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James Talarico couldn’t have asked for a better week as the battle for the U.S. Senate hits the homestretch. On this episode of Texas Take, reporters Casey Murray and John Moritz join host Jeremy Wallace to dig into why Republicans are even closer to losing a statewide seat in Texas for the first time in more than 30 years than they were a week ago. They break down the historic turnout at the start of early voting and dig into why Talarico sounds like he’s running against both Ken Paxton and Elon Musk these days. Plus, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett stops by for an exclusive interview to answer whether she’s really in Talarico’s camp or not. And finally, why was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis partying with Gov. Greg Abbott in Austin? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace examines the desperation gripping Texas Republicans as Election Day approaches. Houston Chronicle opinion editor Evan Mintz joins the show to discuss the bizarre conspiracy theory targeting James Talarico, while Jeremy breaks down the one county in South Texas that could still save Ken Paxton’s political career. Plus, Jeremy catches up with House Speaker Mike Johnson who made a mad dash into the Rio Grande Valley where he says his job - and Donald Trump’s final two years in office - hinges on protecting the most endangered Republican member of Congress in the Lone Star State. Finally, they’ll get into why Vice President JD Vance’s stop in Tyler is a giant flashing red warning sign for the GOP faithful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace is joined by Gromer Jeffers Jr. of The Dallas Morning News as the state enters the final stretch before early voting. They break down Donald Trump’s fourth Texas visit in six weeks, what it means for Ken Paxton, and the unusual campaign ad featuring Paxton’s estranged wife, Angela. They also look at whether Democrats can finally break through statewide, and what the polls might be getting wrong. Plus, Paxton gets the Saturday Night Live treatment, and Eagles legend Don Henley puts serious money behind Democrats trying to flip Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace examines a major voter registration backlog with Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt and what it could mean with Election Day approaching. The glitch has affected at least tens of thousands of voters in an election cycle that could be one of the closest in Texas history. Later, Austin American-Statesman reporter John Moritz joins Jeremy to break down the flood of money pouring into the U.S. Senate race, while Houston Chronicle reporter Ben Wermund explains Gov. Greg Abbott’s rapidly changing stance on data centers. Plus, Jeremy looks across the border in Texarkana at the backlash surrounding Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ controversial welfare ad and how it ties into the backlash against Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French and his criticism that the University of Texas has too many non-white students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace looks at Gov. Greg Abbott’s toughest reelection fight yet, as Democrat Gina Hinojosa puts the blame on him for affordability issues, high property taxes and the proliferation of data centers. Reporter Benjamin Wermund joins the show to break down the race and what makes it more competitive than any Texas gubernatorial race since the 1990s. Plus, Jeremy digs into Ken Paxton’s ties to donors connected to Chinese investment in Texas and Elon Musk’s multimillion-dollar effort to influence the Senate race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As if the GOP needed another hurdle to overcome this cycle, a statewide GOP candidate turned the Longhorns magical comeback into a litmus test for every party candidate by saying non-white University of Texas students are “the problem.” Host Jeremy Wallace and Austin American-Statesman political reporter John Moritz dig into the backlash against Railroad Commission candidate Bo French and how he’s hijacked Republican messaging at a critical juncture when they need to focus on saving Ken Paxton. Plus, they catch up with Democrat James Talarico in Houston to show how he’s still working on winning over Black Texans. And are national Democrats going to help him now that over $80 million in attack ads are being dropped in Texas by super PACs tied to Donald Trump, Elon Musk and others? Finally, Harris County Judge candidate Orlando Sanchez sits down for an exclusive interview with Jeremy to explain why he thinks he can flip Texas's largest blue county back to Republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace and reporter Casey Murray break down what they saw firsthand at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, an event that felt more like a two-day Trump rally than a traditional convention. They look at Trump’s push to energize Republicans ahead of the midterms, the jockeying among potential 2028 contenders and what the gathering meant for candidates like Ken Paxton. Plus, they discuss the issues Republicans avoided, the party figures who gained attention and Trump’s controversial proposal for a $5,000 dividend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz partially responsible for the midterm cycle turning into a potential disaster for Republicans? In this special edition of the Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace sits down with Cruz to discuss how his push for President Donald Trump to launch strikes on Iran in February has set the stage for high gas prices and an ongoing conflict looming over the November elections. Cruz also talks about his push to reshape college sports and his new book on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He explains what drew him to Thomas’s story and why, despite his own deep ties to the court, he has no