October 18, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

In Texas Senate race, Ted Cruz tries to push Ken Paxton across the finish line

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is not up for election this year, but he is campaigning across his home state as though he is. Rather than pitching himself, Cruz is making a spirited case for the Republican Senate bid of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cruz, a conservative firebrand, is trying to rally the party’s base in a year where Republicans fear many of their voters will stay home. He has poured money into supporting Paxton, introduced the attorney general to his large network of donors and even gave him sartorial advice after President Donald Trump mocked the Paxton’s appearance despite having endorsed him. “Unlike President Trump, I’m not going to comment on his wardrobe,” Cruz quipped at a recent Paxton rally in Houston. “I have advised him to go out and buy a bunch of Trump ties and just tie them real long.”

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Republicans are facing a uniquely competitive Senate race in a state that Democrats have longed dreamed of turning blue. Paxton, laden with personal and legal scandals, has lagged behind Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in fundraising and most public polls. In a sign of their concern, National Republicans are upping their involvement: Outside GOP groups have invested more than $200 million in ads going into the general election, and Trump and Vice President JD Vance have stumped for Paxton in Texas, including during a national party convention in Dallas. In addition to Cruz’s appearances on the trail, Truth and Courage PAC, a Cruz-aligned super PAC, has spent more than $2 million in ads for Paxton. If Paxton prevails, Cruz’s heavy investment in the race could pay off as he considers a 2028 presidential bid, earning gratitude from fellow Texas Republicans and impressing GOP primary voters beyond its borders. Tying himself so closely to Paxton carries some risk if he loses in a state in which no Democrat has won a Senate race in nearly 40 years. But even if Paxton loses, Cruz will have still stepped up beyond the usual expectations for an incumbent to help his party in the state.

15,000 Texas voter registrations caught up in backlog after another state software error

A software error has caused another backlog in Texas’ voter registration logs. The glitch caused by “an extra address validation” affected Texans who updated their names and addresses on the state’s government record portal, texas.gov, between Sept. 1 and last week, according to an email sent out by the Texas Secretary of State’s office on Thursday. The Texas Association of County Election Officials, or TACEO, initially estimated more than 5,200 voter registration applications across at least four counties: 3,000 in Bexar, 400 in Hays, 700 in Williamson and 1,100 in Travis. Many of those updated records were still missing voters’ new addresses, TACEO said in an email shared with The Texas Newsroom. As of Friday afternoon, those addresses are now showing up for Texas county election officials, according to an email from the Secretary of State's office.

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Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office, said the agency sent 15,000 records back to counties. The state's notice, which The Texas Newsroom obtained Friday, says not all Texas counties were affected. Pierce could not confirm which specific counties the software error impacted. She added that the issue was discovered and has been resolved, and voters will still be able to cast a ballot. “Our office has been working with counties, and they have now received the records in time to update the registrations ahead of the start of early voting,” Pierce wrote in an email to The Texas Newsroom. But county officials now have limited time to clear this up. Before early voting begins Monday morning, they must determine which registrations were submitted by the state's Oct. 5 deadline and add those to the Official List of Registered Voters. This latest wrench in the system comes only days after Texas election officials said they cleared an earlier voter registration backlog. That issue, which was caused by an error prompted by a Texas Department of Public Safety software update, impacted more than 500,000 voter registrations submitted since October 2025.

Texas has been considering selling a beloved state park to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, sources say

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has been discussing the sale of Boca Chica State Park, Texas Monthly has learned. The deliberations were far along enough that the commission planned to take up the sale of “1,300 acres” in Cameron County during a closed-door executive session at a meeting on November 5, two days after the election, according to a draft agenda of the commission meeting. Two sources familiar with internal discussions of the potential sale said Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the prospective buyer and confirmed that the 1,300-acre property in question is the beachfront state park, which is adjacent to Musk’s burgeoning Starbase facility, near Brownsville. After Texas Monthly inquired about the meeting and Musk as the potential buyer, Stephanie Garcia, a Parks and Wildlife spokesperson, issued a brief statement: “The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is not considering the sale of the Boca Chica property at its November meeting.” As of press time, Garcia had not responded to follow-up questions about the discussions over the sale of the park, Musk’s involvement, why the November 5 agenda had apparently changed, and whether the issue has been tabled indefinitely.

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Sources said the item could instead be taken up by the nine commissioners—all appointees of Governor Greg Abbott—at a later date. The move comes as Abbott, Ken Paxton, and other Texas Republicans face unusually close races, with polls showing Abbott’s opponent, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, within striking distance. Musk, the world’s richest man, has pumped a reported $158 million into a super PAC backing Paxton’s flailing campaign. Musk’s own super PAC is also instructing canvassers to tar Hinojosa over her record on transgender issues, according to The New York Times. Hinojosa has blasted Abbott for engaging in “crony capitalism that is enriching multinational corporation CEOs like Elon Musk,” reported Hearst Newspapers. SpaceX recently asked the Federal Aviation Administration to approve an increase in the number of rocket launches per year from 25 to 456 at its South Texas site. “It stinks,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of advocacy group Environment Texas, of the potential sale. “It looks really bad. [Boca Chica is] very ecologically sensitive, a home to a rich diversity of wildlife, including a lot of endangered species, and so it really needs special protection. This is land that’s probably some of the most sensitive in the entire state.” Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the land that became Boca Chica State Park in 1994 from The Nature Conservancy. Until 2023, the land was leased to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a unit of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

The immigration crackdown is making it much harder to build houses

The summer surge in federal immigration raids is hitting the housing market, pushing up labor costs and freezing projects. Nearly two-thirds of builders said immigration enforcement is affecting their labor force, up from 23% in March and 13% a year ago, according to a September John Burns Research & Consulting survey. “We’re almost dead in the water because our workforce is gone,” said Scott Brannock, president of Jacksonville-based Tidewater Homes and the Northeast Florida Builders Association. “We have national builders who are missing projections, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars because they have slabs sitting on the ground and no one to frame.” A September survey from the National Association of Home Builders found the cost of labor had increased a median of 4.2% from the previous year. The shortages come as the country desperately tries to drive down sky-high housing costs that have trapped millions of Americans out of homeownership and stalled sales.

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Immigration raids have primarily hit trades such as roofers, painters and framers. Meanwhile, the data center build-out in some areas has siphoned off specialized trades, drawing HVAC technicians and electricians with lucrative wages that home builders struggle to match. Immigration-enforcement advocates say that deportations will drive down housing costs by removing competition for housing. They say builders should hire U.S. citizens. “It is an absurd contention that we should stop deporting immigration lawbreakers simply because construction companies want to employ them,” said Matthew O’Brien, deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Last year, immigration arrests had only limited impact on the home-building industry, other than in select pockets of the country, such as South Texas. That changed this summer as the Trump administration scaled up immigration arrests to record levels. Over the summer, the Jacksonville, Fla., area became a hot spot for arrests of residential-construction workers, with some subcontractors estimating 70% of their workforce has been lost. But the immigration crackdown has also started hitting builders in wider swaths of the country. “It seems to have become ubiquitous,” said Jim Tobin, NAHB chief executive.

Trump's decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress

President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia days before they were to take effect drew outrage Saturday from members of Congress, which had overwhelmingly passed the legislation in a bipartisan display of American support for Ukraine in the war with Russia. Lawmakers from both parties blasted the executive order late Friday, the latest in a series of steps that the Republican president has taken drawing the United States closer to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Putin to import Russian energy in a long-shot effort to curb high gas prices in the U.S. that are roiling the midterm elections on Nov. 3. “I think it’s clear Russia is the aggressor, and we’ve got to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So it’s not the first thing I would be doing.”

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“Beyond irresponsible,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., on social media, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that the sanctions that were supposed to take effect Sunday targeting Russia’s economy could be revived. “What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?” Tillis said. “It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine.” Ukraine’s president is urging supporters to speak out in defense of sanctions against Russia that President Donald Trump has put on hold. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said “Lindsey would be appalled,” referring to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who worked endlessly on the bill before he died this summer. The bill is known as the Lindsey Graham Russian Sanctions Act. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement that “by giving the Russian economy life support, Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump is “thumbing his nose” at Congress and “enabling Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression.” She urged her colleagues to take action to reverse course.

State Stories

Barbara Bush donated to super PAC supporting James Talarico for U.S. Senate

Barbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, donated to a political action committee that supports state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate for Texas, according to campaign finance records. The 2026 third quarter report to the Federal Election Commission for Lone Star Rising PAC shows a donation from the younger Barbara Bush in the amount of $2,500, dated Sept. 23. "I would imagine that somebody in such a prominent political family, if she wanted to ensure that her contribution was anonymous or not visible, that any number of lawyers that they probably have at their disposal could have told her how," said Andrew Cates, a political attorney and campaign finance expert based in central Texas.

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"She didn’t give it to a [501] (c)(4), in which her contribution would have been completely anonymous. She gave it to a PAC that reports all the money in and out." The Bush family did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cates said that $2,500 is a drop in the bucket for a campaign that has seen hundreds of millions of dollars raised, but it does have potential symbolic importance. "It’s not like Elon Musk money, obviously," Cates said, "but it is it is interesting and maybe potentially a little bit telling on where the center GOP establishment is leaning and where they feel like the race is headed." Most polling shows the contest between Talarico and his Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton to be either statistically tied or with a slight lead for Talarico.

Texas farmers are worried about the economy. Will they still vote GOP?

Jerry Moody doesn't have any plans to sit out this election, but he's worried some of his neighbors in East Texas might. The 57-year-old chicken farmer said high fuel and fertilizer costs driven by the war in Iran were hitting Texas farmers hard, making him worry that what had been a dependable voting bloc for Republicans might not be so secure. "They're not going to vote for a Democrat but they're concerned about the Republican party," he said. "I still believe in Donald Trump, but I do think that he underestimated the resolve of the Iranian people and this thing has lingered on a lot longer than he thought it would." There's an estimated 400,000 farmers in Texas, a relatively small block of Texas' 18.7 million voters. But they are an important constituency for Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and other Republicans running statewide in what is expected to be a tight midterm election.

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A poll by the Texas Politics Project this week shows Republican candidates still maintain sizable leads in those areas, but any loss of support could hurt them as they seek to overcome Democrats' advantage in urban areas. And in rural Texas, where agriculture is a significant employer, the economic unease is growing. Just 27% of rural residents said they were satisfied with the state of the economy this month, compared with 42% a year ago. "We've had our ups and downs, but this (economy) ranks with the worst ones I've seen," said Russell Boening, president of the Texas Farm Bureau. "I know that people aren’t happy with everything but, maybe looking at the big picture, they’ll stay true to how they normally vote. Or maybe they stay home." The economic concerns among Texas farmers mirror a larger unease among the state's electorate. A poll this week by the Texas Politics Project found the top three issues for voters were inflation, political corruption and the economy - in that order. That's a shift from the 2024 and 2022 elections when immigration and border security were always among the dominant issues for Texas voters. Republicans and President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on the pledge to lower inflation. The inflation rate through the end of September was 3.7%, compared to 2.9% in the last year of the Biden administration. "While those issues are top of mind for Texas voters, they're also some of the issues that Donald Trump receives his lowest approval, and highest disapproval," said Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project.

School vouchers and THC divide a Texas House race in Williamson County

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the school voucher bill into law and vetoed the THC ban. Round Rock Republican Caroline Harris Davila voted for both. Now, Chris Jimenez is hoping those votes cost her a third term in the Texas House. The Democrat is trying to turn frustration over public school funding, growing household costs and restrictions on hemp products into a referendum on Harris Davila's record. Harris Davila's campaign is emphasizing her record on cutting property taxes, boosting funding for border security and supporting stricter election laws, among other issues. The election offers voters in House District 52 a pair of candidates with sharply different views and backgrounds. But Jimenez faces an uphill battle against an incumbent candidate with better funding who has territorial advantage in a district drawn to favor Republicans.

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A major area of disagreement between the candidates is related to school vouchers. Harris Davila voted for the 2025 law creating education savings accounts that provide public money for private school tuition, homeschooling and other educational expenses. Private school students are eligible for $10,474 this year. State Comptroller Don Huffines said in August that 101,600 students had signed up in the program's first year, with over 100,000 others on a waiting list. More than 5.4 million students are enrolled in Texas public schools. Jimenez wants the state to cancel the voucher program and increase its basic allotment for public schools. "At its root, we're just underfunded," Jimenez said. "We've been underfunded for quite some time." He argues property taxes could be reduced if the state were to pay for a bigger share of public school costs. Another clear divide between the candidates is on the issue of hemp, which is a legal term for cannabis with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC, the plant's main psychoactive ingredient. Edibles and drinks can remain under that threshold and easily have enough Delta-9 to get people high.

Dallas Morning News Editorial: We recommend James Talarico for the U.S. Senate

Texans have a clear choice in the race for U.S. Senate between a man who is unfit for office based on a long history of corruption and a man of integrity who is well prepared for higher office and who has demonstrated a degree of political independence uncommon in our era of blind partisanship. We supported Republican John Cornyn in every race he ran for Senate. Today, we urge Texans to vote for state Rep. James Talarico, the Democrat, over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. The effort to undermine Talarico, 37, has focused on painting him as an extremist. Don’t believe it. There are many issues where Talarico is further to the left than we would like. Yet he has demonstrated not only an impressive depth of knowledge but also a willingness to cut against party orthodoxy in the name of bipartisan progress.

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If he governs the way he speaks, he will represent an important correction toward moderation. Perhaps most important, Talarico is willing and able to talk to people of every political stripe. He has no fear of taking tough questions from Fox News or engaging with devoted MAGA voters. He meets people where they are. Paxton can’t even perform well in his own echo chamber. He stumbles in softball interviews, the only kind he’ll engage. Having a senator who is willing to have difficult conversations for the purpose of genuine legislative progress is something every Texan should want. Now let’s get into the issues and how Talarico says he would govern. The far left has long resisted teacher accountability. Talarico correctly notes he was “vocally in support of pay for performance.” He helped draft House Bill 3, a major bipartisan effort from the Texas House that increased total education funding and created an incentive program to measure and reward the best teachers in the state. Teachers unions, including one Talarico was a member of, hate these sorts of programs. He understands they can help kids, even as he fights vouchers and calls for much more money for public schools. More money alone isn’t the solution, but Texas ranked 46th among states for average per-pupil spending last year.

ICE pursuit in Houston that broke a man's leg targeted a suspect who died years ago, family says

A federal officer slammed a vehicle into a Houston construction worker and broke his leg while pursuing a man who apparently died years ago, his family said Friday, further calling into question the account given by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The worker, 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez of Mexico, remains hospitalized with multiple leg fractures and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, according to FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group. At a news conference Friday, the group said the alleged suspect's family had shared documentation proving his death. After the episode Saturday, ICE said in a statement that officers had observed a suspect they were targeting, identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, enter a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. But on Friday, Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre told The Associated Press that Mendoza-Cervantes was not in that vehicle. ICE did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

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“ICE is lying,” Cesar Espinosa, FIEL’s executive director, said. “Either somebody is not telling the truth or all of a sudden these two ICE agents have developed a sixth sense and are able to see dead people.” ICE released a photo of a man it identified as Mendoza-Cervantes. But he is actually Jose Hector Jimenez, who died years ago while being pursued by federal immigration authorities as he was trying to reenter the U.S., according to FIEL. The man's daughter provided documents confirming his death, which have been turned over to the district attorney, FIEL said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment. Jimenez’s daughter, Jamie Jimenez, did not respond to requests for comment from the AP. Her husband, Andres Rendon, confirmed to the AP that Jimenez was his wife’s deceased father. Criminal charges against the ICE officer who drove the vehicle are being considered by Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, who has said surveillance footage contradicts ICE’s claim that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle. The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away. The video does not show the car hitting him — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it shows the SUV inches from the fleeing man. The video then shows him on the ground.

Majority of Burnet, Webb families ask to close their schools, avoid a takeover of AISD

Volunteers have collected enough signatures to request that the state close Burnet and Webb middle schools. The closures could help avoid a full takeover of the Austin Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency. “To hit this kind of goal is overwhelming and satisfying, and it’s for the kids, so the kids and their families have a voice for their school,” Ken Zarifis, a parent and former teacher at Burnet who helped get the signatures, said. “We don't know if it's a big voice, we don't know if it's a little voice, but it's a voice.” After Webb and Burnet received five consecutive failing grades from the state, the Texas education commissioner can appoint a new board of managers and superintendent. Texas law gives parents from the schools with failing ratings the option to ask the commissioner to close their schools instead. A majority of parents from each school had to sign a written request by Oct. 15 for the commissioner to take action.

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Even if the schools close, the commissioner could still impose combined sanctions, including appointing a monitor, conservator or board of managers to ensure the district is providing adequate support to low-performing campuses. Yet, the community has hope that the petition will help avoid a more intense intervention. The Austin Council of Parent Teacher Associations was behind the effort to inform parents about the petition and gather signatures. The president of the organization, Crystal Brothwell Hernandez, said she was 100% confident they had surpassed the goal of 299 signatures for Burnet and 174 signatures for Webb. She said the signatures were turned in to district officials before 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The district confirmed receipt of the petitions. The gathering of signatures became contentious after some parents said they felt pressured by having people outside of their community calling, showing up at their homes and outside of Webb. Students from both campuses were sent home with the petition. Some parents said the petition already had their and their children's names, phone number and home address filled out. Karen Peraza said she received multiple phone calls from volunteers asking if she had signed the letter. She finally did when her daughter came home from school with the petition. “My daughter told me they had given it to her. ‘Give it to your mom because this letter is to keep Webb open, and get her to sign it,’” Peraza said. “But I did not translate it because I already felt pressured with so many phone calls.”

Heavier mail-in ballots raise postage questions in Tarrant County

As voters prepare to cast their ballots in the upcoming election, a longtime Tarrant County voter is raising concerns about a potential postage issue that could affect mail-in ballots. Linda Potts, who has mailed in her ballot in Tarrant County for nearly a decade, said she discovered the issue unexpectedly when she visited the post office to have her ballot manually postmarked. "There's only place stamp here, there's one square," Potts said, describing the space provided for postage on her ballot envelope. This year, Potts said, the ballot is two pages instead of one, making the completed ballot heavier. When she took it to the post office, she was told that a single stamp would not cover the postage and that an additional 29 cents would be required.

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"The problem is, if I had not walked my mail-in ballot into the post office to have a manual postmark put on it, I would not have known that it's going to take 29 more cents postage to get it to go through the post office," Potts said. Potts questioned how voters would know whether their ballots had sufficient postage if they placed them in their home mailboxes for pickup or dropped them into a collection box without first visiting a postal employee. "If I put my ballot out in my mailbox to be picked up, or I had dropped it in the drop box out in front of the post office, what happens to all those ballots?" she asked. The postage question prompted an inquiry to Tarrant County election officials about what happens when a completed mail-in ballot enters the postal system without sufficient postage. In a response to the inquiry, election officials pointed to the U.S. Postal Service's election mail guidance, which states that completed absentee voting materials, including mail-in ballots, should not be delayed because of insufficient or unpaid postage. USPS' guidance further explains that it works with state and local election officials on mailing requirements, including postage payments. If a ballot enters the mail stream without the proper postage, USPS says it will deliver the ballot and subsequently attempt to collect the remaining postage from the appropriate election authority.

Can Gina Hinojosa flip Texas?

The afternoon we spoke with Gina Hinojosa, Oct. 2, she had just pulled into her campaign office’s parking lot from a four-day trip around East Texas, toting a suitcase in the rain. “We did Nacogdoches, Lufkin,” she later told us. “Corsicana, Crockett,” her assistant piped in. “And we just came from Houston,” Hinojosa finished. About five minutes later, we were sitting down in the empty East Austin house her campaign has jury-rigged into an office. In the next room, several young campaign workers typed on computers situated on plastic foldout tables. Hinojosa, who sat across from us in a navy blazer and heels, has proven herself to be the most formidable challenger for the governor’s seat that Gov. Greg Abbott has ever faced. For context, Abbott became governor of Texas over a decade ago. That year, 2014, he handily beat former Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis with nearly 60% of the vote, then former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez in 2018 by 13.3 percentage points. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke was Texas Dems’ next best hope in 2022, when he lost by a narrower 10.9 percentage points.

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What is different about Hinojosa, Austin’s representative in the Texas House? The recent Oct. 3 New York Times/Siena and Sept. 23 Marist polls are projecting her ahead of Abbott by three percentage points, though other recent polls still have Abbott in the lead. But four years ago, no major polls predicted O’Rourke would win. Those poll numbers are also in spite of Abbott outspending Hinojosa 6-to-1 from July to late September, per Texas Tribune reporting, with Abbott having entered the election cycle with over $105 million on hand. Hinojosa had less than $1 million. We asked Hinojosa: Why is this year different from the previous election cycles? “I am hearing that people want change,” she replied. Hinojosa believes that the boom of data centers across the state has been particularly “eye-opening” for people on all sides of the aisle. “A lot of Texans – a lot of Republicans and Independents – see that this is an example of a governor doing the bidding of moneyed interests, and leaving the people to fend for themselves,” Hinojosa continued. “My theory of the case is: This is who Greg Abbott is. And it makes my critique of him credible.” What has surprised Hinojosa on the campaign trail is what she calls “an opportunity to be post-partisan” in Texas right now. People want their government to improve public schools, improve affordability, to ensure that Texans “have a say in our future, rather than having tech giants decide it for us,” she told us.

Dallas Morning News Editorial: We have no recommendation in the race for Texas governor

We have long supported Gov. Greg Abbott as Texas’ leader based on independent, conservative governance that has helped propel our state’s prosperity while keeping taxes in check and advancing important reforms in areas like education. But with each election cycle, we have grown more concerned with Abbott’s deepening embrace of the far right and his increasing refusal to engage as the leader of all Texans. Like so many of his fellow Republicans, he seems to lead now for the MAGA base and social media clicks. We cannot offer him our recommendation this year. Nor can we tell voters that his Democratic challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, is a worthy replacement. Her message mostly consists of blaming billionaires and Abbott for Texas’ woes, rather than offering solutions.

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Her two main policy ideas on education and sending $1,500 checks to Texans could do the state great harm. Like so many of the state’s Republican leaders, Abbott has fallen into an echo chamber that he refuses to emerge from. He has shown little willingness to connect with voters or media that might challenge his views. He won’t debate or answer tough questions. His comfort zone is right-wing news channels and social media, and that’s whom he governs for. Abbott totally capitulated to President Donald Trump’s demand for mid-decade redistricting. Texas already had few competitive congressional districts. Now, North Texas has none. When it comes to the U.S. House, democracy has been stripped for vast swaths of the state and replaced with incoherently shaped districts that maximize Republican power and diminish minority representation. He stood by as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have acted recklessly in Texas, including the fatal shooting of one man and the running over of another in Houston. He refused to follow the rule of law and extradite a federal immigration agent to Minnesota. He has demonstrated no interest in supporting the immigrants who boost this state’s economy.

Bexar County elections administrator says office is ready for early voting Oct. 19

Michele Carew, the Bexar County elections administrator, says her department is 100% ready for the Nov. 3 election. Early voting runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. Early voting polling sites are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday during the first week. During the second and final week, polling sites are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Local early voting sites include some city halls, libraries, churches, community centers and college campuses. Despite concerns about registration backlogs and a lengthy suspended-voter list, Bexar County is prepared for turnout at levels typically seen in presidential election years, thanks to round-the-clock work by county elections staff.

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Carew said no one will be turned away from a polling site. "I wanted the community to know our election process is working exactly as it should," she said during a news conference at county election headquarters on Friday. Carew said that her staff has been working "around the clock since June to prepare for this election." Tensions among voters appear to be rising as Election Day approaches. Those tensions were on display during President Donald Trump’s rally at Freeman Coliseum earlier this month. Protesters heckled the president several times, drawing loud responses from his supporters. Deputies escorted 18 people out of the rally. Carew sought to reassure voters that polling sites will be safe places to cast ballots. Election judges and sheriff’s deputies are trained to handle potential disturbances, and the county’s Office of Emergency Management is also involved in election security. Carew also said that, under Texas law, ICE agents are not allowed to enter polling sites. "The main message that we are giving to our judges and to the voters is 'if you see something, say something' because our judges and clerks are inside the polling sites, so if there's something going on outside, that needs to be reported immediately."

Texas A&M routs Citadel in sign of life

Six days after scoring just six points in a loss to then-No. 14 Missouri, Texas A&M football returned to Kyle Field looking for signs its offense could turn a corner. The Aggies found some on Saturday, Oct. 17, rolling past The Citadel, 41-0, to improve to 4-3. A&M accumulated 501 yards of total offense, scored touchdowns on all four first-half possessions and recorded its second shutout of the season. “Coming off the field today, we were able to get done what we wanted to get done,” head coach Mike Elko said. With a trip to Alabama rapidly approaching, the question remains whether Saturday’s improvements can carry over against Southeastern Conference competition.

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After poor offensive showings against then-No. 10 LSU and Missouri, A&M produced 264 rushing yards against The Citadel, averaging 6.6 yards per carry and converting seven of 11 third downs. Freshman running back KJ Edwards led the rushing attack with 116 yards on 13 carries, including explosive carries of 32 and 34 yards. Sophomore RB Jamarion Morrow added 54 yards and three rushing touchdowns, accounting for three of A&M’s first-half scores. The ground game’s success also provided senior quarterback Marcel Reed with more opportunities through the air. Reed completed 8-of-13 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown before exiting at halftime, connecting with freshman wide receiver Aaron Gregory for a 37-yard touchdown in the second quarter. “We’ve got to find ways to create explosives,” Elko said. “We talk about that a lot. It’s really, really hard, especially in this league, to be that consistent on offense, 12 plays without creating explosives.” However, three third-quarter false starts contributed to stalled scoring drives, with A&M settling for two field goals after four first-half touchdowns. When asked about Reed’s accuracy, Elko acknowledged that the passing game still needed work beyond the quarterback.

Steve Sarkisian vows an ‘evaluation’ of everything — even Arch Manning

Florida has completed No. 7 Texas’s eight-day spiral from No. 1 to two-game losers, cemented when Gators linebacker Myles Graham strip-sacked Arch Manning with just under two minutes left to help seal their 27-24 road win against Texas on Saturday. The win snapped Florida’s two-game losing streak and dealt coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas a crushing loss for the second straight season. Last year, losing to a Florida team that went on to finish 4-8 kept Texas out of the College Football Playoff. Now, Texas has lost consecutive games to struggling SEC teams. “Everything’s going to be evaluated,” Sarkisian said. Including a quarterback change? “Everything means everything,” Sarkisian said.

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Last week, the Longhorns blew a 17-7 lead and lost to Red River rival Oklahoma on a walk-off field goal. Manning threw two costly fourth-quarter interceptions in that one. At home this week, Texas went up 17-3 in the first half against one of the worst defenses in the SEC but scored only 7 more points the rest of the way. Backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., making his first college start in place of injured Aaron Philo, threw two touchdown passes, and running back Jadan Baugh ran for 88 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Gators up 27-17. “I’m proud of him for staying resilient … going back to training camp, when he didn’t win the job,” Florida coach Jon Sumrall said of Jones, who finished 22-of-35 for 155 yards and two TDs. “He stayed steady and responded. He’d miss a throw and he’d come back and make a throw.” Manning had his one moment on the next drive, completing a 62-yard pass to receiver Emmett Mosley after evading pressure, then connecting with WR Cam Coleman for a touchdown that cut the Gators’ lead to 27-24.

Houston officials tap former Trump aides for homelessness policy consulting

Houston city officials retained a conservative consulting firm this year to assist with Mayor John Whitmire's initiative to address homelessness, the mayor's office told Houston Public Media on Thursday. Red Door Consulting founding partners Scott Centorino and Sam Adolphsen served as assistants to President Donald Trump at the beginning of his current term in office, when they helped write and execute dozens of executive orders, according to the firm's website. On the website, they say the firm's mission is to "help advocacy organizations, businesses, and candidates win with conservative policy." In a statement to Houston Public Media, Centorino said he helps Houston "partner with federal agencies in Washington to reduce homelessness because the city’s leadership is taking a results-driven approach that is evidence-based, compassionate, and community-centered."

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"The city has a powerful story to tell — of putting partisanship and ideology aside, just looking at what works, and focusing on results," Centorino wrote. "I’m proud to help the city share that story in Washington." The city issued two purchase orders for the firm’s services this year for a total of $150,000, according to documents obtained through a public records request. Red Door Consulting charged the city $10,000 per month. Joshua Sanders, Whitmire's Director of Intergovernmental Relations, wrote in a document in February that the firm would help "identify and prepare potential proactive legislation, assist in tracking adverse legislation, legislative appropriations, and grant opportunities to support the (the city’s) strategy regarding homelessness." Red Door Consulting lists the city as a client in its lobbying disclosure registration with the federal government, as well as weapons and technology company Axon and the New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association, which opposes offshore wind energy development and supports fishing deregulation. Whitmire has made addressing homelessness a central pillar of his mayoral administration. The lynchpin of his plan — a 222-bed residential treatment center in East Downtown — currently depends on about $40 million in one-time federal funding for its first three years of operation.

