. Okay, Jasmine Crockett. We should say that's the cold open in the cold open. Great. So this is the cold open. That's gotta be it. That's gotta be it. Okay. Um, Jasmine Croft. We should say that's the cold open in the cold open. Great. Yeah. So this is the cold open. Welcome to the cold open. Oh brother. And we're back with the second episode of Smoke-Filled Room Podcast. I am Brad Johnson, senior reporter here at The Texan, along with my esteemed senior editor, Mackenzie DeLulo, not Taylor.

That is me. And we are here to talk about Texas politics, as is the prompt for this general podcast. I don't know why that's so funny. Whenever you do intros, it just makes me laugh. I don't know why. You do a great job at them. Oh, thanks.

It just seems... The laughing really gives you a good job. You do such a good job. You really do. Oh, thanks. Yes, that's a very good job. What are we doing today, Bradley? We are doing...

I'm excited for this. An NFL draft style draft of state offices. Didn't we do a... This is so random. We did a fantasy league at the Texan many years back, didn't we? That was such a waste. Nobody set their lineups. Nobody cared.

Except for me. And then I didn't win and who won i think it was sarah oh my god i think sarah won and she just hit auto select which is the best way to do it but yeah that was there was not a second round of the texan fantasy football league yeah so yeah it's not great. I always start with these fantasy leagues and do... I think I'm going to really invest time in them, and I very rarely do. I'm in a Formula One fantasy league right now, and it's been... How does that work? It's the most invested I've been in a fantasy league in a very long time.

Okay. How does that work? Oh, but my lineup isn't complete. I'm in eighth position, so maybe I'm not doing that well. But regardless, I'm in a fantasy league for – oh, my gosh. Oh, we're fine. It's really fine. So you just pick drivers and you get points based on their –

Yes. So you pick – you get five drivers and then you have a constructor. So you pick a team. You pick one team that's on – that earns you points every week. And you pick five drivers. and you have a budget. So you have like $100 million, and they assign values to each of the drivers. How much does Max Verstappen cost? I'm just proud you know who that is.

Let me look. Let me look. Max costs... This is riveting content, by the way. $27.7 million dollars he's down two million from last week oh oh so you buy each week you sign contracts as you do in actual formula one so you get like a three-week contract oh okay That's strange. Anyways. Anyways. Why are we doing this podcast? The premise for this podcast is we are doing this in early April, the beginning of April. Yes. This is the month of the NFL draft.

Correct. So I had an idea. What if we did a draft for statewide officials when the logjam breaks at the top. And the thinking I had behind it was, let's say, for the sake of argument, this isn't going to happen, but let's say that Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Patrick, Attorney General Paxton, and Ag Commissioner Miller all get appointments in the Trump administration, thus breaking the dam. Assuming Trump wins in November. Right. Thus breaking the dam and setting forth a massive bum rush of all these officials who've

been waiting in the wings to try and run for higher office. Ambition and positioning. Yes. To then flood all over for these four positions. So we limited it to four positions. Obviously, you have the U.S. Senate race in 26 as well that people are keeping an eye on. We don't know if Senator Cornyn is going to run. It also looks, at least at the moment, based on brisket gate that just happened,

that Attorney General Paxton is rearing to challenge John Cornyn for Senate. So we're just going to assume that happens. We're going to assume all of these officials are out of the picture in terms of running for these positions, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and ag commish. So this is the most hypothetical of hypotheticals. Right. This is mainly just us having fun.

Right. And then you throw in the fact that, let's say, Abbott and Patrick both leave. Then I believe the president of the Senate becomes the governor. We're taking that out of consideration. If that's not the case, then it's the Speaker of the House, this whole line of succession that complicates things. So we're just acting as if that doesn't exist. So what we're doing is saying, okay, if all these positions were to be open in the next election cycle, who do we think likely candidates would be? So not who would be best suited, not who would be, you know, who we think would do well in that office or have credentials, yada, yada. It's who we think is most likely to enter, to run for those positions.

And that dovetails a bit with who is most credentialed, because that will sort itself out a bit. But overall, we're just picking those who we think would jump in. And we're going with three candidates each between each of us for each of these races. And the rules are, if Brad chooses candidate A for a position, I cannot choose that candidate for that position either. But in the next office that we talk about, I can choose the candidate you chose for the previous one, but you cannot choose one you've already chosen. Yeah, correct. And then at the end, we will guess what the 2027 statewide slate looks like for Republicans. Yes.

You know, we're talking about Republicans here. Republicans have controlled these seats for 30 years now. Democrats have not been able to, and closest they got to a statewide was Beto in 18. And so we're just kind of, you know, assuming that right now it's Republicans to lose each of these positions. And so we're just going to focus there.

We'll talk about Democrats, candidates to watch for down the road in a bit. We'll do some honorable mentions. We'll talk about maybe some Republicans who didn't make our lineups, but who we think have political ambition or positioning that could be beneficial to them if they did want to run for statewide office further on. And then we'll also talk about Democrats and who we think the rising stars in the Democratic Party are right now. Yep. Well, I guess with that, unless you have any questions, do you want to clear anything up? I will say Brad made a little docket for us on our pod and I went through and started filling it out. And Brad was like, don't show me your hand. Anyway, also I will say- Also that defeats the purpose of a draft.

I know. I wasn't thinking. I was just trying to get work done. I was trying to get things done, and I didn't think about it. Trying to get it off my plate. It was the wrong thing to do. Also, Brad's excited about the governor portion, and I'm more excited about the lieutenant governor portion.

I mean, I'm excited for it all. I just don't understand how you had trouble coming up with governor candidates. I didn't have trouble. I didn't have trouble as much as I just had, like, a litany of folks I thought were vying for the lieutenant governorship. Already. Like, and the lieutenant governor has said he's going to run for re-election. So is the governor. Totally.

So this is all just saying. The odds of this happening are slim to none. This is just pie in the sky. Totally. Very hypothetical. But I just had a lot of folks come to mind for lieutenant governor. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Well, I suppose with that, we'll get started. So ladies first, who's your number one pick for governor? Okay. And this is in light of the fact that we are not talking about the U.S. Senate race and potential candidates for that. Right. I think this person would be a very likely candidate to run for U.S. Senate if Cornyn was not to run again. But I'm picking Crenshaw.

He was on mine as well. Yeah. I'm picking Crenshaw. Current congressman, very high profile on the national scene as well as here in Texas. I mean, he's got SNL appearances. He's been on any giant podcast. You name it, Rogan, whoever it is, multiple times, very high profile. And a very different political animal than who we have in the governorship currently.

But also a prolific fundraiser. Prolific fundraiser. He's always at the top, which is, I think, also notable in that congressional candidates and congressional incumbents do not typically fundraise huge numbers unless they are someone of Crenshaw's ilk. It's just not very common. So he's number one for me, is Crenshaw. Okay.

What do you think about that? He was on your list? He was on my list. And... Oh, you already put it in. Yeah, he's had, you know, he's been talked about for a while for higher office, whether it's U.S. Senate or somewhere statewide in Texas, and he's always on the short list.

No doubt he's angling for something. But with all this, they can angle for something for a while, set the groundwork for a run, but you still have to have timing, the right timing, which is not something you can always control. And not something every politician is good at judging. Right. Strike when the iron's hot. You know, look at Ron DeSantis for president. You know, He was the darling for Republicans. Yes. And he used his capital

to try and take Trump out. And obviously hindsight's 20-20, but hindsight showed that was a fool's errand, essentially. And the former president ran away with it. And so, you know, timing's everything.

I do think that Crenshaw, he's primed The former president ran away with it. And so timing's everything. And I do think that Crenshaw, he's primed to run for some higher office. Like we're talking about the congressional districts, our districts, and so that only encompasses one portion of the state. But he has a profile that's big enough to warrant a run for any statewide office. I also think his star power has kind of faded some, not a lot. He's still a huge profile. But compared to what it was, the man was the talk of Republican circles for a while. And as with many things, reputation meets reality at some point.

Totally. And so if he's had to take votes that he's gotten flack for in Congress and particularly on spending bills. But, you know, when Republicans are in power, nobody really cares about spending. A few people do. Yeah, that's true. So I think, you know, like with any of these candidates, there would be hurdles for him that you'd have to overcome. But I think he's got the right bona fides to try and make a run. And if he was angling for a run, we'd see that profile increase as well, right?

I think that's a totally different thing. And I think it will be hard to not talk about U.S. Senate potential candidates when we're talking about these lists for statewide elected officials on the state level here. But yeah, he came to mind as my number one for now. Yeah. I think he's also, like you said, firmly in the U.S. Senate discussion should that open up. I don't think he'd run against John Cornyn. Which is where I say the political ilk is so different because I do think he is, although his branding is different, his votes and his political ideology tends to be more in the Cornyn kind of camp, which would be very interesting to see that dovetail with his brand that also is very ardently game for lambasting Democrats and kind of being the, you know, the log jam buster when it comes to lambasting Democrats on the national level. So

sure. Yeah. Okay. Who do you got? I am going to pick, um, Mays Middleton. When we talk about Greg Abbott, his biggest asset is his fundraising. Um, Middleton has a similar, you know, ability to bring money in, but it's also self-funding. You know, he runs Middleton Oil. He is probably the wealthiest member of the legislature. And I think by a wide margin, probably. You know, he funds a lot of candidates. Current state senator.