interest in becoming a justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrat James Talarico is about to be tested like never before in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat. In this episode of the Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace and Houston Chronicle political reporter Casey Murray dig into how President Donald Trump and allies of Ken Paxton are getting more involved to stop Talarico from making history. Plus, San Antonio Express-News political reporter Haajrah Gilani joins to help break down why three South Texas congressional districts drawn to favor Republicans are now showing Democrats on the cusp of winning. Finally, why was country music star Tanya Tucker testifying before the Texas Legislature? Columnist Chris Tomlinson stops by to discuss the fight over a massive transmission line planned for the Texas Hill Country that would impact hundreds of landowners, including Tucker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace and Washington correspondent James Osborne break down the backlash over border construction near Big Bend National Park and what happens next there. And with President Donald Trump coming to Houston for a big fundraiser, they dig into the Republican National Committee’s huge fundraising advantage over Democrats and how that could impact Democrat James Talarico’s bid to defeat Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race. They have exclusive audio from RNC chair Joe Gruters about why he's always in Texas and from Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin who explained to a Texas audience why South Carolina and Nevada will be the first two states to vote in the Democratic presidential primary in 2028. Finally, with LBJ’s birthday approaching, they revisit the Texas president’s complicated legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Texas Take, Gov. Greg Abbott brushes off questions about the 170 public school campuses that have been shuttered or are on the way to closing since 2023. Plus, now that he has his voucher plan in place, what’s he doing to improve public schools? Host Jeremy Wallace examines that and other big issues facing Texas schools as students head back to class. Houston Chronicle politics reporter Isaac Yu explains the growing role of religion in classrooms, while Carrie Griffith, executive director of Our Schools Our Democracy, discusses declining enrollment, school closures and the impact of charter schools. Houston Chronicle reporter Lawrence Mower joins to break down the rollout of Texas’ new private school voucher program and what it could mean for public education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace asks Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton about taking a European vacation as conservatives, like TV host Jesse Watters, blast him for not being more visible this summer. “Where’s Paxton?” the Fox News host said on Wednesday just before Paxton took the stage in Houston for his first big rally in Texas' largest city since winning the primary in May. Reporters Casey Murray and John Moritz join Wallace to break down how Paxton is trying to win over Republicans who supported Cornyn, while Democrat James Talarico dives into some of the most purple areas of the state. Plus, Democratic candidate for governor Gina Hinojosa stops by the show to warn Democrats that there is almost nothing stopping the GOP from eliminating more Black and Hispanic representatives from Congress and the Legislature if she doesn’t defeat Gov. Greg Abbott. Finally, while vacationing in Maine, Wallace stopped in Biddeford to see how the community is responding to an ICE shooting that happened just days after a similar incident in Houston’s East End. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace examines the fatal ICE shooting of an unarmed Houston construction contractor that has reignited debate over immigration enforcement, transparency and accountability in Texas. Jeremy speaks with U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia and Houston Chronicle reporter Julian Aguilar about the conflicting accounts of the shooting, the calls for an independent investigation, similarities to the shooting in Maine, and the broader political fallout. He also breaks down the renewed effort by Texas Republicans to ban THC products after Governor Greg Abbott’s vetoed their ban last year. Plus, a rare public campaign stop from Senate candidate Ken Paxton shows how he’s going to use a classic GOP line of attack in his battle against Democratic challenger James Talarico in one of the hottest races in the nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Texas Take, Jeremy Wallace is joined by Texas Politics Reporter Haajrah Gilani, Chief Politics Reporter John C. Moritz and reporter Isaac Yu to unpack a week of political reversals. They discuss why Texans are being pulled into the Graham Platner controversy in Maine, why Gov. Greg Abbott is handing the comptroller’s office to former rival Don Huffines, and how the Dallas RNC convention could shape Ken Paxton’s tightening race against James Talarico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace is joined by Austin American-Statesman’s John Moritz to break down the Texas Democratic convention in Corpus Christi and James Talarico’s big test as a potential new face of the party. The episode also features an exclusive interview with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker on Democratic tensions over Israel and Gaza, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro on ICE detentions across Texas. Finally, Wallace and Moritz dig into the fallout from ICE detaining a nun in McAllen and what it could mean for U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s South Texas reelection fight. And there’s no way to do a show partly from Corpus Christi without some Selena and Robert Earl Keen tunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices