Texas Take

Months of ads, rallies and campaign travel have brought us to this. On Tuesday, Texas will know whether Jasmine Crockett or James Talarico will be the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. And on the Republican side, will U.S. Sen. John Cornyn survive the toughest GOP primary of his career against Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt? John Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman joins host Jeremy Wallace to break down the closing arguments of all the top candidates and look at the record pace of early voting, with shocking turnout numbers in Harris, Bexar and Collin counties, to name a few. Plus, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales is vowing never to resign despite new evidence related to an affair he had with a congressional aide who killed herself last year. Finally, President Donald Trump heads to Corpus Christi to tout the economy despite continued criticism that he hasn't done enough to address affordability in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico got a sudden boost from Stephen Colbert in his Democratic primary battle against Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. New evidence has emerged related to an alleged affair U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales had, which has changed his re-election prospects. And did Wesley Hunt vote for President Donald Trump in 2016 or not? John Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman, Bayliss Wagner of the San Antonio Express-News and James Osborne of the Houston Chronicle all join host Jeremy Wallace to break it down. Plus, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and his GOP primary opponent Nate Sheets both drop by to jab at each other, talk about their showdown and explain how they plan to manage the future of THC and hemp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the start of in-person early voting in Texas about to get underway, attack ads are filling up television sets around the Lone Star State. Host Jeremy Wallace breaks down some of the hottest primary races in Texas and plays a ton of attack ads from various races to show just how intense things have gotten. Can Mayes Middleton catch Chip Roy in the race to replace Ken Paxton as Attorney General? Is Don Huffines about to defeat Gov. Greg Abbott's preferred choice for the state's top accountant job? The Houston Chronicle's Isaac Yu joins the program to explain why so much is at stake for Abbott in the that race. Plus, San Antonio Express News reporter Bayliss Wagner stops in to talk about the proxy war in San Antonio that has the most vicious ads in the state filling the airwaves of the Alamo City. And Drew Landry, who teaches government at South Plains College in Lubbock, joins to break down the most wide-open GOP primary for Congress playing out in West Texas. Finally, could the only Latina ever to represent Houston on Capitol Hill be in jeopardy on March 3? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A North Texas shocker has turned Lone Star State politics on its ear. Host Jeremy Wallace and the Austin American-Statesman’s John Moritz explain the wide ramifications of Democrat Taylor Rehmet’s victory from a truly Texas perspective. President Donald Trump quickly distanced himself from the debacle. Plus, the newest member of Congress wasted no time reporting for duty after a dominating win in a Houston runoff battle, and it’s already messing with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s math. In San Antonio, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro takes us behind the scenes of his late-night drive to a detention facility to personally escort 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father to freedom in Minnesota. Finally, you’ll hear exclusive audio from U.S. Reps Greg Casar and Jasmine Crockett. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas congressional members are demanding that the Trump administration release a 5-year-old Minnesota boy and his father from a detention camp near San Antonio. Host Jeremy Wallace meets up with U.S. Reps Jasmine Crockett and Joaquin Castro, who talk about visiting the boy and his father this week in Dilley, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott is among the Republicans suggesting that it may be time for the White House to “recalibrate” its mission as tensions boil over in Minnesota and beyond. Plus, reporter John Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman joins the program to help break down the first debate between Crockett and James Talarico. In addition, Wallace hits Houston's 18th Congressional District, where Amanda Edwards and Christian Menefee are making their final push to win that seat on Jan. 31. Finally, Houston Chronicle columnist Joy Sewing drops by to make sense of why U.S. Rep. Al Green is so upset with what she wrote recently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded live at Stubb’s in Austin, Texas Take host Jeremy Wallace sits down with Beto O’Rourke for a conversation about why he chose not to run for office this cycle and what he’s doing instead. O’Rourke talks about his work with Powered by People, efforts to register and turn out new voters across Texas, and why down-ballot races matter as much as marquee contests. The discussion also touches on Democratic primary dynamics where O'Rourke weighs in on the race between Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico, voter suppression, the stakes of the 2026 midterms, and the unexpected parallels between grassroots politics and punk rock, drawing on O’Rourke’s time as a musician. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn joins host Jeremy Wallace to talk about his campaign and what President Donald Trump told him about a potential endorsement for the U.S. Senate. Plus, a week after podcaster Shawn Ryan said he was disinviting Rep. Dan Crenshaw on his show, the Houston Republican drops in to respond to Ryan. Finally, San Antonio Express-News reporter Bayliss Wagner jumps aboard to help break down how the military action in Venezuela affects Texas oil and the border, and how Democrats are struggling to present a coherent response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw sits down for an interview with host Jeremy Wallace to discuss why he supported President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela, but why he doesn’t believe U.S. soldiers will be needed on the ground there. The Houston Congressman is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and partly grew up in neighboring Colombia when Venezuela was a prosperous tourist destination. Also, Crenshaw responds to popular conservative podcaster Shawn Ryan, a fellow Navy SEAL, who has gone somewhat viral for accusing Crenshaw of threatening him - a charge Crenshaw calls bogus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who made the biggest splash in Texas politics in 2025? And who saw their fortunes take a turn for the worse? In this week’s end-of-year episode, host Jeremy Wallace channels the legendary Casey Kasem to count down the 7 politicians who saw their political stocks climb the most and those who saw theirs tumble. Which lists did Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, John Cornyn and Jasmine Crockett end up on? Plus, reporters Taylor Goldenstein and John Moritz join the program to break down the biggest stories of the week. Finally, you’ll hear a tribute to some big names in Texas politics that the state lost in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of THC in Texas is once again in jeopardy. Reporters Isaac Yu of the Houston Chronicle and John Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman join host Jeremy Wallace to dig into how the industry is bracing for a new effort to destroy their businesses. Plus, what impact will U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett have on the U.S. Senate race if the outspoken Democrat jumps in, as expected. Finally, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia stops by the program to vent about how nothing has happened a year after President Donald Trump said he wanted to work with Democrats to help ‘dreamers.” The Houston Democrat says the White House has done little to help advance her legislation that would protect tens of thousands of people in Texas brought to the country as children from being deported. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What looked like Gov. Greg Abbott’s gift to President Donald Trump may turn out to be a nightmare for the White House. A court this week put Abbott's plan to eke out five new GOP congressional seats in jeopardy, thanks largely to one big misstep by the governor himself. San Antonio Express-News reporter Bayliss Wagner joins host Jeremy Wallace to explain the problem and show how, instead of boosting Republicans' chances in next year's midterms, the redistricting push could wind up making it easier for Democrats to regain the House majority. Plus, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, joins the program to give her take on what just happened and why the federal judges who stopped the redistricting plan were right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Gov. Gavin Newsom took a victory lap in Houston, trolling Gov. Greg Abbott who the very next day kicked off his re-election campaign. But Abbott wasn’t phased in the least. Reporter Benjamin Wermund joins host Jeremy Wallace to break down how Abbott responded and what his next big priority will be if he wins a record-shattering 4th term. Finally, you’ll hear how a Texas Congressional seat could play a big role in the fight over the Jeffrey Epstein files and why it matters to the whole state that a Lubbock Congressman is calling it quits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nine weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave President Donald Trump the redistricting map he wanted in Texas, California Gov. Gavin Newsom roared back with an improbable victory on Election Day that will allow the Golden State to negate everything Abbott and Trump thought they were gaining in Texas. California political reporter Monica Madden and Texas House Democratic Leader Gene Wu both join host Jeremy Wallace to explain how much harder of a lift for Newsom this really was — with a lot of help from Texans, at least financially. It partly explains why Newsom is taking a victory lap in Houston to celebrate his victory. Plus, reporter Taylor Goldenstein joins the program to help make sense of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's somewhat awkward speech to college students, where he focused heavily on his own legal troubles and the attempt by fellow Republicans to oust him from office two years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even after 189 years, the tale of the Alamo remains one of the most debated pieces of Texas history. And it continues to produce casualties to this day. Just this week, the person at the center of the reconstruction around the Alamo was forced out after Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick objected to something she wrote for her college dissertation. Columnist Chris Tomlinson joins the show to talk about the latest drama around the iconic mission. Plus, reporter Ryan Nickerson digs into who might be the next member of Congress from Texas. And finally, Houston Democrat Andrew White stops by the show to explain why he is running for governor again and what lessons from his father’s winning 1982 campaign have been incorporated into his bid to defeat Greg Abbott next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the rarest things to do in Texas politics is to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator in a primary. It has only happened once since World War II, yet Houston Republican Wesley Hunt is jumping headfirst into the 2026 GOP primary convinced he can beat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. In this special episode of the Texas Take, Hunt explains why he’s running, talks about the role President Donald Trump has played in the campaign so far and defends his voting record after having a higher missed vote percentage than most members of Congress from Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledge to spend “most of” his $90 million campaign warchest in and around Houston to turn the area “dark red.” Given he’s lost Harris County by larger margins every time he’s been on the ballot since 2014, it seems like a fool's errand. But reporter Benjamin Wermund joins host Jeremy Wallace to dig into why the Republican might be so confident even in one of the state’s bluest counties. Plus, they break down who his top donors are by name, detailing where they came from, and what some have received in return for their loyalty. Also State Sen. Paul Bettencourt joins the show to talk about the surprising drop in voter registrations in Texas. Since last year, Texas saw the voter rolls shrink by 130,000 people - the biggest drop since 2012. And finally, the show looks at why a South Texas Republican is calling for Congress to extend Obama Care tax credits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrat Gina Hinajosa says she is no sacrificial lamb. In a one-on-one sit-down interview, the Rio Grande Valley native explains how she thinks she can beat Gov. Greg Abbott. In short, she says Abbott has let billionaires have too much influence over Texas while the working class struggles. Plus, the state’s 8th-largest city is so close to running out of water that it’s tearing apart the community to the point that people were getting arrested at a recent city council meeting. We'll play what happened. Reporter Megan Kimble joins host Jeremy Wallace to explain why the city's struggle has broad implications statewide and could be replicated in more Texas cities in the future. Finally, Eric Dexheimer provides details on why and how a small group of mostly out-of-staters is attempting to take over the government in the tiny Loving County. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker slammed Gov. Greg Abbott for allowing Texas National Guard soldiers to be deployed in the Windy City without their permission. Reporters Benjamin Wermund and Bayliss Wagner join host Jeremy Wallace to break down the tension and dig into how Abbott is responding. Plus, political reporter John Moritz joins the program to assess the latest in the red-hot U.S. Senate race in Texas. Does Wesley Hunt really has a shot in the GOP Primary and why is Jasmine Crockett doing so well in polls on the Democratic side, despite not being in the race? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is the new mayor of Texas’s second-largest city publicly fighting people in her own party and a guy known as Spurs Jesus? Express-News reporter Molly Smith gets behind the scenes of the turmoil of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’s tumultuous first 100 days in office. Plus U.S. Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, and Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, join the program to explain their frustration at the other side over the government shutdown and what's at stake for millions of Texans. Castro also hints at his political future. Will he run for the U.S. Senate? Governor? Finally, tune in for an update from Alamo expert Scott Huddleston on what is happening around the historic battle site that has been heavily debated for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices