We recap the wild week in Texas politics. Grab a coldie and hang! Learn more about us at ProgressTexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Progressives across the country and across Texas are outraged that eight centrist Senators have caved to the Republicans, ending the federal government shutdown at 40 days: https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-trump-641e7e2324f261da72395b604d9540e8However - in the long run, it appears that the Democrats are the overall winners over the shutdown, with many more battles to come as a crucial election year begins: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-quick-take-on-team-caves-big-winWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our web store, including our newly-expanded Humans Against Greg Abbott collection: https://store.progresstexas.org/Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
California Governor Gavin Newsom was supported by a who's-who of Texas Democratic leaders and elected officials on Saturday as he rolled into Houston for a rally in celebration of his state's passage of Prop 50, which will allow California Dems to nullify (at least!) the gains that Donald Trump has demanded of Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans in their mid-decade gerrymander of our congressional map. In order of appearance, the speakers included Austin State Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa (1:39), Harris County Democratic Party Chair Mike Doyle (3:30), Houston State Rep. and Minority Leader Gene Wu (6:32), Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (13:17), Houston Congressman Al Green (14:14), Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (17:47), and California Governor Gavin Newsom (25:25).Full video of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPiw2082mWoThanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Progressives and Democrats across the country are basking in the glow of a highly encouraging blue wave in this week's election - but the stakes couldn't be higher, nor the challenge greater for 2026. Fort Worth attorney and Progress Texas board member Jason Smith joins us to talk about a rare uplifting week for Texas progressives - and most importantly, the challenge that lies ahead.Learn more about Jason Smith at https://letsgotocourt.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:A Rhode Island judge has ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP by the end of the day today, but Texas HHS says it will take as long as three days for Lone Star Cards to be funded: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/31/snap-benefits-texas-court-rulings/Even before figuring in the Trump SNAP clawback, the Latino vote has swung hard against the GOP in this week's elections - boding badly for the new Republican redistricting map: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/latinos-swing-left-texas-gerrymandering/...Trump's favorability rating among Texas Hispanics lags far behind his overall rating, at only 30%: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/texas-latinos-still-support-trump-data-shows-21091083.phpCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom - seen as a likely Democratic candidate for President in 2028 - will rally in Houston tomorrow to celebrate the Texas quorum breakers: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5594463-newsom-texas-rally-redistricting/Both D/FW International Airport and Love Field are on the list of 40 high-volume airports having their flight schedules slashed this weekend due to air traffic controllers going unpaid during the federal government shutdown: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-airports-to-see-flight-cancellations-this-week-40614333/...Meanwhile North Texas grocery shoppers - even those who haven't had their SNAP benefits cut - are paying some of the highest prices statewide at the store: https://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/how-bad-is-your-grocery-bill-data-suggests-dfw-pays-among-the-highest-prices-in-texas/3942026/Amidst stacking losses and bad omens for the future, Texas Republicans are sticking to their playbook and celebrating a court ruling that will allow them to ban drag shows: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/11/06/texas-can-enforce-drag-ban-law-court-rules/An announcement of an announcement next weekend from former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, on his future plans: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQvDxkzFPBG/?igsh=MTUzY29jYW1jc3JiOQ%3D%3D...Check out our visit with Mayor Ron from last May: https://progresstexas.org/podcast/special-live-pod-san-antonio-party-progress-mayor-ron-nirenberg-and-mayoral-candidate-ginaWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our web store, including our newly-expanded Humans Against Greg Abbott collection: https://store.progresstexas.org/Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Under the first phase of Trump 2.0, the First Amendment has been put through the wringer - and that's no more true anywhere than Texas college campuses. Progress Texas Executive Director Kathleen Thompson captured a recent live talk with civil rights lawyer J.T. Morris, Supervising Senior Attorney for FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, during which he details the current state of this fundamental American right, where it's headed, and what we can do to save it.Learn more about J.T. Morris and FIRE at https://www.thefire.org/about-us/our-team/jt-morris.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Almost a week into the month, November SNAP funding remains unpaid, leaving millions of Texans, including 1.7 million kids, in a state of food insecurity - for the first time since LBJ: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/05/texas-snap-food-stamp-families-hunger/...Even when November's payment arrives, Donald Trump's USDA says it will be half the usual amount: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/snap-benefit-release-november-21140402.phpWhile the record-long federal shutdown continues, the Texas comptroller's office has shut down a decades-long program to support historically underutilized, primarily minority-owned small businesses: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas-freeze-program-supporting-minority-owned-businesses/285-7a6f3dd5-41a8-423a-aead-cbbb4a28fe17Democrat Taylor Rehmet's close call with an outright victory in Tuesday's election in Tarrant County is seen as a positive harbinger for progressives moving into the midterm election season: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/05/texas-senate-special-election-democrats-tarrant-county/...Three progressive wins on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD board are also seen as a loss of MAGA influence: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/progressives-pick-up-all-3-cy-fair-isd-trustee-seats/...Governor Abbott has apparently been sent into a panic by the Zohran Mamdani win in NYC - while he's still not set a date for the Texas runoff election: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-zohran-mamdani-21141018.php...The massive win for Prop 50 in California will negate - if not surpass - any gains for Donald Trump that may come from our mid-decade redistricting: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/california-redistricting-will-erase-gop-gains-from-texas-redrawing-its-political-maps/Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, who bankrolled Governor Abbott's final push for private school vouchers, has sunk $100 million into the new MAGA private college University of Austin: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/05/university-austin-jeff-yass-donation-free-tuition/We're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our web store, including our newly-expanded Humans Against Greg Abbott collection: https://store.progresstexas.org/Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
We're the first to talk to Colonel Terry Virts, who had previously announced a run for the U.S. Senate, about his pivot into the race for the U.S. House in the newly-drawn (we think) Congressional District 9 - part of the racist Trump-ordered plan to carve new safe Republican seats out of marginalized communities, and seemingly drawn for the personal advantage of Deer Park Rep. Briscoe Cain. We think it's a great move and salute Colonel Virts for taking on this challenge.Learn more about Terry Virts and his newly re-launched campaign at https://www.terryvirts.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Huge Democratic gains on Election Night in NYC, California, Virginia, and New Jersey - a harbinger of what's to come in next year's midterms? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/us/politics/democratic-party-mamdani.html...All 17 Texas constitutional amendments on the ballot passed: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/04/texas-constitution-amendments-propositions/...In Houston, the CD-18 race unsurprisingly results in a runoff between Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/district-18-runoff-21129180.php...In Tarrant County, Democratic State Senate candidate Taylor Rehmet came within three points of winning outright - he goes to a runoff against MAGA crusader Leigh Wamsganss: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article312730646.html...In Austin Prop Q, a 20% hike on local property taxes, failed resoundingly: https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/elections/local/article/austin-proposition-q-fails-2025-election-result-21135217.php...In San Antonio Prop B, an earmarking of over $300 million for a new San Antonio Spurs arena, narrowly passed: https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/spurs-arena-san-antonio-proposition-b-21135933.phpWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Less than 8% of Texans have voted so far in the 2025 constitutional amendment election, but we stand a chance of matching the 20-year high in 2023 of 14.5%: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/election-day-updates-21125022.php...In Houston, turnout is relatively low in spite of a major election in CD-18: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/election-day-updates-21125022.php...Turnout also lags in Fort Worth, where a major Texas Senate special election is on the ballot: https://fortworthreport.org/2025/11/04/tarrant-voters-weigh-2-republicans-1-democrat-for-texas-senate-election/...Governor Abbott, likely in a dumb joke, is threatening a "100% tariff" against any New York City resident who tries to move to Texas if Zohran Mamdani wins that city's mayoral race today: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/abbott-mamdani-tariff-joke-21136333.phpDick Cheney has died at 84 - and his reputation as the right wing Darth Vader of his time is well-deserved: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/former-us-vp-dick-cheney-dead-84-punchbowl-news-says-2025-11-04/We're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Today marks one year to November 3, 2026 - the mid-term election. Mark YOUR commitment to the upcoming year by voting tomorrow: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/22/texas-statewide-propositions-november-ballot-election/...In particular, be sure to vote NO on Proposition 12, which would give Governor Abbott too much influence over judicial conduct decisions: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/03/texas-prop-12-judicial-conduct-greg-abbott/The Trump administration has been ordered to tap into available reserves and make full SNAP assistance payments by today: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-must-pay-food-aid-benefits-within-days-judge-says-2025-11-02/...Even the uncertainty over SNAP has led to a Halloween weekend run on local food banks: https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-food-lines-snap-6b55e2c21c0198f3309f3a45a55f33b6Over a quarter of ICE arrests under Trump have been made in Texas, and under half of those have involved undocumented people with criminal charges or histories: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/03/texas-trump-immigration-crackdown-ice-arrests-deportation/UT Austin, now two weeks beyond a set deadline to respond, has still not said whether or not they'll sign that "compact" with Donald Trump: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/students-organize-as-ut-continues-to-drag-its-feet-on-trumps-compact/In response to Governor Abbott's campaign to tear out rainbow crosswalks, Houston artists and residents have started painting rainbows all over the place: https://www.chron.com/culture/article/houston-texas-rainbow-crosswalk-murals-21122857.phpWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
East Texas farmer and firefighter Bobby Cole has the distinction of being the first to announce a run challenging Governor Greg Abbott, and while that field has gotten more crowded since, he's also distinctive in his grassroots origins - Cole has never held office before, and that's what a lot of his followers like most about him. Progress Texas' Reagan Stone talked to Cole before an audience hosted by the Davis County Democratic Party at the Davis Mountains Resort.Learn more about Bobby Cole and his campaign for governor at https://www.coleforgovernor.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Our group gripe this week has an obvious target, as Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, Mike Johnson and the rest of MAGA callously threaten millions of Americans using SNAP food assistance benefits with starvation as a political play. As usual, the cruelty is the point - especially horrifying to be happening in 2025 America.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Texas State Senator Sarah Eckhardt has served Austin in the legislature since 2020 after years of local leadership in Travis County, and has recently announced a run for the U.S. House in the newly-redrawn Congressional District 10. The district is drawn for a significant Republican advantage, but potentially in Eckhardt's favor, the incumbent Republican Congressman Michael McCaul has declined to run for re-election - making this an interesting race indeed.Learn more about Sarah Eckhardt and her run for Congress at https://www.saraheckhardt.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Among those trick-or-treaters you'll see out and about tonight are hundreds of thousands of Texas kids whose parents worry they'll not be able to feed them tomorrow, as Republicans including Governor Greg Abbott refuse to keep SNAP funding flowing: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/texas-democrats-call-on-abbott-to-act-on-snap-funding-during-shutdown/Democrats are holding out in an attempt to preserve healthcare subsidies that Trump's GOP would allow to expire at the end of the year - but the damage to Texans' insurance premium rates may already be done: https://www.fox4news.com/video/1733159County-level election officials across Texas have begun the task of investigating the over 2,700 "potential non-citizens" announced by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/31/texas-county-election-officials-investigate-potential-noncitizens/We're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
'Tis the season for voting and elections, and we're moving into one doozy of an election season in 2026, with the midterm election and the future of our democracy on the line - the time is NOW for ALL of us to individually step up our game. Whether you're just getting started on your activism journey, or you've been in the trenches for awhile, this talk is all about a terrific digital tool you can use to bring your family, friends and neighbors into the fight. Ben Wilbanks is the Managing Director and Lead Trainer for Texas Blue Action, who have developed the nation's most robust relational organizing network via an app called Reach - your ticket to a fun and meaningful way to get your people into motion.Learn more about the Texas Blue Action Network at https://www.texasblueaction.com/texas-blue-action-network-2mt.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Trump's choice to withhold SNAP food assistance payments resembles a forced starvation - in an armed conflict, that's a war crime, and in peacetime to force political outcomes, that's close to terrorism: https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/texas-house-democrats-form-committee...Gubernatorial candidate and State Rep. Gina Hinojosa is calling on Governor Greg Abbott to tap into Texas' Rainy Day Fund to keep Texas kids fed: https://x.com/GinaHinojosaTX/status/1983604948429332867Republicans hope the threat of widespread hunger will motivate Democrats to cave on ACA tax credits - if those expire, Texas will experience an outsized impact of premium increases: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/30/texas-aca-obamacare-health-insurance-open-enrollment/...As many as one million of the four million Texans using ACA would likely just drop health insurance altogether: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/texas-health-insurance-aca-shutdown-21116950.phpNew UT/Texas Politics Project polling shows inflation and healthcare costs at the top of Texans' worries, while many point to bad elected leadership as the cause: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texans-discouraged-about-economy-skeptical-of-leaders-new-polling-says/In a bad omen for outcomes in El Paso, a panel of judges has upheld the mid-decade gerrymander of Tarrant County's county commissioner map: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/appeals-court-upholds-texas-countys-gop-gerrymander/We're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas - for the first time, featuring live podcast tapings! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The looming suspension of SNAP benefits, which will heavily impact Texas, can be traced to ongoing Republican efforts to keep the Epstein files under wraps: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-hunger-games-begin...The disruption will be felt by all of us, in areas beyond groceries: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/28/texas-snap-benefits-cutoff-groceries-economy-government-shutdown/...There are many ways to both find and provide help as this intentional, self-inflicted crisis approaches: https://www.reddit.com/r/texas/comments/1oibwix/texas_snap_benefit_pause_heres_how_to_receive_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonThe Texas Supreme Court has ruled that judges in the state can refuse to conduct marriages - including same-sex marriages - based on their personal religious views: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-supreme-court-same-sex-marriagesMultiple advocacy groups for families affected by autism have joined the chorus of voices condemning Ken Paxton's lawsuit against the makers of Tylenol, maintaining that any connection with autism has been repeatedly refuted: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/texas-tylenol-lawsuit-21124150.phpWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:It's official - federal SNAP food assistance benefits will end on Saturday, for the first time in the over six decades since it started under LBJ: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/28/texas-snap-food-stamps-federal-shutdown-explained/...So, NOW is the time to get ahead of that and make a donation to your local food bank: https://www.feedingtexas.org/Onetime arch-villain of the GOP Karl Rove fears that, if Texas Republican primary voters nominate Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate, that seat is likely to flip to the Dems: https://www.alternet.org/karl-rove-paxton-cornyn/...Paxton, meanwhile, is leaning into RFK Jr.-style crazy and suing the makers of Tylenol, which the tinfoil hat set has decided causes autism: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/28/texas-tylenol-johnson-lawsuit-rfk-ken-paxton-autism/Meanwhile, in California, almost 4 million early votes have been cast on Prop 50 - that state's Democratic redistricting measure: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/proponents-nov-4-redistricting-ballot-003336125.html?guccounter=1Trump and MAGA types are now fighting with each other over blame for failing to stop California from wrecking their map-rigging scheme: https://www.axios.com/2025/10/28/gop-blame-game-california-redistrictingWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: the Texas Railroad Commission has nothing to do with railroads. It's called that because the petroleum sector and their allies in the Texas Legislature would just as soon you didn't know that the Commission does regulate energy matters in Texas - matters of immense financial and environmental consequence, which under Republican control over the last 30 years, has basically meant a regulatory rubber stamp for that industry.Houston State Rep. Jon Rosenthal, an expert in the field himself, is looking to make a change at the Texas Railroad Commission, and he joined us for a talk to explain why and how he'd like to achieve that goal.Learn more about Rep. Rosenthal and his campaign at https://jonrosenthaltx.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Millions of Texans - more people than in any other state - depend on SNAP food assistance, and the Trump administration has chosen to use them as pawns in the ongoing federal shutdown drama: https://apnews.com/article/food-aid-government-shutdown-snap-trump-democrats-8a52a63b26a707ea676962226b090bb1...Almost two million children in Texas are in the crosshairs: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/millions-of-texas-families-could-lose-snap-benefits-if-shutdown-continues/...All of this comes as thousands of Texas federal workers have been furloughed or working without pay for almost four weeks: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/27/texas-federal-workers-government-shutdown-impacts/The University of Texas at Austin, the last institution of the nine offered a "compact" by Donald Trump that is still considering it, is said to be "in talks with the White House": https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/10/24/texas-compact-white-house...Faculty and students are up in arms against it: https://www.texasaft.org/membership/higher-ed/higher-education-news-texas-state-upholds-professors-termination-ut-austin-stays-silent-on-trump-compact/Austin State Senator Sarah Eckhardt is announcing today a run for the U.S. House in the newly-drawn and Michael McCaul-vacated CD-10: https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/state/article/sarah-eckhardt-congress-campaign-21115760.phpWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Our regular Friday venting session this week features Texas House candidate and longtime Austin labor leader Jeremy Hendricks as our guest for a discussion of all manner of Republican ugly - from homeless crackdowns, to university takeovers, to yanking of food services - and the potential for progressive pushback indicated by the massive No Kings turnout last Saturday - all things considered, there's plenty to push back against.Learn more about Jeremy and his run for the State House at https://www.hendricksfortexas.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/ - and don't forget to VOTE!
