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Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Trump Wins Big with Hispanics, Flipping South Texas Counties Hispanic Americans cast their vote in historic numbers for Republican President-elect Donald Trump, flipping historically Democrat counties to the GOP column in the process. Valerie Muñoz has the details [[link removed]].

According to one national exit poll, 54 percent of Hispanic and Latino men went for Trump.

Of Texas' 14 border counties, 12 went for Trump. In Maverick County, where Hispanics make up 95 percent of the population, 59 percent of the vote went to Trump, while 40 percent went to Kamala Harris.

According to a survey by Pew Research, the economy and illegal immigration were top issues for Hispanic voters.

RELATED NEWS

While their elections didn't flip parties, four new faces [[link removed]] will be included in Texas' congressional delegation in January; two Republicans and two Democrats. All four won in open-seat contests.

Winning Streak Continues for School Choice... But House Obstacle Remains As Daniel Greer explains [[link removed]], Texas' down-ballot races were good for Republicans generally and the issue of school choice specifically.

Anti-school choice advocates insisted that, after being obliterated in the primary, races won by supportive candidates would be undone by Democrats. The General Election was fashioned into a referendum on school choice. It did not go as they planned; it was a rout of school choice opponents.

One of the oldest anti-school choice groups in the state, Texas Parent PAC, endorsed candidates in 13 open-seat and challenging races. They lost all but three of those; two of their "wins" were Democrats backfilling Democrat open seats.

On Tuesday night, Gov. Greg Abbott boasted that every candidate he backed in the Texas House won their General Election and that the House has the votes to pass school choice. Based on the numbers, that should be the case, but he and school choice advocates face an impediment: House Speaker Dade Phelan.

Speaker Phelan has a history of taking the school choice issue hostage and has a track record of sandbagging conservative issues to curry favor with the Democrats. By appealing to Democrats to keep his seat in 2025, Phelan is setting up a similar play.

For his part, Gov. Abbott has not expressed a position on the speakership. Can Phelan Hold On? With the General Election in the rearview mirror, the next election on lawmakers’ minds in the Texas Capitol is for the next speaker of the House. Brandon Waltens examines [[link removed]] the race in the context of Tuesday's election.

The official vote for speaker will occur on the first day of the legislative session (January 14). Yet, the decision may be made a month earlier as part of the Republican Caucus’ nominating process.

Incumbent House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) is being challenged by a group of Republican lawmakers seeking to reform the legislative chamber and reduce the influence of Democrats in the leadership. State Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield) emerged in September as the group's consensus candidate to challenge Phelan.

The GOP caucus vote will take place on December 7. With two formerly Democrat seats flipped to the GOP this week, the caucus will have 88 members at that meeting.

To clinch the caucus’ nomination, several rounds of voting can take place during a secret ballot. The winner must receive two-thirds support during the first two rounds of voting. If that does not occur, the threshold then drops to three-fifths.

If Cook can clinch the Republican caucus nomination, Phelan's path to retain power will be steep. Mr. Phelan would need the votes of all the Democrats and get at least 15 Republicans to defy the caucus nomination. Mexican National Wanted for Murder Apprehended at Border Raul Chavez, a Mexican national wanted for aggravated murder, was arrested while attempting to cross into Texas. Emily Medeiros reports [[link removed]] that the man is wanted in connection with the murder of his wife.

Chavez was a passenger in a vehicle crossing the Donna International Bridge in Progreso when he was flagged for a secondary inspection. It was then that it was discovered he had an outstanding felony arrest warrant. Border Patrol officers turned him over to Mexican authorities.

In September, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R) confirmed that thousands of murderers and rapists have entered the country illegally. Dallas Voters Approve Two of Three Citizen-led HERO Amendments Voters approved two citizen-driven HERO amendments in Dallas during the General Election despite heavy opposition from city leaders. Addie Hovland has the results [[link removed]] from the citizen-led initiative. 🔒 Donate to Texas Scorecard 🔒 [[link removed]] Number of the Day

11,321,654

Total number of Texans who voted in the presidential race, 56.3 percent of whom supported Donald Trump.

[Source: Texas Secretary of State]

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"The free world must embrace its national foundations. It must not attempt to erase them or replace them."

– Donald Trump​

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