Is a tax increase how Dallas County solves homelessness?

Beneath the Interstate 45 bridge in South Dallas, a new fence largely walls off a field of dirt that extends about 300 yards. The space is quiet this October afternoon, save for a man with a shopping cart and the thrum of commuters overhead. The tents, burn pits, and debris that had been scattered around the concrete pillars are gone. Until May, about four dozen people lived in this longtime encampment off Al Lipscomb Way and Cesar Chavez Boulevard, just two miles south of downtown. Nonprofit service providers spent about eight weeks in the spring building rapport with people sheltered here. They helped them secure vital documents before offering them housing or medical treatment. City crews then cleared and fenced off the encampment known as “Coombs,” named after a nearby street. On Nov. 3, voters will decide whether to fund a countywide expansion of the approach carried out here.

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Housing Forward, the agency that coordinates the county’s homelessness response, has proposed a tax increase to scale its street outreach efforts and fund rental assistance, mental health treatment, and a new crisis center to divert some people from jail. If approved, Proposition A would generate about $100 million annually through a 2.4-cent tax per $100 of assessed property value. For a property appraised at $350,000, the new tax would cost the homeowner an additional $84 a year, according to county estimates. Housing Forward CEO Sarah Kahn said 11,000 “households” in Dallas County need help exiting homelessness every year. The organization defines a “household” as anyone — from a single adult to a family with kids — seeking housing stability, who it often tracks through shelter visits or contact with a service provider. Nearly 2,000 are currently experiencing long-term homelessness, while the organization estimates another 9,000 lose their housing every year. With current funding levels, Kahn said Housing Forward can only reach about 60% of them. The ballot initiative narrowly won approval from Dallas County commissioners in August. Commissioners John Wiley Price and Elba Garcia voted against sending the proposal to voters after citing concerns that the tax burden was too steep for families to afford. The two criticized the plan for not including specific performance goals or oversight in how the money is spent. The tax also does not expire.

Despite surge in prison overdoses, state agency requests no new treatment funding

From 2020 to 2025, the number of confirmed overdose deaths in Texas prisons rose from just four to at least 131. Despite this surge in fatalities, however, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) did not request any additional funding to expand its drug rehabilitation programs in its recent proposed budget to the Texas Legislature ahead of next year’s session. Instead, the agency asked lawmakers to “maintain current funding levels for rehabilitation and reentry programs such as chaplaincy, reentry transitional coordinators, substance use treatment programs, and the sex offender treatment program” for 2028-29. If that request is granted, funding for these programs would in fact effectively decline due to rising inflation. Further, the same programming is set to be affected by a mandated 3 percent reduction in spending across state departments, though TDCJ has asked for that cut to be reversed. This appropriations request comes after contraband—which includes drugs—entering prisons topped the list of priorities for the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice to address in 2027 and after the Texas Observer published an investigative series showing the consequences of punishing drug possession without robustly funding treatment for incarcerated Texans.

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In the request, prison officials did ask for millions of dollars in additional funding for new interdiction efforts—including drone detection technology and more drug-sniffing dogs—as part of a “multi-faceted approach by the agency to combat the introduction of narcotics and other dangerous materials to agency facilities,” as the agency wrote. This follows a longstanding pattern. Funding for agency-led rehabilitation programs—which include mandatory classes for parole and specialized substance-abuse facilities—has not kept pace with inflation in the past decade, and TDCJ hasn’t asked lawmakers for the money to significantly expand these programs, even as need grows and the agency says it is trying to offer programming to more prisoners. (The agency has said it’s ramping up peer-led programs and online resources including a help line and educational videos.) Meanwhile, prisoners are racking up new criminal charges for using or dealing, which is having little apparent effect on the prevalence of drugs inside prisons. The agency is doubling down on punitive efforts, which sometimes include highly publicized inter-agency busts of smuggling rings involving both prisoners and prison staff. “Funding drug interdiction alone is a misguided approach,” Senator Borris Miles told the Observer in October. “The state must also address the ongoing problem of addiction in our prison system through treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to prevention.” Republican Committee Chair Pete Flores previously told the Observer he “support[s] both initiatives [punishment and treatment] and additional funding that will eliminate contraband in our prisons.” Flores did not reply to a request for comment on the agency’s appropriations request.

Houston Chronicle Editorial: The worst candidates on the 2026 Texas election ballot

After meeting with candidates for roughly 125 races, it’s clear that plenty of contests pit two qualified candidates against each other — the sort who get three stars on our rating scale. Often we’ll simply encourage voters to stick with a proven incumbent. Races without an incumbent, we’ll highlight a specific skill or policy position that elevates one candidate over the other in a coin toss of a contest. But some candidates deserve extra attention. We're talking about the bottom-of-the-barrel officeholders whose negligence and ignorance cause clear-cut injustices. So if you’re tempted to vote straight-ticket, please first read this list of the worst candidates on the ballot and adjust your selection accordingly.

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Ken Paxton (not) for U.S. Senate: We’ve noted in the past that Paxton is one of the most crooked politicians in Texas history. There’s a reason why the attorney general was impeached by his fellow Republicans. Paxton’s campaign has also underscored just how lazy he is, with even Fox News pundits hammering him for failing to work hard enough on the campaign trail. Texas needs a senator who actually works hard in Washington rather than jet to Europe with his mistress or party with fugitives in Dubai and then blame everyone else for his woes. Bo French (not) for Railroad Commissioner: He’s a white supremacist and plenty of key Republicans — like Sen. John Cornyn and Chris Daniel — have said they’re not voting for him. Gov. Greg Abbott once said he would “wreck” Texas oil and gas. Keep in mind that Republicans control all three seats on the Railroad Commission, meaning they can lose this one without sacrificing their majority. Plus, the Democratic candidate is a qualified engineer with decades of experience in oil and gas, not a whacko.

National Stories

Vance says in ‘some ways’ US has ‘decisively won’ Iran war

Vice President Vance claimed Saturday that in “some ways” the United States has “decisively won” its war against Iran. “I would say in some ways, we have won decisively, but they’re — the Iranians, the enemy gets a vote here, and they have responded in certain ways. And so, to step back a little bit, why did the president of the United States do this?” Vance told CBS News’s Tony Dokoupil in a town hall. “The president of the United States did this because he believes it is very important, and I think he’s right, I think most people here would agree, even if they don’t agree with all the particulars of the policy, to say Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, cannot have a nuclear weapon,” the vice president added.

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Vance’s comments come only a few weeks out from the midterms, in which he and his party are facing rough political territory with issues including the unpopular war in Iran. The conflict has driven up energy prices as the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry, has been closed amid the fighting The war in Iran is set to reach the eight-month mark in a little under two weeks. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas on Sunday morning was about $4.30, up from about $3.04 last year at the same time. President Trump’s approval rating has also sagged amid the war in Iran, with his rating sitting at 39.8 percent on Sunday morning, according to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ, and his disapproval rating sitting at 58.7 percent.

Trump's new pitch for Republican candidates — they're really good looking

President Donald Trump has a new pitch for Republican candidates: they’re easy on the eyes. “Look at this beautiful guy,” Trump said at a Saturday rally in Kentucky, referring to U.S. House candidate Ed Gallrein, a former U.S. Navy SEAL with an angular face who stood nearby the stage. “Central casting.” That’s a common refrain from Trump, who owned the Miss Universe beauty pageant and grew his clout on the reality television show “The Apprentice” before entering politics. Aesthetics have long been part of the president’s measuring stick, either as a source of praise or target for ridicule. Now, Trump is deploying his handsomeness appraisals as he boosts Republican candidates in a midterm election which already includes debates over which candidates are more masculine. The outcome will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress or Trump faces emboldened Democratic opposition in Washington.

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Soon after Trump touted Gallrein’s beauty on Saturday, he mentioned Sen. Jon Husted, the Ohio Republican running for reelection, and described him as “a perfect person, good-looking guy.” “I examined his ass,” said Trump, eliciting laughter. “I never did that with a man before. I examined his ass. And then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. I looked at his hand. I looked at his jawline.” It was a reprise of Trump’s droll assessment from an earlier rally in Ohio, when he also touted Husted’s past as a college football player. Not all Republicans are so lucky, as Ken Paxton has learned. “I don’t really like the way he looks,” Trump said about the Republican Senate candidate in Texas during the party’s midterm convention as Paxton stood nearby grinning. Trump previously said that “it’s so insulting to him, but I might as well say it.” He added that Paxton’s conservative record as attorney general “speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t look so great.” Democrats are far from safe from the president’s visual judgments. Trump says Paxton’s opponent, Democratic candidate James Talarico, reminds him of Alfred E. Neuman, the freckled, gap-toothed MAD magazine mascot.

No Kings draws crowds with focus on early voting

At the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Saturday, a large inflatable donkey bounced around next to a paper-mache replica of Donald Trump's head. Next to both of them: a sign reading "VOTE EARLY." The donkey, the floating head and the voting sign were all part of the "No Kings: Vote Early" day of action. Thousands of gatherings across the country drew protestors, voters and grassroots organizers to the streets and to voting centers. Organizers said the events were a nonpartisan effort to promote early voting in the midterm elections. The nationwide push to vote marks a pivot for the No Kings coalition, which comprises hundreds of partner organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Voters Matter.

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"The first three No Kings were designed to send a message," said Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible — one of the major organizations within the No Kings network. "We're done sending a message." Now, he said, they want people to vote. The events looked different across the country. Some were larger marches or rallies, but many were smaller community gatherings such as block parties and cookouts. While some protests, like the one on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, were reminiscent of the first three No Kings rallies — with signs blasting Trump and his administration's actions — other events focused on spreading information to community members on how to vote. Saturday's events all shared similar restrictions, Levin said, including a rule against political endorsements and inviting current candidates to speak. In Golden, Colo., a "Paws to the Polls" event invited people to bring their dogs on a march. Organizers in Everett, Wash., planned a "concert for democracy," featuring an environmental troubadour.

Always on, always listening: New AI devices are pushing legal limits and could put users in jeopardy

Thomas, 43, wears a pair of Meta’s camera-equipped glasses, a Fieldy note-taking pendant around his neck and a wristband from Amazon’s Bee, all of which record his daily life. A Pittsburgh-based business owner and a livestreamer, Thomas relies on the devices to help him stay organized, pay bills on time and set reminders. “I’m forgetful AF,” Thomas said in an interview. “My life is so crazy that not having to remember to remember is fantastic.” Not everyone is on board with his lifestyle. Earlier this week, a bystander at a local bar noticed his Meta Glasses. “He was like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable,’” Thomas said. “I don’t turn it off, I take it off completely because people don’t really believe it’s off.”

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It’s the type of interaction users are increasingly navigating as more tech companies introduce AI-powered, always-listening devices and features, which have been marketed as useful tools to transcribe meetings, keep track of conversations, set reminders and offer personalized recommendations. The latest example of these gadgets arrived Thursday with Amazon’s Bee Frontier wearable and Bee Eclipse, a card-shaped device that attaches to a smartphone. Both devices are designed to record, transcribe and analyze a user’s day. Amazon’s Bee Frontier device can be worn on a wrist or clipped on to clothing. Apple’s latest Apple Watch Series 12, unveiled in September, will have Siri Recap, which “ambiently” takes notes throughout the day and generates summaries of conversations. Another feature called Live Rewind can recap 15 seconds of a conversation via a text transcription. Meta’s popular smart glasses can take photos, capture video and record voice notes or reminders. Startups including Plaud and Pocket also developed card-sized note-taking devices, while Friend offers an AI necklace.

Republicans zero in on cultural issues in campaign’s final stretch

Republicans across the most competitive House and Senate races have settled on a closing pitch ahead of Election Day: Democrats are too extreme to be given control of Congress. It is an effort, pressed in a flood of TV ads and in President Trump’s rally speeches, to urge voters who are angry about gas prices and broader economic conditions to redirect their frustration away from the party in power. To make their case, Republicans are calling renewed attention to a set of cultural issues that hurt the Democratic Party in 2024, among them transgender athletes in women’s sports, border security and the claim that Democrats want socialism. Democrats are trying to blunt the attack by siding with Trump and his party on some of these issues over progressives who first propelled the ideas. “There is no question that crossings are way down, and there is no question it is because of President Trump,” Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor in Texas, said of illegal immigration in a TV interview.

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“I don’t support biological men playing women’s sports,” says Annie Andrews, the Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina, in a direct-to-camera TV ad. “No way do we defund the police,” says Roy Cooper, the Democrats’ Senate nominee in North Carolina, in an ad. “You deserve to feel safe, and there’s nothing political about that.” In casting Democrats as out of the mainstream, Republicans are trying to appeal to their voters’ partisan impulses as polls find that many are unmotivated to vote. They also worry that GOP Senate candidates, such as Ken Paxton in Texas and Roger Marshall in Kansas, are drawing lower levels of support than are the party’s gubernatorial candidates. That suggests that some Republicans are backing the Democrat in those Senate races, might skip voting for senator or sit out the election altogether. Democrats have similar problems with their Senate candidates in states such as Michigan. “You can vote for the radical left Dumocrat communists to loot your wealth, raise your taxes by $5 trillion, annihilate your borders,” Trump said at a rally this week in Ohio, in what has become a familiar element of his recent campaign speeches. By contrast, he said, “You can defeat the Dumocrat communists and vote for more money in your pockets…If you want that, you must vote Republican.”

France counts cost of worst unrest in years

France woke on Sunday to the ?wreckage of one of its most violent days of unrest in years after protests over high prices and public services left one demonstrator dead, hundreds of police injured and nearly 1,800 people arrested. Nationwide demonstrations erupted into riots on Saturday, with a town hall torched, shops ransacked, and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police ?in cities across the country. One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in Paris, where police made a record 855 arrests. ?Across France, more than 500 officers were injured, the interior minister said. "It's like a war zone here," said ?Dutch entrepreneur Tije De Boer, who had come to Paris with his children to visit a friend and said the protests forced him to evacuate ?his hotel at Place de la Republique, which suffered major damage on Saturday.

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More than half a million people joined marches in scores of cities, marking ?the convergence of a month-long student movement with broader social discontent against rising living costs and declining public services. President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 2000 local time (1800 GMT) on Sunday, his office said. While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets and attacked police ?vehicles and officers. A massive clean-up operation began in cities from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south and Strasbourg in the east ?to Bordeaux in the southwest, where a masked mob invaded the residence of the local prefect. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said several hundred shops had been damaged on Saturday. In ?Paris, smashed ?shop windows, burnt-out bicycles and spray-painted slogans bore witness to a day that began largely with peaceful demonstrations but descended into violence. In Limoges, southwestern France, mayor Guillaume Guerin denounced the chaos after the city's 143-year-old town hall was set ablaze and partially destroyed in an arson attack on Saturday, drawing comparisons to the 2019 fire that devastated Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral. "There was a clear, premeditated intention to burn down the town hall, and the people inside feared ?for their lives," Guerin told Reuters. ?He threatened to resign if the ?city did not receive the million euros needed to repair the city hall.

Retiring GOP congressmember will absolutely not vote for successor in at-risk seat

Retiring Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei said he won’t vote for the Trump-endorsed GOP candidate vying to replace him amid a string of stolen valor and other accusations — and warned that the once-safe Republican seat President Donald Trump won by 14 points is at risk of flipping blue on Election Day. Amodei said in an interview Saturday he would "absolutely not” vote for businessperson David Flippo in Nevada’s 2nd District. “I think the seat’s at risk,” he added, citing a string of stolen valor and financial allegations against Flippo. “You say, well, the president endorsed him,” Amodei added. “It's like, well whoever was advising the president on, ‘Hey, this would be a good place for you to go ahead and weigh in,’ gave him awful advice. The vetting process — quote unquote — must have been nearly non-existent.” Amodei specifically cited a series of allegations against Flippo as disqualifying, for reportedly lying about his military service and also failing to file financial disclosures on time.

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“It's just one thing after another. The stolen valor accusations — all that. But you're just sitting here going, ‘What the heck?’” Amodei said. Flippo has said apparent exaggerations about his military service on campaign materials were mistakes by his staff and others. Still, GOP officials have been weighing whether Trump should campaign in the region to help boost Flippo before Election Day, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The district has never been represented by a Democrat. Amodei said he plans to vote early in the coming days and “is looking seriously” at casting his ballot for the independent candidate. Amid the deteriorating landscape, national Republicans are increasingly wary about Republicans like Flippo holding onto seats in once-safe red districts. Trump won the Northern Nevada seat that encompasses Reno and nearby rural counties by double digits in 2024 and Amodei has held it for 15 years. On paper, Democrats should have no business playing there. And, national Republicans are still bullish on their chances of holding onto the seat, arguing it’s safer than other red districts they’re more worried about. But Republicans have watched Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former Nevada Assembly majority leader, make the race much tighter than comfortable. Limited general election polls have Flippo either up or trailing by several points. The Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC just dropped its first spending into the district in recent days, looking to boost Flippo who has self-funded a large part of his campaign.

Copyright October 18, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved