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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Can the party the says it believes in freedom of religion also ban people from worshiping how they want? That’s exactly the line Texas Republican Party is trying to walk. On this week’s Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace pushes one of the leaders of the anti-Islam push in Texas, Alan Schoolcraft, about his claim this isn't about religion.

The Democrat running to lead the biggest county in Texas isn’t buying it. Harris County Judge candidate Letitia Plummer, a Muslim, joins the Take for an exclusive interview to explain how the GOP's latest culture war won’t distract her from what she says is the real work of dealing with affordability and public safety.

"When people are having culture wars, we are bringing hope," Plummer says.

Plus, D’rinda Randall, fresh off her victory to become the new chair of the Republican Party of Texas stops by the show for an exclusive 1-on-1 interview to talk about her plan for fixing how the state party operates. And yes, we have elephants peeing and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in more leather than you’ve ever seen him. Reporters John Moritz and Haajrah Gilani join this week’s episode.

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James Talarico is getting an unexpected boost from shifting political winds in South Texas and Houston as he seeks to become the first Democrat to win statewide in Texas in over 30 years. National Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha and Houston Chronicle reporter John Lomax join Texas Take host Jeremy Wallace to explain it all. But Talarico faces hurdles too, specifically a looming $100 million problem. Reporter Benjamin Wermund joins the program to explain how Gov. Greg Abbott's huge campaign war chest could become a valuable resource for Republican Ken Paxton as he looks to fend off Talarico in the U.S. Senate race. And red alert, we are just 5 months away until Election Day and 3 months from the first absentee ballots going out.

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