Texas Take

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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