Current state senator. Former House member. Former House member. Former just donor to Republican causes. Kind of a meteoric rise in Republican circles. He's clearly angling for higher office. The question is what? And under this scenario, with Dan Patrick out of the question, Ken Paxton out of the question, I think the lane would open up pretty significantly for Mays Middleton to try his hand at running for governor. And it doesn't hurt that he can self-fund. You know, his name's been floated in relation to the lieutenant governor position along with attorney general.

Yeah, I have him for a different position. Oh. Yeah. Might it be attorney general? Perhaps, yeah. But I can say that now that you've picked him because you can't pick him again. Sure, sure. So whatever he runs for, he's going to be a formidable candidate if for no other reason than the money aspect. But I also wonder, too, if a candidate who is such a prolific self-funder would translate

into a statewide position in that way, right? Abbott is prolific in his ability to fundraise from everybody and to coalesce donors in a way that a governor in Texas, we haven't seen that before. He's so good at fundraising. Now, certainly Middleton has the ability to do so as well, but the self-funding part comes into the equation. So how would that translate to a campaign for governor, right? You need a broad coalition of folks willing to donate to you in order for that campaign to be a success, especially when you're following on the coattails of somebody like Greg Abbott. Yeah. And whenever Abbott's gone,

somebody is going to pick up the fundraising infrastructure that he has created, at least in some form. It probably won't be a smooth transition or as simple as just changing the figurehead. But Middleton is, he does seem to be closer to Abbott, at least in relation to the current climate that is so school-choice focused. Middleton actually dumped some of his own money into some of these house races. He targeted Ernest Bales, one that came to mind, I think Clardy as well. And so he's no stranger to doling out monetary contributions in order to get people he prefers in certain positions. You know, he backed early on Matt Krause's run for attorney general in the 22 primary when Paxton was up for reelection.

And Middleton's not a lawyer, correct? I don't, you know, I think he is, yes. I think he did go up. He graduated law school. I'll look it up. So, yeah, I have Mays Middleton as the top candidate there. Crenshaw was also on my list. Yeah, he is a lawyer.

I think that's what I'm going to go with. Any thoughts? I think that's a great choice. I think he's, like in terms of the rising stars of the Republican, you know, group of Republicans who could potentially take big races. I think he's in there for sure. I have him for a different position. But yeah, I definitely see him as somebody that Republicans could coalesce behind pretty solidly. And just his activism in Republican politics for a long time, I think bodes well for him in that regard. He is a state senator, so that is a bigger jump, you know,

to go from state senator to governor. But I think he's primed for some sort of statewide run, for sure. I just don't know that that would be the most obvious jump from state senator to governor. Well, you know, it's another jump up, but Dan Patrick went from state senator to lieutenant governor. Now it's an easier transition, right, because it's the same chamber, but it's only one rung below the territorial position. I think it's obvious for senators to run for like of because they're familiarizing.

They're very familiar with the chamber. The problem is there's going to be a logjam of senators whenever that opens up. Yeah, don't even get me started. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, I'm going to go with Maize Middleton. I like it. I like it. Who's your second pick?

Okay. This is, again, assuming that all of these guys, Patrick, Abbott, Paxton, Miller, all go to D.C., right? So they're not in the conversation here. This might be – I'm curious to see how folks will respond to this and how you'll respond to this. I have as my number two Angela Paxton. Oh, dang it. Yeah. That's who I was going to pick.

And I really just think that comes down to the Paxton's profile in Texas really broadening from an already very powerful spot after the impeachment trial and the acquittal of Attorney General Ken Paxton and all 16 charges of impeachment. So I think that there are, I think that they're primed and ready. Imagine a 26 race, primary race, that has Angela Paxton running for governor and Ken Paxton running for U.S. Senate. Yeah. And the reason we talk about Paxton—Ken Paxton so forwardly as a potential U.S. Senate candidate is because he's talked pretty blatantly. He's always said it explicitly. Yes. At least his consideration.

Yes. At the very least, his interest. Who knows if he'll do it. Specifically to run against Cornyn and for his seat if Cornyn does end up retiring, which Cornyn's embroiled in already a power position game of chess in D.C. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.

So, you know, we'll have to see how that ends up. I think he'll stick around if that goes well for him for more than just this term. But if not, I think a retirement is very possible. Yeah. Well, and those two have sparred pretty significantly in the public eye. I think, what, a month ago or so, Cornyn tweeted something about hard to run for, responding to Paxton, hard to run for office from prison. Yeah, right before the...

And that was before the settlement came out about the securities fraud stuff that ended that case. But no love lost, and I mentioned the brisket wars but those two you know tell us tell us what you're talking about when you talk about the brisket wars uh cornyn tweeted a picture of i heard it was his wife's brisket i don't know um a plate of brisket essentially and like a baking pan right and it had uh what looked like barbecue sauce on on it i assume and he uh he knew exactly what he was doing when he tweeted it out so he said let the brisket wars begin again and he got really good engagement it was millions at the end of the

day and that was the purpose of it and then paxton tweets a bit later um a picture of brisket that he pulled off of google it wasn't his and i could tell because it has a little like insignia at the bottom left he didn't pull he didn't take that from his phone so we're still the jury's still out on what Paxton's brisket looks like if you were to cook it. But, yes, I mean, it's clear that those two obviously hate each other and two are primed for a challenge, a clash in 26. Okay, the last Republican convention. So we're nearing the GOP convention, statewide convention. Last time, two years ago, what was the drama with Paxton and Cornyn? Do you remember what I'm talking about?

Because Cornyn went out on stage, was booed by all the delegates, and then soon thereafter, I believe, Paxton took the stage and found opportunity and positioning to go after Cornyn right after and received unbelievable support for it. But I can't remember what he said. And that was just like exhibit F in a long list of— Well, the reason Cornyn got booed at that moment was there was a gun bill that was being discussed. I forget if it passed. Yeah, I don't remember.

My gut says it didn't. But Cornyn was one of the lead negotiators on that. And Paxton mentioned that specifically. And that's what everyone was booing him over. Yeah, that's right. But yeah, in his speech, Paxton essentially said, the Attorney General's office is going to sue over this. And I think he named Cornyn, or he said Texas' senior senator, while discussing that.

Yeah. Saying it was a horrible bill. Lightly veiled if veiled at all. Right. Yeah. So, yeah, there's that. Angela Paxton, she was on my list as well. And clearly her stock is rising, as is her husband's at the moment.

I'm curious if she'd have any interest in it, right? I mean, I'm curious the behind the scenes of that, but I think she's positioned. Yeah. Of course, the last contentious race she was in was the one for state senate against Philip Puffines that was bloody. And there's still clearly not a lot of love lost between those two families. She won the race and has been in the senate ever since. And obviously, you know, the impeachment from last year rose her profile. Well, when I'm saying Mays Middleton is just a senator, you know, the jump to governor seems like a little bit of a big jump, even though he has a great profile. I think Angela Paxton departs from that a little

bit in that her, you know, the Paxton name is so prolific in Texas. Yes, she also is, quote unquote, just a state senator. But I think she has a lot more going for her in that regard because of her husband's profile, her profile during impeachment. There's a lot more going on there and a lot more folks I think are familiar with the Paxton name than the Middleton name. Okay, makes sense. I got to scramble and think of another one. Well, I will say, just for the hell of it, Joe Strauss. Wow. Yeah.

Interesting. I was planning on him for my third as a bit of a dark horse, but. Where does this come from? Former Texas Speaker of the House. Yep. The ire of conservative activists for five terms, very notable, and certainly the poster boy for how to coalesce Democrats to secure a speakership in the House to ensure that he gets the position he wants. So that's where a dozen or so Republicans broke off from the caucus and sided with Democrats

and elected Joe Strauss. So that was in the back of every speaker going forward's mind is that strategy. Yeah. I think he's remained active. He's not run for anything, but he's remained active in giving fundraising. And he's very involved in the Republican State Legislative Committee that gave Phelan $750,000. He and Karl Rove are the two Texas names on that board. He's remained active and I, especially as we see the party fragment in multiple different lanes, Joe Strauss is obviously not a member of the lane that seems to have the inside track right now. That's, you know, the Paxton lane. And the Abbott lane.

And the Abbott. So Strauss is obviously different, but I think he could see a lane for him in a crowded field, which an open governorship would absolutely create a crowded field. And he enters into a lot of these conversations when folks are talking about who might run for state white office if the, you know, if a shakeup happened. And I think he said, you know, before when asked about this, I think it was specifically about U.S. Senate, I'm not planning on it right now, but never say never, essentially. And so he's remained active in giving to Republicans that he deems to be allied with him, incumbents and particularly those more on the moderate side of the caucus, whichever caucus you're talking about.

So I could see him in a situation like this and let's do it. And maybe, you know, I catch some lightning in a bottle and I'm governor. Yeah. So. You never know. Thoughts? That's a surprising choice. And I think he's.

Well, you took two of mine. So I had to come up with something else. I also, Brad, for the record, was arguing that you should go first in the governor. That's true. Draft. And I still would have had Maze Middleton because you didn't have him. So you're tiny violin. This is me.

So, yeah. Yes. But no, I think that he, I mean, again, like I said, he's been in the conversation whenever there's conversation about a statewide elected shakeup. I'd be surprised if he ran for governor. I've heard a lot about Congress, U.S. Senate, more federal positions. I would just be surprised to see him run for governor. But who knows? Yeah, prominent and interesting choice.

I like it. Number three for me, this might be a little bit out of left field, but I do think this is somebody who has been, who currently holds a statewide office who, um, would be open to and excited about holding a more prominent statewide office, Dawn Buckingham. Um, I think she could hold, um, or enter into a race along these lines. And I didn't see an obvious spot for her in another statewide office where, um, or I just had candidates I was more excited about for the other ones in terms of their likelihood for running. But I think she definitely is in the conversation of somebody who might run for a different statewide office that has a little bit more high profile. Currently, she is the Texas Land Commissioner.

She succeeded George P. Bush when he ran for attorney general against Ken Paxton and took Paxton to a runoff. That seems like ages ago. But she secured that position. Before that, she was a state senator. So, yeah, we'll certainly keep an eye on that, but she's in the conversation for me. She's definitely looking for higher office, question is what, obviously. Yeah. But, you know, she ran away with the land commissioner race.

Was she pushed to a runoff or did she avoid a runoff? I think she was pushed to a runoff. Okay. Yeah. But she almost avoided a runoff and then won the runoff pretty easily. So, yeah, I think that's a good pick. And especially in the context of this, I can see her, you know, seeing that there's no clear frontrunner here, and so why not try it? She was pushed to run off with Tim Wesley, who had 14.8% of the vote.

So she had 42% in a crowded field, but she was by far the leader in that pack. Yeah, okay. Yeah, and that's more – I'm saying I think she's likely to run for statewide office. What statewide office? I don't know, but I'm putting her here because I don't have a spot for her in another category. Okay. Yeah, and that's more – I'm saying I think she's likely to run for statewide office. What statewide office? I don't know, but I'm putting her here because I don't have a spot for her in another category. Okay. Well, what do we think of the field here? Who's the frontrunner?

Wait, who's your – who's your third pick? Oh, duh. I have it written down. I was like, I see it here. I'm going to go with Pat Fallon, another out-of-left-field congressman. He almost ran for state senate to take his old seat back, right? When Senator Drew Springer announced he wouldn't be running for re-election, but reneged at the last moment, decided to stay in Congress.

I think it's clear he wants to move back to Texas. He's flirted with running for statewide office before. He announced an exploratory committee to consider the possibility of running against John Cornyn in 20. Decided not to do that. A lot of back and forths with Fallon in terms of seeking higher office. Yeah. Or other office, not just higher. And I think he's fairly wealthy,

not Maze Middleton wealthy where he's going to self-fund his campaign, but he can put some money in if he wants. I just... I kind of see a lane here for him if this shakes out as it is. Also, I just needed a third because you took two of my candidates.

I'm so, yeah. I don't see him as much of an obvious spot for governor. I see him more going for some sort of federal office. But who knows? Then why did he want to run for state senate? I don't know. It's interesting. I think you're discounting the importance of that.

No, you're probably right. I do, yeah, there's a lot going on behind the scenes with that decision that we don't necessarily know. But I think him running for governor would be— obviously, the governor of Texas is a huge, prestigious, unbelievable position. Like, the envy of governors across the country in terms of what they control and what they have influence over. So I'm not negating that at all. It would just be very interesting to see Pat Fallon run for governor. But who knows?

Okay. Lieutenant Governor, are we ready for this? Well, let me ask you the question today. Oh, sorry. Who do you think is the front runner for this field we've got? I think Crenshaw. Crenshaw? Yeah. Without consideration of the U.S. Senate spot. Okay. What do you think? I'm gonna go with my number one pick, Middleton. He's a fast riser in politics right now, and there's a reason I picked him number one. Yeah. And in this scenario, I see him— I see him performing very well in a Republican primary, too.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I don't think he has drawn the ire of many folks in Republican primary voters like a Crenshaw might have, or, you know, other candidates on our list. Yeah. And obviously Crenshaw has a bigger profile nationally, but Middleton has his own profile in the state. And, you know, with that amount of money, you can go along with it. You can get it done. Yes. Yeah. And I do think there is something to be said for somebody who is elected to some sort of state level office running for governor. They're spending time in Texas. So whether it be

the lobby that they're familiarizing themselves with, the legislature that they're very involved with, it's totally different than somebody coming back from D.C. and saying, hey, I'm going to enter into state politics now. Yeah. The other factor to note here is that Middleton is a pretty big donor to Donald Trump. And if in 26, Trump is still a factor giving out his endorsements, which we saw what that did in this primary, flipped races on its head. And he would be, probably him and Angela Paxson would be the two vying for the Trump endorsement in this field. And I think I'd give the edge to Middleton on that, on getting that. And if that happens, if things are still— Oh, really? I would totally give it to Angela Paxton in that regard.

Oh, yeah, totally. I mean, I've seen multiple pictures of Middleton at Mar-a-Lago, or at least at a Trump event with the president, not just standing in the crowd. Totally. I don't know. I could see, not just standing in the crowd. Totally. I don't know. I could see him have the inside track on that. Interesting. Who knows?

Who knows? Yeah. And I'm sure the Trump endorsements effect is not going to go away entirely in two years. And we are getting way over our skis in that regard. Right. But it's still interesting. Well, in this scenario, he is the president, right? Yeah.

So sitting president endorses you for governor, that's going to carry you in that regard. Right. But it's still interesting. Well, in this scenario, he is the president, right? Yeah. So sitting president endorses you for governor. That's going to carry you a long way. Yeah. Whether it goes to Middleton or Paxton. It's true. It's very true. All right. Ready to go to lieutenant governor?

I have never been more ready. All right. And you're leading off on this one. I am. Much to my chagrin. And I am going with Glenn Hager. Oh, good one. Okay. Okay.

Comptroller Glenn Hager. Oh, good one. Okay. Comptroller Glenn Hager. He is not seeking a fourth term for comptroller. He said that publicly. And he's basically all but said he's going to run for something else. And, you know, there's only a few spots above that. Attorney General, he's not an attorney. He has no interest in being an attorney. Lieutenant Governor, he used to serve in the Senate or governor.

And so I see him with his $9 million war chest that he has built up very quietly, which is very notable. You know, it's not Abbott levels of fundraising, but that's pretty good. Also for Comptroller, which is such a low-profile, down-low position, at least in terms of how Hager's operated in that office. Yeah. To have that sizable of a war chest is interesting. And, of course, he is the top finance guy in Texas, right? So that does warrant some conversation about money, but it's still very notable. It'll also be interesting to see.

Let's say he did win. I don't think he'd run the chamber exactly the same way as Dan Patrick has. I don't think it's ever going back to where it was because, you know, individuals have seen how powerful the lieutenant governor position can be and is, especially as utilized by the current lieutenant governor. So I don't think it'll go back all the way to, you know, kind of a weak LG position or weaker than it is, certainly, where, you know, the senators control more or are on the front foot of the decision making more than the lieutenant governor is. But yeah, I see him being a bit more hands-off, but he's gunning for something. And under this scenario, I see lieutenant governor. Fascinating. He was on my list. Yes, gotcha. So there you go. He was further down. I did not

have him at number one, but he was on my list regardless. No, I think that's a really good choice. I think it's a conversation a lot of folks have in Austin, that he is open to running for a position like this. I don't think it would be surprising to see him enter a race. I think you're totally right that he's positioned really well for something like this. So, yeah, Hager's a great choice. Okay.

My number one, I'm going to go with Brian Hughes. Is that surprising to you? No. Okay. I've got him for something else. Okay. Got you. That's good to know. Interesting. I think that he, as somebody that the lieutenant governor or the current lieutenant governor trusts very highly to carry and ferry through big pieces of legislation. When you see a lot of bills make their way through the Senate that require a lot of debate, marathon hearings, I think Hughes is somebody that lieutenant governor often tasks with those responsibilities or who is trusted by the caucus to run those things through. He's a great orator. He knows what he's doing. He's very deferential to his colleagues. I think he's positioned himself as a very just amenable voice in the Senate to conversations

that are difficult, potentially about social issues, whatever it is. And I think he definitely has political ambition for higher office. No doubt. Former House member, has been in the Senate for a while, and certainly avoids situations where he could find himself within the ire of some sex of the party. So I think he is certainly somebody that we could see running for lieutenant governor. And that's where I also want to talk about, it is obvious to me that, yes, Hager is definitely in this conversation. But I do think that the fast track to lieutenant governor often begins in the Senate with the senators. Well, Hager was a senator. Back in the day.