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The Texas Education Agency has announced its takeover of Fort Worth ISD - behind Houston in 2023, the second-largest district they have overrun: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/23/texas-education-agency-fort-worth-isd-takeover/Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, despite an already-crowded Democratic ticket for Senate, is still considering a run: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/22/congress/jasmine-crockett-texas-senate-00618545Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson gets congratulations from Donald Trump for riling up Texas MAGA over "potential noncitizens" on our voter rolls - while she ignores actual problems with our state's voter roll maintenance software: https://www.statesman.com/opinion/editorials/article/opinion-texas-election-problem-isn-t-potential-21114375.phpCongrats to our friend and Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who is a third-time finalist for the MLS Impact Award: https://www.austinfc.com/news/stuver-named-finalist-for-mls-audi-goals-drive-progress-impact-award...Check out our recent live recording with Brad at Hopsquad Brewing in north Austin: https://progresstexas.org/podcast/all-star-activism-live-talk-brad-stuverA new potential explanation for the unexplainable stuff that comes from the Texas State Capitol building? The granite it's built from is radioactive: https://www.kut.org/health/2025-10-23/texas-state-capitol-dome-austin-radioactive-radon-gas-atxplainedWe're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Folks who have followed Texas politics for awhile will remember Houston businessman Andrew White, who put on a spirited run for governor in 2018, but was edged out in the primary that year. White is back for a second run, and this time, as he says, he's running as an "independent Democrat" - holding that progressive litmus tests and box-checking may be part of what's been holding the party back on statewide wins for three decades now.Learn more about Andrew White and his campaign at https://andrewwhite.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Worry is spreading that the Trump administration is increasingly arming ICE with military-grade weaponry: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/10/23/2349922/-WTF-does-ICE-need-guided-missile-components-forTexas businesses across a wide range of sectors are being negatively impacted by Trump's immigration crackdown: https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2025-10-23/the-texas-paradox-businesses-need-more-migrants-while-trump-wants-to-expel-them.htmlAmong the states, Texas would be most severely impacted by the expiration of ACA tax credits that congressional Democrats are holding out to defend: https://www.axios.com/local/san-antonio/2025/10/23/aca-tax-credits-texas-government-shutdown-healthFood banks across the US and Texas are reeling from the unexpected mid-year slashing of food distribution by the Trump administration - 94 million pounds of expected food deliveries did not show up: https://projects.propublica.org/trump-food-cuts/UT Austin, alongside Vanderbilt, is one of only two universities among the nine approached by the Trump administration to sign a conservative ideological "compact" who have not yet rejected it: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/new-ut-austin-president-sworn-amid-trumps-higher-education-compact.amp...UT's chapter of the American Association of University Professors has called on their administration not to capitulate to Trump: https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/university-texas-austin-trump-funding-deal-compact-21110442.php...Amnesty International calls the "compact" a "surrender (of) their right to freedom of thought, expression and discourse": https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/academic-freedom-cannot-exist-under-political-coercion-president-trumps-compact-threatens-higher-education/We're excited to see YOU at one (or both!) of our 2025 Holiday Parties this December in Austin and Dallas! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/progress-texas-holiday-parties-2025Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Without notifying city officials, Governor Greg Abbott has sent Texas DPS officers and other state agencies into Austin's homeless encampments to arrest and disperse them: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/21/greg-abbott-homelessness-sweeps-austin/..Meanwhile, the Governor was in Cypress yesterday at an event at which he pledged to "turn Harris County dark red": https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/gov-abbott-vows-turn-harris-county-dark-red-21111657.phpAlso in Houston, the City tore out the Montrose rainbow crosswalk on Abbott's orders overnight Monday morning - four protestors present were arrested: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/20/houston-removes-rainbow-pride-crosswalk-abbott/...In San Antonio, the local LGBTQ+ advisory board is calling on the city to resist the removal of its rainbow crosswalk, including the threat of lawsuits against the state: https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/san-antonio-rainbow-crosswalk-fight-21110014.php...In Dallas, Oak Lawn United Baptist Church is painting its massive concrete steps in rainbow colors in an impressive and inspiring display of solidarity: https://dallasvoice.com/olumc-steps-up-to-the-fight/Perhaps surprising to see Texas cattle ranchers as the latest group to speak up against Trump policies, as the President advocates for more beef imports from Argentina: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/sid-miller-trump-beef-prices-argentina-21111963.phpAs the federal government shutdown begins its third week, with Democrats holding out in defense of affordable health insurance, the Trump administration has slashed a program designed to help Texas sign up for the ACA: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/22/texas-aca-navigator-funding/Trump's immigration crackdown is significantly weakening the Texas job market: https://www.tpr.org/news/2025-10-21/federal-immigration-crackdown-slowing-texas-job-growthYoung Republicans of Texas have expressed solidarity with that other young Republicans group recently disbanded over racist and otherwise disgusting views expressed in that group's chat: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/young-republicans-texas-group-chat-21109613.phpCheck out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
We enjoyed immensely a long-overdue visit to Texas' largest and most diverse city for a terrific discussion on what's working for Harris County and Houston area progressives in the fight for representation and justice. Thanks so much to the folks at The Spaghetti Western for their hospitality!Learn more about the Harris County Democratic Party at https://www.harrisdemocrats.org/.Learn more about HCDP's Clubs & Organizations program at https://www.harrisdemocrats.org/clubs.Learn more about the Cypress-Tomball Democrats at https://www.cytomdemocrats.org/.Learn more about the Humble Area Democrats at https://humbleareademocrats.com/.Learn more about Secular Houston at https://secularhouston.org/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas!Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announces with fanfare the discovery of a relatively small number of "potential non-citizens" on state voter registration rolls, prior to confirming that they are actual people voting illegally: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/texas-says-database-found-more-than-2000-possible-noncitizens-on-voter-rolls/The Texas Tribune reports that life on Texas college campuses has become hellish for trans students: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/21/texas-trans-students-college-hostility/...New Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton, who helped write state laws now making trans kids' lives a living hell, is making massive bank in his new gig: https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/state/2025/10/20/brandon-creighton-to-make-1-2-million-as-chancellor-of-texas-tech-university-ttu-system/86753503007/Fort Worth State Senate candidate Leigh Wambsganss has accused her fellow Republican and opponent John Huffman of altering pictures of her cross necklace to appear upside-down - a horror-movie trope symbolizing Satanism: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/wambsganss-senate-race-cross-21110578.phpCheck out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:No Kings rallies saw massive attendance and great success across Texas on Saturday: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/20/no-kings-protests-trump-democrats...Which didn't stop Trump from posting videos of himself dumping sewage on protesters, or Governor Greg Abbott from tweeting that "Texas is targeting professors": https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5563039-abbott-texas-college-professors-leftist-ideologies/As early voting begins today, there's confusion on multiple levels among voters in Houston's CD-18: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/20/texas-18th-congressional-district-special-election-voter-confusion/...And a unique opportunity in Fort Worth's State Senate District 9: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article312544347.html...Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideHouston friends! Join Progress Texas TONIGHT in The Heights for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The whole country is holding its breath for tomorrow's second national No Kings demonstrations - for progressives, an important opportunity to stand up to encroaching authoritarianism - but for Donald Trump, perhaps a tempting target to further crack down on his political opponents. We talk about the importance of courage at this critical moment, not only for No Kings 2, but as we face yet another blatant erasure of LGBTQ+ pride, continued injustice on our college campuses, and more.Learn more about Alejandra Salinas and her campaign for the Houston City Council at https://www.alejandrasalinas.com/.Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can help us continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/.
The second No Kings Day takes place tomorrow, Saturday October 18, at thousands of locations across the country and over 40 here in Texas. We've invited Hands Off Central Texas VP Melody Tramallo to join us for an inside look at the organizing of the Austin event in particular, what to expect, and best practices for a safe and effective experience for all attendees.A handy map of No Kings events: https://www.nokings.org/#map.Learn more about Hands Off Central Texas at https://www.handsoffcentraltx.org/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:No Kings events, happening nationally tomorrow, include at least 40 across Texas: https://www.nokings.org/#map...Governor Greg Abbott has again activated the Texas National Guard against the second No Kings event, specifically targeting Austin, and calling the rally a "planned Antifa-linked demonstration": https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/16/texas-greg-abbott-national-guard-no-kings-protest-austin/...Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says he has been assured that Guard troops will not be deployed to Austin's streets absent "an emergency need" and reminds attendees to avoid violence or destructive behavior: https://x.com/KirkPWatson/status/1978955848744419333...Ted Cruz alleges that No Kings is funded by George Soros and that RICO charges should be brought against its organizers: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/no-kings-protests-ted-cruz-21103845.php...The first use of the term "Antifa" in a federal criminal court case arrives as two Dallas-area men are charged with supporting terrorism: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-prosecutors-bring-first-antifa-terrorism-charges-texas-police-shooting-case-2025-10-16/It's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
No shortage of chaos to cover with Congresswoman Julie Johnson, between the federal government shutdown, the continued desperate GOP dodging of the Epstein files, the new congressional map designed to draw her out of the picture - and now, a Qatari military base on U.S. soil? We're truly in a WTF moment, and we're glad to have Rep. Johnson in D.C. to help fight back.Learn more about Congresswoman Julie Johnson at https://juliejohnson.house.gov/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how YOU can help support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Further rollbacks of the Voting Rights Act, under consideration now by the U.S. Supreme Court, could largely wipe out minority-majority congressional districts in Texas - potentially reducing the presence of Texas Democrats in the U.S. House to 3: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/supreme-court-weighs-future-voting-rights-act-21102774.php...CD-18 candidate and Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has sued the Trump administration, seeking restoration of $59 million in solar benefits for Houston area families: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/houston-news/harris-county-wants-7-billion-solar-program-restored/Applications for FEMA assistance from Kerr County - very much Trump country - have largely been denied or slow-walked, as the vast majority remain without help over 100 days past the July 4 flood: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/16/texas-floods-fema-aid-kerr-county-nonprofits/...Several of the summer camps in the area say that new safety requirements imposed after the deaths of dozens of children in that flood are too costly: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/lone-star-politics/summer-camps-request-flood-safety-measures-delay/3932075/One of UT Austin's most famous professors - a co-host of NPR's "Two Guys On Your Head" show - has been fired over "ideological differences": https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/10/15/university-of-texas-mark-artman...Also at UT, massive opposition from alumni and faculty to the "compact" that has been offered to the university by Donald Trump: https://thedailytexan.com/2025/10/15/against-what-i-thought-ut-stood-for-alumni-faculty-express-opposition-to-trump-proposed-compact/No Kings events, happening nationally on Saturday, include at least 40 across Texas: https://www.nokings.org/#map...Republicans are hard at work smearing No Kings attendees in advance as ultra-radical, card-carrying Antifa members: https://www.reddit.com/r/democrats/comments/1o7tbo0/supercut_of_comments_from_republicans_today_alone/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_buttonIt's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The widespread buzz that Austin State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has been planning a gubernatorial run turns out correct - she announced her run for Governor this morning: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/15/gina-hinojosa-texas-governor-campaign-launch-2026-greg-abbott/...We presented the first full-length interview after Hinojosa's announcement earlier today: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-233-rep-gina-hinojosa-announces-run-for-governor/id1552998795?i=1000731974425The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, noting that a judge has cast serious doubt on Donald Trump's justification for militarizing Chicago, advises Governor Abbott to bring the Texas National Guard troops he sent there back home: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/texas-national-guard-illinois-lie-abbott-trump-21098977.php...Interestingly, the Oregon National Guard is sending a detachment to Texas - not as a counter-invasion, but as border logistics support: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/14/oregon-national-guard-heads-to-texas-border/Airports in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are declining to run a video of Trump Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the federal government shutdown on Democrats in their TSA security areas: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/14/texas-airports-kristi-noem-tsa-video-government-shutdown/...That Noem video may be a violation of the Hatch Act: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/us/kristi-noem-video-airportsNo Kings events, happening nationally on Saturday, include at least 40 across Texas: https://www.nokings.org/#mapIt's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
We've been fans of Austin State Rep. Gina Hinojosa for a long time, and have been proud to feature her on our podcast on multiple occasions - for THIS occasion, it's a conversation about her run for Governor of Texas in 2026, just announced today!Learn more about Rep. Gina Hinojosa's campaign at https://ginafortexas.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:President Barack Obama appeared on the final episode of comedian Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast, heaping praise on Austin State Rep. and Senate Candidate James Talarico, and taking issue with Governor Greg Abbott's deployment of Texas troops to Chicago, considering Abbott's freakout over Jade Helm in 2015: https://deadline.com/2025/10/barack-obama-wtf-final-episode-1236583585/...Some of those Texas troops have been sent back home after apparently being found too fat for duty by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-national-guard-overweight-troops-chicago-b2844960.htmlAs a panel of El Paso judges considers that new Texas congressional map, it's notable that lawyers for the state tried throughout to conceal as much as they could about its drawing process - and that the guy who drew it 100% ignored public testimony against the redraw: https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/in-a-federal-courtroom-in-texas-republicans-were-desperate-to-keep-details-of-their-gerrymander-under-wraps/...Meanwhile North Carolina becomes the next Republican state to consider gerrymandering itself for Trump: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxydpr1zz2oThe number of kindergarteners showing up for school without the basic state-required measles vaccination is skyrocketing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/13/texas-schools-vaccines-measles-delinquencies/Helena Moreno, who was elected mayor of New Orleans last weekend, has extensive ties to Texas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_MorenoIt's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guideHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Ballotpedia counts a total of sixteen candidates who have declared runs for the historic 18th Congressional District in Houston, seeking to be the next to fill a seat once held by the legendary Barbara Jordan, more recently by the beloved and departed Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner, and shamefully held vacant by Governor Greg Abbott since Turner's untimely death last March. We present here conversations with four of the leading Democrats in the race, and you can find out about the rest of those running here: https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_18th_Congressional_District_special_election,_2025Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Ten Democratic U.S House members have demanded that Governor Greg Abbott withdraw Texas National Guard troops that he has sent to Illinois and Oregon on the orders of Donald Trump: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/09/texas-lawmakers-oppose-guard-use-in-out-of-state-policing/86572196007/...Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker notes that Republican Governors Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Phil Scott of Vermont have both also expressed opposition to the Texas deployment to other states: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5551994-pritzker-gop-troop-deployment/...A federal appeals court has halted the deployment of Texas National Guard troops into Chicago, but has stopped short of ordering them back to Texas: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/appeals-court-rejects-trump-request-deploy-national-guard-chicago-area-2025-10-11/The hearing over the map resulting from the Trump-ordered redistricting of Texas in El Paso ended on Friday and is now under consideration by a panel of three judges: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/10/10/political-or-racial-three-takeaways-from-federal-hearing-on-new-tx-congressional-map/...The judges may be annoyed as their review of the case begins with the evasiveness of several defense witnesses: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/new-details-emerge-in-federal-court-about-texas-secretive-redistricting-map/A 30-year veteran professor at UT Austin writes that with conservative attacks on academic freedom lately, she barely recognizes the place: https://www.statesman.com/opinion/columns/your-voice/article/opinion-35-years-ut-austin-hardly-recognize-21089836.phpHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The staff, and special guest Julio Salinas, vent at the end of a long week that consisted of Texas-sized problems: from Gov. Abbott sending Texas National Guard troops to Illinois to Ken Paxton's ego, and threat as the top lawyer and candidate in 2026. Plus, what's concerning us and what's keeping us hopeful in these busy, chaotic times.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution for Robert Roberson, who would have become the first person in the US put to death in a shaken baby syndrome case: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/09/robert-roberson-execution-blocked-texas-court-of-criminal-appeals...A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Texas National Guard deployment in Chicago: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/08/texas-national-guard-abbott-deployment-chicago/... Governor Abbott is apparently using this deployment to fundraise for his 2026 re-election campaign: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-texas-national-guard-fundraising-21090617.php...A new poll from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University shows that Texas Democratic Senate candidates within small margin of Republicans: https://www.newsweek.com/james-talaricos-chances-against-gop-candidates-texas-senate-race-poll-10855949...The State Republican Executive Committee will convene on Saturday as part of the Texas GOP's push to block Republican lawmakers from the ballot: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/09/texas-republican-lawsuit-ken-paxton-close-primaries/...Travis County Commissioners have approved two contracts to use voter-approved taxpayer money that will help the county create more affordable child care: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/travis-county/travis-co-commissioners-set-to-approve-millions-in-child-care-funding/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Texas Blue Action and Powered By People - already two of the Lone Star State's most prominent powerhouses in progressive voter activation and grassroots organizing - have announced a merger of Powered by People's voter registration program with Texas Blue Action's relational organizing network. Executive Director and Progress Texas podcast regular Lana Hansen brings us the details on the formation of a truly unprecedented super-org, designed to drag Texas progressives to the polls en masse!Learn more: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/themergerThanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how to support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Protesters are beginning to mass in Chicago in anticipation of the arrival of National Guard troops, hundreds of whom have come to their city from Texas: https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/08/texas-national-guard-broadview-illinois...A federal judge in Illinois will consider a restraining order against the troop deployment today: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-court-weigh-trumps-deployment-national-guard-troops-126354288...A new list of companies under the title "Governor Abbott Boycott" is circulating in response to our state's meddling in the affairs of other states: https://www.chron.com/culture/article/national-guard-deployment-boycott-21090650.phpThe Texas congressional delegation remains neatly divided by party on the federal government shutdown, which now enters its second week: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/10/08/texas-lawmakers-dig-in-as-shutdown-rolls-into-second-week/The author of the new Texas congressional map testified yesterday that with the 2021 map, he had been told to leave certain minority-majority districts alone - but not on the new map: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/top-gop-mapmaker-describes-a-texas-gerrymander-ordered-up-by-washington/...An attorney for U.S. Reps Jasmine Crockett and Al Green pressed that same mapmaker on his knowledge that he was manipulating districts full of voters of color: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/10/08/lawyer-for-jasmine-crockett-says-drawer-of-new-texas-district-maps-knew-they-discriminated/Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to withhold state road maintenance money from major Texas cities if they don't remove rainbow crosswalks painted in solidarity with their LGBTQ+ citizens: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2025/10/08/abbott-orders-dallas-and-other-texas-cities-to-remove-rainbow-crosswalks-or-lose-funding/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
