Texas Take

Another Texas summer is in the books and it had us wondering who in Texas politics made the most of their opportunity to get ahead. Host Jeremy Wallace, with help from reporters Benjamin Wermund and James Osborne, breaks down 10 names in Texas politics that crushed the summer and are riding high going into the fall. In the process, you’ll hear the latest on congressional redistricting, the battle over THC and a big change to testing in public schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Houston Democrat Gene Wu has received a burst of national attention for being the leader of the Texas House Democrats as they fled the state to try to stop President Donald Trump's redistricting plan. Ultimately, the maps passed despite Wu's efforts. He sits down with Texas Take host Jeremy Wallace to explain what if anything Democrats accomplished, how he's dealt with racists attacks as his profile has grown and why many in his community warned he about making too many waves in politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

President Trump got the redistricting maps he wanted from Texas, but it may come with a big political price tag. The Democratic Party, so fractured after the 2024 campaigns, suddenly found a rallying issue that washed away many of its own internal divisions - at least temporarily. Brad Johnson of The Texan and Kat Vargas of Howdy Politics join host Jeremy Wallace to break it all down. Plus, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called out Gov. Greg Abbott again for his stance against banning all THC products in Texas, further muddying what the Legislature will do in the closing days of the special session of the Legislature. And finally, Texas House Democratic Leader Gene Wu joins the show for a deep dive on how his recent national media attention has helped illustrate how he’s had to navigate racism and generational norms in the Asian-American community.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn joins the Texas Take for a special episode to talk about being a political underdog for the first time in decades and pushes back against attacks that he's going more MAGA just to win his GOP primary next year. The Republican also explains why he called on the Justice Department to investigate Texas Democrats and what he did to make sure the state got reimbursed for all of the border spending it did during the Biden administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

From California to New England, Texas Democrats have the entire nation focused on the Great State and President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the state's congressional districts. Reporters John Moritz and Taylor Goldenstein explain where things stand and whether Democrats are succeeding in their mission. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn also joins the show, pushing back against critics who say he is becoming more MAGA just to salvage his political career. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred also drops by to talk about where he went wrong in his last campaign and how he’ll be a different candidate this time. Finally, there’s another Bush family member ready to jump on the campaign circuit. Host Jeremy Wallace breaks it all down with a little inspiration from Paul McCartney, George Strait and Randy Rogers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]