That's the counter I'd say. Very true. It wasn't that long ago. But that even holds, right? He's a part of this conversation. I think folks who are interested in the lieutenant governorship have spent time in the Senate. And I think Hughes is one of those in the Senate currently that would receive support from a lot of folks in the chamber. Including, perhaps most notably, Dan Patrick. That's what I was thinking. Yeah. And, you know, depending on who gets in, right? But yeah, I think he'd be

in the conversation. Behind the scenes about what does a field for lieutenant governor in a Patrickless Senate look like? And a few names come up constantly as potential successors and those favored by Patrick to be successors. Maybe there's one he has in mind that he's keeping very close to his chest, but the ones we're hearing are Middleton. Brian Hughes is in there as well. My next pick, Brandon Creighton, is in there. Yeah, he's next. So I could see Hughes being certainly among that. Personally, I think he has his eye more on Attorney General, which we'll get there.

Yeah. Since you can't steal that pick from me now. But, yeah, absolutely. He's definitely in the discussion. Yeah. For sure. Okay, so Creighton for you. Creighton.

Yeah. Similarly to Hughes, he has taken on a lot of heavy issues, less on the social issue side and more on education. Creighton carried the school choice plans for the Senate. I believe he's the chairman of both the Education and the Higher Education Committee in the Senate. Yep. Yeah. He has managed to buck the lieutenant governor on some big issues without, for lack of a better word, pissing him off. Then one that comes to mind is the electricity repricing. Back in 21, after the blackouts, there was a bill that was kind of like a hot potato.

The lieutenant governor wanted it, and the Senate wanted it, or at least most of the Senate did. The House didn't. It ultimately died. It would have repriced the market during a window, the electricity market during a window during the blackouts. It didn't go through. Frankly, I believe that was the onus for the devolving relationship between the lieutenant governor and the speaker. A lot has happened since then, obviously, to really rev that up. That was their first major public conflict. By my eye, that's the one.

But in that, Brandon Creighton, he voted against the repricing bill. Yet he's still a chairman. He managed to tow that line well, whereas someone like Kelly Hancock, who at the time also was the business and commerce chair, which handled electricity. So it wasn't like they were on equal levels of stature in terms of this issue. For sure. This is Hancock's issue. He believed firmly that the repricing was the wrong way to go about this.

And he supported securitization. He won that round. That's what the legislature ultimately did. That's what the House preferred. But Creighton, where Hancock got stripped of his committee chairmanship after that, Creighton is still one of the boys for the lieutenant governor. And he's a skilled politician, and he's managed to find his way through these fractures, these fissures, and without coming out pretty unscathed, I'd say, and definitely wants higher office, absolutely. And I think he would jump at the opportunity to run for lieutenant governor.

Yeah, I agree. He's on my list. I totally agree. I think he's definitely in the conversation, and And I pair him with somebody like Hughes in that regard as a current senator who has goodwill with the current lieutenant governor in the chamber, specifically the Republicans in the chamber, to position by the people of Texas. It's a statewide elected position. So how much influence the senators have is minimal in that regard. But this is somebody who would come in and run the Senate. And I think it's worth talking about what the other senators might think of somebody who would lead their chamber and especially turn from colleague to leader. Also, like you said, they're elected by the statewide voters, but discussions behind the scenes among senators can whittle a field, right? It can encourage or discourage certain candidates from running. And so while it's not the be-all, end-all, it does have an effect, I'd say.

And I'd say Creighton is in a good position to do that my third um or excuse me my second i guess um because you took two of my guys here off my list darn you but i guess what push comes to shove it's what i did to you last cycle um but uh second you already mentioned him hancock i'm putting kelly hancock in the running here i think he is somebody who definitely has considered higher office and would be open to running for something in the future. He is in an entirely different position than Creighton, and he is, though, for reasons you've explained,

he's caught himself in a little bit of the ire of the lieutenant governor and certainly saw some, you know, after that session, some demotion to different committees and things like that, that was difficult. But at the same time, he's aligned with a lot of very powerful people within the Republican Party where they're not there in the Senate. I mean, he is, for all intents and purposes, been very close with the governor on a lot of different issues and is positioned very well as an ally of Governor Abbott. Talk about a big endorsement for either Hughes or Creighton from Patrick.

An Abbott endorsement for Hancock would be. Huge. Unreal. Even bigger. Yes, absolutely. So I don't think he at all is out of the conversation for a lieutenant governor. I think he also could run for something like governor. I think he'd run for other offices.

But I do think he's worth talking about for a lieutenant governor for all of those reasons. And yeah. I was going to pick Kelly Hancock second, but I decided not to because I had Hager in the race and I see them kind of in the same lane. Yeah. I think they're both close with the governor. Hancock, especially. But I think Hager is too. And I instead decided

to go with Creighton because I see Hancock and Hager kind of going for the same lane here. That makes sense. Someone's got to go on that, right? Yeah. So I'm going to pick the guy with the $9 million war chest.

Solid. Who already has been on a statewide ballot multiple times. Yeah. Right. But. So I'm going to pick the guy with the $9 million war chest. Solid. Who already has been on a statewide ballot multiple times. Yeah. Right. But, yeah, absolutely, Hancock is someone to watch for a number of different positions. And I think he'd be well supported by a lot of big organizations, some different grassroots organizations. But I think you can say that of any of these Republicans that we're considering for this, for Lieutenant Governor. Hey, maybe Comptroller is something to watch him for.

Totally. I think that would be something to note. But his political career I don't think is done. Yeah. I think he's— He's not stopping at Senate, I don't think. Who knows? But that's my inclination.

What was it? He got a transplant, right? He had a medical procedure. Oh, yes. Do you remember what? I don't. Okay. It was pretty serious, but he seems to be doing a lot better on the mend.

And another factor in this is he voted for impeachment and was very forceful in defending his— Or on two articles he voted for impeachment. Right. Yes. But he was among the Republicans that voted for impeachment. And, you know, that's, at least right now, not a good look for just the base, right? Do they care in two years? I don't know. I mean, I think there's a strong argument that issue fades significantly. We could have a whole other podcast about that. The memory of Texas

voters and how alignments and alliances change in the course of a year, two years, three years. I think, you know what, I think we'll put that in our back pocket. Oh, really? Yeah. Huh, interesting. We certainly haven't already come up with that. But yeah, that'd be interesting to see how that affects things. And, you know, obviously we talked about this in the first episode, which weighed more in GOP voters' minds, school choice or impeachment. I think it's with $6 million from Abbott behind it and all the other money that came in, I think it's probably safe to say school choice weighed more. But impeachment absolutely was a factor.

And the question is, does it have staying power as an issue for voters? Yeah, absolutely. All right. My third one. I'm going to go with Christy Craddock. Ah. Current Texas Railroad Commissioner. I think she's the chairman this year because she's up for re-election,

and they always stagger it. So when you're up for re-election, you're the chairman of the body, of the agency. So she ran away with her primary. She had, I think, like five primary challengers. Another statewide elected official we sometimes forget about because of the body that she serves on. Yep. Nobody really knows what it does,

or at least few people do. It's nothing to do with railroads in all reality. Yeah. So in reality, it's oil and gas. One of, if not the most important industry for the state. Her father is a former speaker of the Texas House. Yep. And she is absolutely angling for something and has been for a while. Yeah. She's been biding her time. Her name surfaced in discussions about, I believe, about running for AG against Paxton in 22. Obviously, she didn't do that. But, yeah, I think she would jump at this opportunity, and she'd be formidable. Absolutely.

Yeah. Especially as, so far in this case, the lone woman in a field full of guys. Yeah. Yeah, I think she'd be. In the conversation. Yeah, no doubt. Yeah, totally see that for sure. And you're right.

I think there's a strong possibility she runs for some sort of higher office or other statewide office in the years to come. So what that looks like, who knows. I'm going to go with, let me make sure. Yes, okay. You took a few, so I had to make some adjustments here. But I'm going to go with Donna Campbell. Yes, okay. You took a few, so I had to make some adjustments here. But I'm going to go with Donna Campbell.

Oh, okay. Somebody that would be... No longer the only woman in the race. Yeah, exactly. I think that she would be very amenable to running for higher office. She is also somebody who served in the Senate, I think, as followed the party line in terms of Dan Patrick's Senate, positioned well in that regard, and I think she would be in the conversation at least and open to running for something like this and has been part of those conversations in the past.

Yeah. She's someone that we'll see if she gets a bigger committee chairmanship. She's currently nominations chair. And, you know, getting a chairmanship period is a big thing for anyone in either chamber of the legislature. But getting a more prestigious one than nominations, I think she... Prestigious. Prestigious. She is definitely, she has her eye on that. And that could springboard her to being among, you know, Hughes-Crayton as potentials for the anointed one by Dan Patrick, if this is how it plays out.

And I think it's also worth mentioning in terms of the Senate and the dynamic, Joan Huffman is, you know, very much the right hand of the lieutenant governor. She has not been as much in the conversation of folks who would willingly enter into a statewide race, but she is a very powerful member of the Senate, chairs the Senate Finance Committee. It's almost like she could fit in an honorable mention. It's almost, yeah, you're right. I'm kind of jumping ahead, aren't I?

Yeah, you are. Getting ahead of yourself. I was going to mention Jane Nelson, the former Senate Finance Chair. Don, think about it. But she's the secretary of state right now. And so I don't know that that would be something that she would jump in for another elected position. But in terms of powerful senators who've.

Yes, sorry. Yes, you're right. Why are you making that face? I thought you were going to get accused of mansplaining again. No, I was trying to be really nice. Okay. Okay. Fair. Brother. We can trying to be really nice. Okay. Okay. Fair.

Brother. We can't even have a nice moment. In this football podcast, I thought I was about to get another, you know. I could have spiked the football, but I didn't. Oh, you could have. But no, you're right. It's not an elected. But regardless, she holds statewide office right now.

But I don't think she'd be. I don't have her on any of my lists right now. But in terms of powerful senators or former senators, Huffman and Nelson, top of the list. Man, you just blew right past that honorable mention. No, I have a whole section of honorable mentions. All right, all right. And they don't even – they're not even on my list. Okay.

Goodness gracious. Well, who do we think is the frontrunner in this field? Probably Hager. Yeah, I think so too. Yeah, probably Hager. I'm just surprised you gave in on my pick and didn't stick with yours. I think it entirely depends on what office he would opt to run for. I think Lieutenant Governor is one he'd be especially excited about.

Just considering his past in the Senate and all that. Hey, he's got $9 million burning a hole in his wallet. But secondarily to that, I would say Brian Hughes. And money's not everything, right? And it can be raised. And this is where he can use that fund to run for this office, which is notable as well.

Right. But it is something. Especially how big that sum is at the moment. Yeah. Huge. So, okay. I'm going to say Hager as well, if that's not surprising. Great. Okay.

Attorney General. Where do we even begin? Where do we even begin? Who do you think is going to sue the biden administration next make that their job description i mean it basically is suing the biden administration as a republican elected official states top lawyer about the obama administration yes but assume but and in this case again trump would be in office so that's true you're But regardless. So who is going to head up the very neutered office of the evening? I'm just kidding.

Who we got? Middleton. Middleton. Yeah, right off the bat. So where you have him for governor, I have him for AG. He was supportive of Krause, like you said, when Matt Krause, former state representative, opted to run for AG. He later dropped out. And Middleton was rumored to be

in the conversation of running against Paxton for that position then. And just like you said, I think the self-funding aspect of his candidacy would be huge, especially for a position like attorney general. I think he has a great position in terms of the primary voter electorate and how they would respond to his candidacy. He has a great record in terms of the primary voter electorate and how they would respond to his candidacy. He has a great record in the Senate for primary voter. I just think he's well positioned for any sort of statewide run. And that's what we're talking about here. Yeah.

Primaries. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. He's my number one. I think that would be formidable. Yeah. Notable also that somebody who runs for AG, Middleton, we did.

I do believe he is an attorney, but you do not have to be an attorney to run for AG. So I want to make that clear up front as well. Okay. Well, I have... Who do I go with first? I'm really curious to see where you go with your picks for AG. I'm going to go with first? I'm really curious to see where you go with your picks for 18. I'm going to go with George P.

Really? He's going to come back. You think he's going to come back? Okay. Run for the office that he sought, this time with Paxton out of the picture as it relates to this race. So, you know, he was razor close to getting the Trump endorsement. People forget that. Yeah.

He was very close. Which is so crazy to think about in terms of the political landscape now. But he was really close. Oh, yeah. And, you know, if one or two things went the other way, including the Trump endorsement, he might And, you know, if one or two things went the other way, including the Trump endorsement, he might be, you know, in the office at the moment. He pushed Paxton to a runoff, and then Paxton won the runoff by a wide margin.

But, you know, at that point, things had already cascaded in Paxton's favor, including the Trump endorsement. So I'm going to say he's going to make a comeback bid. And who knows if he wins, but there's obviously a lane for him. And he's been on the ballot for it. He's been on the statewide ballot for years as land commissioner. So what's another run? Yeah. It's a good pick.

Solid pick. Okay. He was on my short list, or my honorable mentions list, but not my AG list. Okay. I'm now going to go with somebody that has been in headlines with Paxton many a time, condemning him or asking him, hey, time to resign. I had him as well. Chip Roy. Current congressman for Texas's 21st Congressional District,

former head of Paxton's AG office and long legal career, long career in Texas politics, has been in and out of the legal scene here in Texas for many, many years. But I think he specifically has an angle to run for AG. He, as serving as a congressman, is the budget hawk from Texas. I mean, that has kind of been his deal, as he is willing to take bold positions on budgetary issues and other issues as well. But that's really been his bread and butter, garnering him a lot of support from very conservative members of the Republican primary electorate. I also think, too, his profile and history with Paxton would be a very obvious dovetail into running for this office.

How that would be received with Republican primary voters is a whole different conversation. Again, is it something that's even top of mind for them? But he's called for Paxton to resign, right? And he was formerly, he was Jeff Mateer's predecessor, if I'm not mistaken. So the top of the top of the AG's office. The first assistant attorney general. Yeah. And he left the office and certainly has very little, there's no love lost between those two, Paxton and Roy. But at the same time,

Roy has come out and I forget exactly which legal challenge it was that he came out and applauded the Attorney General on recently, but he was willing to come out and applaud Paxton when he made a move politically or legally that he was in line with. But he has straight up called for Paxton to resign before. Yeah, Roy is, he's always very logically consistent. I think the strike against him, and this is something he, I'm sure, would readily acknowledge and say, and actually that's a benefit for me, is he is, he, there's a lot of hills on which he'll die. Totally. Which is also where he garners a lot of respect from folks. Exactly. Absolutely. But, you know, candidates that prefer to stay out of the limelight, they think that's kind of foolish to do.

And obviously he disagrees and Chip Roy is nothing if not someone that sticks to his guns on stuff. Sticks to his principles on whatever that might be. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so, yeah, I think that's a good pick. And he was going to be one of my picks until you stole him. So next I'm going to go with Brian Hughes. And so basically for every reason you mentioned him as a lieutenant governor candidate,

I think he is that and more with the attorney general's position. I think this is what he wants more. I think he would rather have that. That's just a hunch based on things I've heard. He's definitely in the mix for both. But I think if push came to shove, especially if you have Brandon Creighton running for Lieutenant Governor. I don't see them readily running against each other. Yeah, I think you'd have Brian Hughes dip and run for Attorney General. So that's my pick. Yeah. And I'm sticking to it.

Solid. I think that's super solid. Yeah, he was on my list if I didn't choose him for like of, so absolutely. Third place. This would be fascinating if we had a Roy v. Rinaldi primary. But I do see if Paxton were to leave the office, Matt Rinaldi, current Texas GOP chairman and former Texas House member, as somebody that the Paxton apparatus would readily get behind, be very supportive of. They're very powerful. There's a lot of money that can be drawn in that regard. But I think Rinaldi would be a big-time part of that conversation. He's also a lawyer, so that's also part of his pedigree.

But, yeah, he's been in and around Texas politics for a long time, and I think he would be certainly somebody that they would find amenable to that position. Yeah. I don't disagree. I was going to say exactly that. But because I can't say that, I will go with State Rep Jeff Leach. Ooh. Talk about a heel turn there from Rinaldi.

You know, they were, yeah, Leach might run as the anti-Rinaldi candidate. Yeah, exactly. Interesting, yeah. So, gained a bigger reputation. Some hate him now. Others love him now during the impeachment and gave one of the closing speeches about advocating for the conviction of Ken Paxton during that impeachment trial. He chairs the Judiciary Committee in civil jurisprudence.

I think he is thinking about this. I've heard his name pop up a lot when discussing future attorney general candidates. And if this floodgate opens, how can he say no? And there was discussion about him not seeking reelection for state house this year. He ran and won handily so obviously there wasn't a ton to that but um you know these guys are always considering whether it's worth giving it another go but by running again leach preserves his spot in elected office and i think sets himself up to run in two years for a turn general if that opens up. So, you know, maybe if Paxton, for some reason, sticks in the position,

Leach would be, gosh, that would be just a... That would be the most wild primary. Yes. A knockdown dragout. Yep. Gosh, yeah. That'd be tough. No, solid choice.

I had to dip deep into my bag there because you took two of mine. I don't think you dug that deep. I think that makes sense. No, I don't think it's a reach. It's just it's not who I would have gone with at the moment. But, oh, well. That's why we have a draft. That's why it's a draft.