We're joined today by Adrian Shelley and Cassidy Levin of the national watchdog group Public Citizen, who have uncovered a massive and years-long apparent pay-to-play scheme in which large-dollar donors to Governor Greg Abbott's campaign finance PAC appear to have been rewarded with very large, and in some cases, dubiously documented, state contracts - a situation that, while legal under Texas law, clearly raises considerable ethics questions.Learn more about Public Citizen's Texas office at https://www.citizen.org/article/about-the-public-citizen-texas-office/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a press release regarding a new escalation his office plans to execute against "transgenderism and Antifa", long on right-wing belligerence and short on actual facts: https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-10-07/ag-ken-paxton-announces-undercover-operations-of-leftist-terror-cellsHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Around 200 National Guard troops from Texas have been deployed to Chicago over the protests of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, ostensibly to back up ICE agents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRl6UUwYGI...Trump's pretext is a countering of "rebellion against the federal government": https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-10-06/texas-national-guard-trump-illinois-abbott-pritzkerCongressman Wesley Hunt has jumped into the U.S. Senate race officially, compounding an already considerable mess for the GOP: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2025/10/06/the-gops-texas-senate-mess-00595553During the El Paso trial over the new Texas congressional map, State Senator Phil King yesterday suddenly remembered a conversation with Adam Kincaid about race being considered in its design: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/in-testimony-top-texas-republican-remembers-another-conversation-with-gop-mapmaker/Professors at Texas Tech have begun to worry that vague instructions from their MAGA leadership about what and what not to discuss in class have begun to undermine the quality of their teaching: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/07/texas-tech-university-system-faculty-gender-identity/A New York-based company, employing at least two Texas GOP operatives, has been awarded a lucrative contract to oversee Texas' new private school voucher program: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/odyssey-texas-private-school-voucher-21087243.phpHouston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Governor Greg Abbott approved a request by Donald Trump to deploy Texas National Guard troops into both Chicago and Portland, Oregon, under the pretext of protecting ICE agents from Antifa: https://youtu.be/8QFKsX1s_lM?si=Xa-pRwaY6YGgoQ0S...A Trump-appointed federal judge has temporarily blocked that move: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5540272-donald-trump-blocked-oregon-guard/California's Prop 50, with which that state's voters will decide whether or not to counter-gerrymander their state against Texas, has seen recent lobbying by Fort Worth State Rep. Nicole Collier in San Francisco: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/prop-50-fundraising-21066129.phpTexas LGBTQ+ students and their families face multiple obstacles as they try to continue their social groups in spite of new state laws banning them: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/us/politics/texas-lgbtq-schools.htmlTexas is second only to Florida in the number of books we've banned from our school libraries - here are five of the dumbest new picks: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dumbest-books-texas-schools-banned-last-year-40602086/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Yet another chaotic political week (should we say, typically chaotic?) ends this Friday afternoon with our regular roundtable pod. How the Democrats can have the edge with the federal shutdown, what's at stake and what to understand about the court fight over the new state congressional map, a conversation with a new key player in the RGV and more - the staff breaks down another wild week in Texas politics.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can help support our work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The Trump administration has offered the University of Texas access to enhanced federal funding - if it agrees to a set of conditions that will accelerate the MAGA-fication of the 40 Acres: https://thedailytexan.com/2025/10/02/ut-system-to-review-proposal-from-trump-administration/...Academic experts see the adoption of this Trump "compact" as a dramatic capitulation to federal control: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/trump-college-funding.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qU8.UTOI._IZAaVHmIUAQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShareAttorney General Ken Paxton and other GOP types are up in arms about accusations that TCU has cancelled a Turning Point event featuring an anti-trans activist - the school says it was never booked to begin with: https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-10-02/texas-ag-paxton-to-investigate-tcu-over-turning-point-event-school-says-was-not-bookedThe Texas Supreme Court has decided that it will oversee Texas' law schools - instead of the nationally-established American Bar Association: https://www.tpr.org/news/2025-10-02/texas-supreme-court-breaks-with-american-bar-association-over-law-school-credentialsDisgraced megachurch pastor Robert Morris has pled guilty to multiple sex crimes against children - but he'll only serve 6 months in jail: https://apnews.com/article/texas-megachurch-pastor-sexual-abuse-oklahoma-0ca16aa31d9d8e5a810d1e1e3483dce4...Morris' victim says he didn't have the courage to face her and her family in the courtroom: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/victim-speaks-exclusively-to-cbs-news-texas-after-gateway-church-founder-pleads-guilty-to-child-abus/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:As the second day of the federal shutdown begins, progressives and Democrats must remind themselves and others that it represents a last stand for affordable healthcare, and a stand against the destructive agenda of Donald Trump: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTM6Wvbc5/...Should the Dems cave, as many as 1 million Texans may find themselves priced out of health insurance altogether: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/02/texas-republicans-affordable-care-act-premium-tax-credits-shutdown/...Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have recently grown a spine as a result of pressure from the likes of Beto O'Rourke: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/democrats-beto-o-rourke-chuck-schumer-21078866.phpEl Paso State Rep. Joe Moody and Houston State Senator Carol Alvarado testified yesterday during the first day of the trial over the new Texas congressional map - while nobody appears to know who drew it? https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/01/texas-congressional-redistricting-map-federal-court/Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025eventThanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The major turn towards Donald Trump by Texas Latino voters, especially those in South Texas, serves as a painful memory and a fearsome harbinger of what might be in store in the 2026 midterms. A major momentum shift would come in handy for South Texas Democrats - and one may have arrived in the form of Tejano music star Bobby Pulido, who has recently announced a run as a Democrat for the U.S. Congress, challenging incumbent Republican Monica de la Cruz.Learn more about Bobby Pulido and his run for Congress at https://bobbypulidofortexas.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
In a federal court in El Paso, as of this morning, a trio of judges have begun considering whether the state of Texas can use the new congressional map - ordered by Donald Trump and eventually passed during a pair of highly contentious special legislative sessions - in the 2026 election. We're fortunate to have the expert legal view of attorneys Louis Bedford IV and Jason Smith, members of Progress Texas' boards, as this all-important legal procedure gets underway.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
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