U S. Sen. Ted Cruz To Seek Third Term In 2024

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Ted Cruz said over the weekend that he will seek a third term in the U.S. Senate in 2024, though he also did not rule out running for president.

“I'm running for reelection in the Senate, I’m focused on the battles in the United States Senate,” Cruz told reporters after addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas. He said

(Full story HERE.)
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Public Radio Host Diaz Joins Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Race

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The Democratic primary for Texas governor gained another candidate Wednesday: former public radio journalist Joy Diaz.

Diaz released a video Tuesday explaining why she’s entering the race for the state’s top elected position, saying three issues are top of mind for her campaign. Those include the border, public education and state preparedness.

“Our current leadership has forgotten that their mission is to serve us,” she said in her video announcement.

Diaz will have to face long odds to win the primary, going up against already announced candidate former US Rep. and former US Senate and Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, who has excellent name recognition among the state's Democrats and is a gifted fundraiser.

(Full story here.)
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Democrat State Rep. Who Fled To DC Seeks Congressional Seat

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Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas) has endorsed Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Crockett to take her seat just days after announcing her intentions to retire.

Crockett, a first-term state representative, made headlines in July as part of the group of Texas lawmakers who fled to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to block a vote on the state Republicans‘ elections integrity bill, which eventually passed and was signed into law in September.

(Full story here.)

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Rep. Michelle Beckley, who Fled To DC, Announces Congressional Run

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State Rep. Michelle Beckley, one of the House Democrats who is camped out in Washington, D.C., announced Tuesday that she is challenging U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, a national Democratic target.

Beckley unveiled her plans in a video filmed inside a hotel room in the nation’s capital, where House Democrats fled earlier this month to break quorum in protest of Republicans’ priority elections bill.

In the video, Beckley contrasted her commitment to the voting rights battle with Van Duyne’s vote earlier this year to object to the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania.

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Gov Abbott Releases Special Legislative Session Agenda

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Governor Greg Abbott has released the agenda for the special section of the state legislature, which begins today. 

lawmakers to prioritize 11 issues including an overhaul of Texas' elections and voting rules.

Most of the issues were anticipated after they did not pass during the regular session and Abbott faced pressure to revive them or had already committed to bringing them back.

Those issues include his priority bills related to elections and the bail system, as well as pushing back against social media censorship of Texans and critical race theory.

Conservative Republicans will likely express dismay at the absence of two legislative Republican priorities not included in the call for the special session. Legislation to ban the surgical modification of a minor's gender and legislation to ban taxpayer funded lobbying we're two priorities that the legislature did not get to consider in their regular session.

(Full story here.)
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Top-Ranking Republican In Senate Won't Seek Re-Election

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Jane Nelson, the longest-serving Republican in the state senate, announced yesterday she would not seek re-election next year.

Nelson, who was first elected in 1992, has served as chair of the Senate Finance Committee for four terms, noting in her announcement yesterday that the final budget passes through her committee unanimously.

“I promised to listen, work hard, and deliver results and have strived to fulfill that pledge. Our accomplishments have improved the lives of Texans, which makes me proud," she said, in her statement.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Announces Re-Election Bid

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In a video released to the media and his supporters yesterday, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick officially announced that he is running for re-election in 2022.

In the video, he said, 

"I am running for re-election in 2022. Democrats are bragging again that they are going to turn Texas blue and I am not about to let that happen. We will crush them again in 2022."

Dan Patrick was first elected Lt. Governor of Texas in 2014 and re-elected in 2018.

It's very likely that, like Gov. Greg Abbott, Patrick will face primary opposition from the Right, who are upset that some legislative priorities, such as election reform and banning sex changes for minor children, weren't passed in the regular session.

Some political observers point the finger at Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan schedule hearings properly.

Phelan and Patrick have sniped back and forth on Twitter blaming each other for the failures.

On May 10, Patrick was endorsed in his expected 2022 bid by former Pres. Donald Trump.

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Morgan Luttrell Announces Congressional Bid

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Morgan Luttrell, a retired Navy SEAL with close ties to former Texas governor and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, filed to run for the state’s open 8th Congressional District Tuesday as a Republican. 

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, who was first elected to the seat in 1996, announced in April he wouldn’t seek reelection next year for the eighth Congressional district, which sits just north of Houston.

Luttrell served 14 years in the military and was deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

His brother, Marcus Luttrell, also served as a Navy SEAL and wrote the bestselling book Lone Survivor based on his own experiences in Afghanistan.

Six other Republican candidates have filed to run in the primary so far, and at least one independent will run for the seat in the general election in 2022,

(Full story here.)
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George P. Bush Announces Bid For Attorney General

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Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced Wednesday evening he is officially throwing his hat into the ring for Texas Attorney General.

He said the Republican Party needs new leadership in the AG’s Office, as current AG Ken Paxton continues to face several legal battles of his own.

He spoke to a crowd of nearly 300 in downtown Austin to lick off his campaign. Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to announce that he will seek another term, setting up a hotly contested primary race.

Bush is the son of former Florida Gov. and 2016  presidential candidate Jeb Bush. During the rally, George P. Bush spoke approvingly of his father's former opponent, Pres. Donald Trump. It's unclear whether Trump will endorse Paxton in the race. He has already been endorsed incumbents Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for their 2022 bids for re-election.

(Full story here.)

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