That's why you have a big board and you have backups and backups to the backups. That's why we can prepare. Backups to the backups. That's right. I will say also with Rinaldi notable in that he's the current GOP chairman, state party chairman, and he opted not to run for re-election. And very soon thereafter, Abraham George, former Texas House candidate, ran against Candy Noble,

came forward and said, I'm running. Rinaldi, Paxton, that whole apparatus endorsed him within 15 minutes. But it wasn't coordinated. It was not coordinated. Not at all. Spur of the moment. Totally. Spontaneous.

But regardless, I think that's notable to mention as well. Okay. Fair enough. Okay, who's top for AG? AG. In this? Oh, man, that's tough. That's really tough.

I don't want to pick Middleton because I already picked him for governor. So I'm going to go with Bush. Over the rest of the field? He's been on the ballot before. He's been on the ballot for a while. Bush is a distant memory in terms of how much has happened since he was on the ballot before. He's been on the ballot for a while. Bush is a distant memory in terms of how much has happened since he was on the ballot last. Certainly a prominent name. That's true, but none of these other candidates have been on the ballot statewide. How many op-eds have been

written about the Bush name in Texas losing its potency? But in Trump's own words, he's the one Bush that likes me. So that sets him apart. It's true. You know, he's not his father. He's not his uncle in terms of reality in relation to the former and potentially future president who governs a lot in this party right now. But there's also a lot of people that love George Pete and the Bush name. They're in the faction of the party that is kind of out of power right now, or at least out of favor with the general direction that the party's going. But he's got his supporters. Yeah.

And he pushed Paxson to a runoff as sitting statewide elected official. Who at the time was very much more at odds with primary voters than he is currently. I think that's worth mentioning too. Sure, but he's also not a factor in this, at least by name in this right now. For sure, for sure. And also if Jeff Leach is running, which this is a hypothetical scenario, but if this field happens and Jeff Leach is running, which this is a hypothetical scenario, but if this field happens and Jeff Leach is running and Chip Roy is running, do you think if Paxton decides to get involved,

he's going to choose to go after Bush over those two? I don't think so. Yeah, I get that. I don't think so. I get it. Middleton's my top pick. I know. That's the easy one. Yeah, I get that. I don't think so. I get it. Middleton's my top pick. I know. That's the easy one.

Yeah, I think he's top pick for AG for sure. I think that goes without saying for me. But, yeah, that's who I have. Okay. Okay. The crown jewel here. Yeah, this is going to get wild. Yeah.

Crazy, as it were. Oh, Lord in heaven. Oh, is that my cue? No, you just said as it were, and that drives me crazy. Oh, okay. Okay, ad commissioner. Let's talk about it. Brad, you're number one.

You get to pick first here with ad commissioner. I know that's like the big diamond here that we're all going for is the first pick for ad commissioner in this draft. So what do you got? Comeback bid from Rick Perry. Just kidding. Just kidding. Definitely not. Oh Although I do have

him written down here. For what? No, that's a different Perry. Oh. That is Charles Perry. Senator Charles Perry. Interesting. That's out of left field. That's out of left field. So you'll probably take the other one that I was going to say, but this is my legit, not my joke candidate. Yeah. But. I will say we had a harder time with Ag Commission than we did others. It's a little bit tougher.

I think it's wider open, you know, like. It's not necessarily an office that a ton of people are angling for. It's more an avenue that opens up and people are like, oh, let me think about that. Yeah. But State Senator from Lubbock, he's got the bona fides, talks a lot about water infrastructure. That's big in ag, obviously. And I think that's just generally where his policy interest lies more. You know, he's done stuff. He was, I forget which bill he authored, social issue bill this past session that was pretty big.

I forget which one exactly. But he's been involved in that. But I think, you know, when I talked to him, he couldn't stop talking about the water situation, which it shouldn't be given short shrift. It's a huge problem, and we'll see if they can address it at all. But the state's booming population is going to cause a lot of issues for water supply, especially if they can't get their stuff together and build new water supply, which has its own quagmire. You know, like, if we're building reservations, not reservations.

Reservoirs? Reservoirs, thank you. If we're building reservoirs, that land's got to come from somewhere, and there's people's land that's going to be taken. Anyway, I won't digress too much. I think this would be something he'd jump at, especially given the vacancy. And he would be among higher profile guys probably seeking this, unless there's someone which may well be accurate that I'm just totally skipping over at the moment.

Yeah, I feel like this field was tougher to manufacture and gather candidates for. But that's an interesting pick. He definitely was not on my radar, which I think will be kind of the case for, I think, some of the picks we have. Okay, who you got? I have—okay, this is out of left field. I don't think you'll think this person at all. Oh. Louie Gohmert.

I had him on—interesting. Yeah. I guess—I did not have him for this, but I had him among potential candidates for stuff. For AG? Former AG candidate. I hadn't assigned him a position. You just had him on the list. I wrote down a big board of people, and he was on it.

Former congressman from Texas. Beloved. Yeah, beloved East Texas. Oh, my gosh. He won his district of East Texas in the AG's race. Outsideved. Yeah, beloved in East Texas. Especially in East Texas. Oh my gosh. He won his district of East Texas in the AG's race. Outside of his district even. It was like East Texas. Just East Texas. People love

Louie Gohmert in East Texas. He, former Congressman, he ran for Attorney General, lost and didn't make it into the runoff that George P. and Paxton were engaged in, but he certainly, I think, shored up the support of folks who agreed with Paxton, at least politically, but had concerns about some of

the allegations or legal issues that the attorney general was facing. So he is in line with that side of the party, but he was positioning himself as the alternative who didn't have those issues to contend with. Yeah, rural Texas guy. I think he would be an interesting candidate. I think this could be certainly an office that he would be formidable and running for. In this scenario so far, it's West Texas versus East Texas. Check that out. That would be quite the spectacle. It would. Netflix special coming to you in 2026.

I like to pick. Thanks, pal. would netflix special coming to you yeah 2026 i like to pick i uh i'm mad that i didn't think about it myself so i'll take that to you there you go i'll take it my next pick is going to be i'm going to do this now before he gets taken um i'm going to go with state representative Briscoe Cain. Dang it. Briscoe is the chairman of the Agriculture Committee. Why is that funny, Bradley? Well, he's from Deer Park. A suburb of... A suburb of Houston. Yeah.

Now, he does have a farm now, which leads me to the reason I actually picked him here. It's not entirely... Out of left field. Humor. Yeah. picked him here um it's not entirely out of love humor yes um i was listening to the bcm podcast uh kind of austin insider charles blaine's on it um brad swale and michael searle and briscoe was on it and he's talking about how he and his wife now have a farm it's not huge but they have a farm that they go work at a lot and um uh they're on it constantly and he's talking about how interested he is in agriculture at the moment especially after he got that chairmanship. He used to be elections chair. And then this past, dang it, that was another one I had that you just typed out.

The, I, essentially, Representative Kane, I took you at your word on the podcast. Now you've got to back it up by running for Ag Commissioner. Show the people how transformative you've become. Does Briscoe have a stock of bolo ties? Why do I feel like I've seen them on the floor? I think I've seen them with bolo tie, yeah. That would fit. Yeah.

It'd fit the vibe. That would be an interesting campaign. And he's very intelligent. What he didn't know about ag growing up, I don't know what his, maybe he grew up on a farm, I don't know. But just based on him living in Deer Park, what he didn't know from that about agriculture, I'm sure he is absorbed in the time he's been ag chair. And I will say, when you are serving in the legislature, you become much more literate on a variety of issues facing the state than you ever were before you were elected. Like, you are

faced with legislation all the time where you have to contend with these questions and issues and a lot of people. Even if you don't represent a rural area, you're still voting on. You have more knowledge than the average citizen on some issues, not all. It's very important to listen to your constituency, but there are a lot of things you're finding out a lot about,

having the state's foremost experts walk into your office and teach you about stuff every day. Yeah. Okay, my next one is James White, former state representative. He did run for Ag Commissioner against Sid Miller the last time, or in 2022? When was that? Yeah, it was in 2022.

Yeah. It wasn't close. When was that? Yeah, it was against Sid Miller in 22. Yeah. It wasn't close. Sid Miller ran away with it. And now he serves on a commission here in Texas. He's the funeral services chairman, I believe. He's a good director, I think it is. Yes.

But he is certainly somebody I think would be on the short list for this position. Having run for this position previously, expressed interest in running for it. Yeah, really like him. Prep all the time. Easy to chat with. Yeah. I almost texted him in doing prep for this to see if he would have any interest in that. I used to get texts from him all the time after he'd listen to our podcast. It was great.

Classic. Well, James, if you're listening to this, I don't want you to run so you prove McKenzie right. But that would be, you were on mine. Exactly. It would still prove you right in one way or another. Okay. Number three, Bradley. I am going to go, this is out of left field, I think.

But I think it makes sense. Okay. Cecil Bell. He was on my list. Oh, hey, look at us. Dang. Look at us. Dang, dang, dang.

You know. We actually had multiple of the same candidates for this position, even though we thought we wouldn't have. Interesting. Longtime member. You know, he's from a rural area. Where's his cowboy hat? Where's his cowboy hat?

Which is a big deal. I think it's a lock for him. Well, it makes sense. Him not wanting to run for other office, notwithstanding, because, you know, running for a statewide office is a lot, right? It's a lot. Especially going from a tiny little district. His, I'm sure, I don't think it's that tiny. But it's not a whole state.

Geographically speaking. But I think he's got the bona fides to run for this. Does he have any interest? No idea. But. But he made your list. and he made mine as well there we go there we go he's Cecil Bell all right round it out okay this is kind of a I think a very long shot so bear with me I'm picking Doc Anderson I think he fits the bill he did retire from the

legislature as a house member who's retiring the cycle but I do think he would be a phenomenal candidate for the position I think he'd have interest in it. He is a veterinarian from Waco, so I think he would be well-primed for a position like this in terms of statewide office. And he's another guy really beloved by a lot of the members in the legislature because he's just a good old boy veterinarian from rural Texas who takes care of business, wears his hat, shows up to work, and very much just a Texan through and through.

So I think he'd be an interesting candidate. Again, no idea if he has any interest. He's kind of in the Cecil Bell. He's even less likely, I think, than Cecil Bell to run for this position, but he's on my list. Well, you know, he decided not to run for re-election, and the reason he cited was wanting to spend more time with his family and so hard to do that when you're running for statewide office now that is two years from now

he may get get fidgety you know and want to want to do something else but uh i could see it absolutely yeah so yeah he serves on the agriculture and livestock he's the vice chair of the agriculture livestock committee he's on the energy resources committee which is just funny having briscoe kane as the chair and doc anderson is the vice chair yeah that's ridiculous so funny but um in that in this scenario those two are running against each other for this this position yeah who's your top candidate ad commission it's got to be gomart yes yeah it's gotta be me too i want to say perry but perry is a fun choice it's gotta be it's gotta be i think gomart fits the bill nobody has the profile we got a good field here i like this field i'm you. Yeah, Gomer for sure for me too. Number one. Okay. Now we're on to honorable mentions.

That you put the cart before the horse on. Do you want to start with Dems or start with ours? Let's start with Dems. Let's talk about some Democrats. Again, we're having this conversation about Republicans. I think we should flip it. Because we just talked about all these individuals in the Republican primary. And we mentioned honorable mentions already kind of. So you want to go with Republicans and I think we should depart that out of the way and focus on the bigger option. Yes. I think your suggestion was horrible and you should pay dearly for that. Okay, fine. Bradley, you know what? And because of your propensity to mansplain

to me, I would ask that you go first. Teach me what I need to know. So is the rule we can't pick anyone that's on this list already? Just, yeah, basically. Or on our list. On any, just honorable mentions of folks we've not talked about who are in some way primed for another office. Joan Huffman and Jane Nelson, I think, are perfect examples that you already

mentioned and then feared off. I'm going to say Rick Perry. You're never going to let that go. No, I'm not. I'm going to say Rick Perry. Which one? The Rick Perry, okay. I don't know. I think he's got some fight left in him. Clearly, he's back in the speaker in the runoff, maintaining his profile. Probably he's just done. He's enjoying retirement, and he's picking his battles on his own. It's not new, though, that he would engage with Republican Party primaries. Right.

He's done that for years. There was rumor that he was thinking about running against abbott for governor yeah in 22 now a different rick perry yes a different what was our headline rick perry's running for governor not that one yeah something like that yeah yes so yeah i'm gonna go with him how about you okay um i think I think Eric Johnson's a big name to throw into this. I cannot believe I didn't think about it. Dallas mayor, former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party. I think he is another candidate that is primed for some sort of federal run for something. I think that would be fascinating.

Big city mayor, big Republican mayor at that here in Texas, elected before he switched parties. But regardless, somebody who I think has a profile that's ready to grow. Okay. Do you have others for Republicans? Yeah. Okay. I'm going to go with Todd Staples. Oh, nice.

Tell us about Todd Staples. He used to be in Texoga. He used to be—what position did he used to be in? Why can't I... That is such an obvious... I know he ran for... He's been around a while. Yeah.

And he was in office. Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. Okay, so he ran against Sid Miller. Or he was Ag Commissioner. He was two-term. And then he ran for... Lieutenant Governor. Lieutenant Governor, that's right. Okay. So he's been around the block. He's done it. He was two-term. And then he ran for what position? Lieutenant Governor. Lieutenant Governor, that's right.

Okay. So he's been around the block. He's done it. He's been on the ballot. Has been on the ballot for a while, but a prominent figure nonetheless. Sure, yep. But, you know, he's maintained his profile in insider circles, running TexOGA, the Texas Oil and Gas Association.

I'm sure he's – it's a very comfortable living. And going from that to, you know, elected office would be a huge drop down. But ambition. Yeah. Maybe he's got it still. And he's a younger guy. You know, he's not pushing 70. Or if he is, he hides it really well.

So I'm going to go with Todd Staples. There you go. I think there are a lot of House members we could have talked about that weren't talked about because it is a bigger jump for a House member to go to some sort of statewide elected office than a senator or something along those lines. I think Nate Schatzlein is a member who is primed for some sort of step up. Very eloquent, very good on a mic, certainly part of the faction or the conservative faction of the House that is at odds with the Speaker. So that would be

difficult in some regards, but is very loved by a lot of grassroots folks around the state. So I think he's certainly somebody, a young guy, young family. I think he has a lot going for him in terms of if he wanted to run for other office. I think he is in that realm. Matt Schaefer is somebody I also think we need to keep an eye on who retired from House District 6, I want to say, in East Texas, but said he isn't necessarily saying he won't run for other office in the future. I'd keep an eye on him for sure. Who else you got while I noodle on my list here? Caroline Harris, Caroline Fairley. I think they're in the conversation for sure.

Two young Republican women. Caroline Harris just served her first term in the House. Caroline Fairley is set to join the House this next session. So I think those are two other folks to keep an eye on as well. I think I might add Phil King and Tan Parker, state senators. I don't know what exactly they'd have their eye on. Maybe they just prefer being in the Senate. And they're both freshmen right now, so they're not. They're still new at that. But that hasn't stopped people before. And Middleton's a freshman.

That won't stop him from running for something. Totally. So just looking at the roster of members, I could see both of them making a jump for something if the opportunity opens up. What that is, I have no idea. But I think two names to watch there as well. Yeah, absolutely. So, okay.

And we're back after another break because the camera we bought that is very expensive died. You can't trust anybody these days, especially cameras. Do you want to go on a tangent about Sony again? No, I'll let my rant from last time stand. Being that we have a Canon in the room with us today. Oh, the war of cameras. Yeah, that's true. Where does Ashton Kutcher fall on this?

Anyway, all right, back to honorable mentions. We finished up the Republicans there. Now let's talk Democrats. Also, Bradley, how many calls from folks do you think we're going to get about our takes? I'm sure we'll get some. Yeah, I'm curious. Yeah. Just remember, people, we're hypothesizing.

We're having fun. That's a word. Yes. I'm fine. we're just we're hypothesizing we're having fun that's a word yes i'm paul yes this is just guessing it totally is a word hypothesizing whatever you say you have me second guessing what are you my vocabulary you crazy man come on goodness all right who you got democrats democrats n Nathan Johnson, top of the list. Gosh. Yeah.

Current state senator and certainly somebody we've seen be able to kind of deal with a Republican-controlled Senate and still maintain support among his base. He had a primary this cycle that we certainly were keeping an eye on against Victoria Nyave Corrado, a House member who positioned herself as the more progressive candidate in that race. He had a primary this cycle that we certainly were keeping an eye on against Victoria Niave-Criado, a House member who positioned herself as the more progressive candidate in that race. And he fared well. He's back in the Senate. He'll be just fine. Yeah, he won pretty easily.

And I think at the top of most folks' list for those in Democratic circles right now who could potentially run for other office. Who hasn't already, right? Yes, exactly. Which brings me to mine, The obvious choice, Beto. Yeah. It's obvious. I mean, he's got the national profile.

He's got the infrastructure, and he's not let it dissolve. He's still, this year he's doing voter registration efforts through his, I forget the name of the organization, but it's still running. And he's very much involved. He's just not on the ballot. But he will be again, no doubt. Especially because Democrats, particularly compared to Republicans, don't have a bench. And that's been their issue for a while. Yeah.

It just takes time and victories to build a bench. And that's been their issue for a while. Yeah. It just, it takes time and victories to build a bench. So... And money. And money, yes. But Beto is, at the moment, the face of Texas Democrats. Some, I'm sure some Democrats hate that. Some love it. But he's still there.

And I think there's something in his future. Whether he wins or not, that's a different question. You know, he's run for three offices and lost for three offices since his congressional days. But, yeah, there's that. I'm still not over the fact that you did not think hypothesizing was a word. Brad, are you right for a living? Nobody's perfect. In the words of a philosopher

named Hannah Montana. I'm so glad that that happened. That's our cold open. That's got to be it. That's got to be it. Okay, Jasmine Crockett. We should say that's the cold open and the cold open.

Great. So this is the cold the cold open in the cold open. Great. Yeah. So this is the cold open. Welcome to the cold open. Oh, brother. Back to Democrats. Yeah. Jasmine Crockett, I think, is somebody to keep an eye on.

She's the member of Congress representing Texas's 30th Congressional District. She replaced the late Eddie Bernice Johnson, passed away this last December, a former House member, and has definitely had a meteoric rise in terms of what you can expect from Democrats in Texas and their ability to run for office. So she's very fluent in social media.

She's young. I think she has a lot to work with. So definitely someone to keep an eye on. I think, again, you to work with. So definitely someone to keep an eye on. I think again you're missing an obvious choice and that's the Castro brothers. I'm going deep cuts.

We haven't talked Democrats at all yet. That's true. You're right. I should have broadened my scope. I have deep cuts. I'm just also mentioning the obvious. Well good. You take care of the obvious. I'll do the more politically literate choices. That'm just also mentioning the obvious. Well, good. You take care of the obvious. I'll do the more politically literate choices. That's how we're

going to frame them. Gotcha. And I love them in together because I can't tell them apart. I'm just kidding. I can tell them apart.

It's just... You're going to get yourself in trouble. It's a joke. People have a sense of humor. They are twins. But I think

Julian Castro sometime last year tweeted a picture going into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He could run for something. And these are brothers who certainly have not been – have not shied away from running for other positions in the past. And obviously Castro did not jump into this race against Ted Cruz, which is what people kind of thought he was going to do at the past. And obviously Castro did not jump into this race against Ted Cruz, which is what people kind of thought he was going to do at the time. We have Colin Allred, who I think is another person to watch in this. Obviously. Yeah, he's on the list.

However this turns out, which it's no secret to suggest that Democrats have an uphill battle in the state. It's an R-56 district. That's not. District? State, state. It's a R-56 district. That's not... District? State, whatever. You did a great job. It is not, you know, a battleground right now.

Although, if you look at the fourth reading newsletter, there is a scenario in which Democrats can win the state of Texas. Who writes the fourth reading newsletter? Bradley? Oh, that's me. Oh, okay. Myself and I. I wasn't sure.

Yeah, I... Got it. In one of the sections, I talk about an astute analysis about electoral voting trends by someone by the name of Fat Ugly Rat. Or at least whose Twitter handle is Fat Ugly Rat. Yes. Yeah. But he analyzed the 2020 election vote just based on the path of the eclipse that's going through the country. And in Texas, which is a large section of the eclipse path, Joe Biden won by a very slim margin, but he won. So maybe in an eclipse world world, Texas is battleground. Right now, though, not quite.

But I expect Colin Allred, even if he doesn't win, to stay in the mix. And when we talk about an R56 state, we are referring to the Texas Partisan Index, our metric for which we determine the political leaning of a district or the state. And that's based on averages of statewide races. Over a few cycles. Over a few cycles. Yeah. There is a method to the madness. We're not just sticking our finger in the wind.

It's true. Who have we got next? I'm going deep cut again. Eddie Morales, a House member. I almost put deep cut again. Eddie Morales, House member that I think would be certainly somebody with a profile that could grow. He's a member representing a broad portion of the border. I believe he represents Poncho Navarro's old district along the Texas-Mexico border. Yeah, I think he's well-respected by a lot of his colleagues.

He's well-spoken. He has a lot to offer. He knows policy, especially border policy, very well. I think he'd be somebody to keep an eye on. I'm going to go with Ann Johnson, particularly for Attorney General. Oh, such a good choice. Yep. She's a former prosecutor and was one of the faces of impeachment in the General Investigating Committee.

She made, I think, opening statements in both the impeachment day and the trial, I believe. I think she definitely has higher ambitions, and especially for office of the attorney general. Very sharp, very skilled orator, former prosecutor, I believe. I said that. Thank you. Sorry, Bradley. Yeah. I don't listen to all the words you say.

Clearly. Yeah. Regardless, Anne Johnson's a great pick, and I can't believe I didn't have her on my list. Yeah. How many more do you have, Democrats? I have one more. Oh, why don't you just... That's just two more.

Oh, okay. Three more. Three more? Okay. I can name them real fast if you want. This is not necessarily Democrat. This is an independent. Matthew McConaughey.

Keep an eye on him. I think we'd be remiss. Brad, you can't miss the big fish. All right, all right, all right. Oh, gosh. Holly's going to love that. I think Sarah Eckhart would be an interesting person to keep an eye on as well. I've got Carol Alvarado.

Similar vein to Eckhart there being senators. Good analysis. They are both senators, yeah. Veronica Escobar. Oh, totally. Who holds Beto O'Rourke's old congressional seat. And then, of course, you have Harris County Judge Lena Hidalgo. She's been talked about a lot as a future Democratic candidate for statewide office. Even, I heard her name mentioned in

Among Those Thinking About Challeng about challenging habit in 22. Obviously, Beto took that and ran with it. And she would not have had a shot against Beto, I don't think. But in a world where Beto's not in the mix for running for something, she's right up there. She's gotten the glowing profile pieces from national media outlets to back up the, at least, suggestion that she is among those being considered or among those considering. So, yeah, I think, yeah, that's what I got. Solid choice. I like it. Shall we move on to the last bit of our podcast here?

We've gone long. We have a lot to say about this. We could go on for a long time. And tell us who we've missed, people. We want to know who y'all think who we've missed. Yeah, let us know where we screwed up really poorly. And our hypothetical draft. That is not going to come true.

Yeah. We're just having fun. This is just content. This is just content. That's true. Trying to keep you entertained and scintillated. Are those synonyms or antonyms? It's okay.

I don't know. I'm just throwing words out there now. Because you didn't think hypothesizing was a word. You're right. Lord in heaven. You honestly made me second guess myself. I realized shortly after I said that that it was a word. Yes, it's a word.

And I was committed to the thing. Just to make you feel stupid. Well, you succeeded. Okay. Okay, 2027 statewide slate. And we're going from. I don't know how this works. How do you have this?

How are you envisioning this going? Well, we can do two ways. We can pick from the slates we have here, or we can think what it's actually going to be like. I think we should do the latter. What it's actually going to be like. We already picked who our, you know, frontrunner is. So saying, like, if Abbott keeps running for governor, is that what you're saying? Like, we'd include those incumbents that were ousting in this? That'd be pretty boring, wouldn't it? Yeah, so I'm confused.

I'm confused how this would work otherwise. Okay, then let's just... Run through our options of who we chose. Go with the same... Great. So for governor, you chose... Well, you're the one. Okay, for governor, I chose Crenshaw. Yes.

I have Middleton. For lieutenant governor... I said Hagar. I also have Hager. I said Middleton for AG. Okay. I forget. Who did I say for AG?

Oh, we have Comptroller and Land Commission on this, which we didn't. Bush. I thought about it. Well, good for you. Ag Commissioner, I said Go-Mart. Oh, that's right. I had Go-Mart as well. Now it's interesting.

Comptroller. Hancock. Buckingham. Nice. Okay. Land Commissioner. This I had not thought of. Who wants it? commissioner. This I had not thought of. Hmm. Who wants it?

We're really struggling here. Yeah, we are. Hold on. Let me look at committee. Committee's here and see what we can think of

because I Let's go. Eric Johnson. For land commissioner? I'm going to say Cecil Bell. But he's running for... He can't run for two offices. Oh, I see.

He's running for ag commissioner here. Okay, okay, okay. Then Dwayne Burns. Oh, okay. He's the chair of land and resource management, so it's kind of just me picking from the pool there. That makes sense. That's a lot more thought out than mine. Yeah, Eric Johnson, I do not think will be running for land commissioner anytime soon.

Did you think Don Buckingham would be running for land commissioner anytime soon? I didn't. True. True. Fair. It's not as pigeonholed an office as Ag Commish, I'd say. Do you think it will drive people crazy that we're saying Commish? Or do you think they'll find it endearing? I'm sure I'm going to get the lot.

You wouldn't call your fraternity a frat. Don't call your commissioner a commish. Don't think that's what you'll get at all. There's a much worse version of that. Oh, is that referencing something I'm unaware of? I think you've probably heard it before, but I'm definitely not repeating it on this. Yeah, that's good. Okay.

Well, Bradley, this has been fun. It has been. Would you like to do the outro as you are the host of this podcast? What do we say in the outro? I forget. I don't know, Bradley. It's your outro. Goodbye.

I don't know. How's that? That's great. Goodbye. Tell us where we went wrong. Give us some feedback. If you like us, review us on iTunes. If you don't like us, don't give us a bad review.

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the reviews. Subscribe on YouTube. If you subscribe to The Texan, you get access to this podcast a day before it comes out on all podcast platforms. And please do that because that's how I can afford to live in the city of Austin. It's how Winston gets his food and survives. That's how I get my food and survive. True.

You will give Winston your food. I'm a bit more important, I would like to think, than a dog. Yeah. Great. Catch you next time. True, you will give Winston your food. I'm a bit more important, I would like to think, than a dog. Yeah. Great. Catch you next time.