Good morning,

Yesterday, we asked readers about the Texas GOP's efforts to close the 2026 nominating contest to Democrat election interference. Below, you'll find the results—and a sampling of readers' responses.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Indiana Man Sued Over Scheme To ‘Take Over’ Loving County

• An Indiana man is being accused in a sweeping lawsuit filed by the attorney general of trying to “take over” Texas’ least populous county through what is being called an illegal and unsafe settlement scheme. Brandon Waltens has the story.
     
• At issue is the purchase of two adjoining five-acre tracts earlier this year by Malcolm Tanner, a resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana. According to the complaint filed by the attorney general, Tanner has been using social media to invite followers—many of them women with children—to move to the barren property, promising “free homes” and even “$5,000 a month” if they help him “take over” local government.
    
• Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit alleges that Tanner’s property has no sewer, septic systems, or running water, relying instead on gas generators and a “burn pit” for trash disposal. Dozens of people have reportedly moved in, living in RVs and tents on the desolate land. Tanner is also accused of engaging in organized criminal activity, citing alleged threats against law enforcement officers and oil-field workers.
      
• Tanner has publicly bragged online about plans to “change the name of Loving County to Tanner County” and to run for president in 2028. 

Data Center Water Use Shrouded in Uncertainty

• Paige Feild reports that Texas does not know how much water data centers are using. A spokesperson for the Texas Water Development Board has confirmed that there is not a "comprehensive list of data centers in the state," though the number is thought to be between 350 and 400.
     
• The agency sent out an estimated 70 surveys to data centers in 2024, asking how much ground and surface water they used each month and who was supplying that water to them. Only 18 responded.
   
• With Texas highly susceptible to droughts, data collection is important to ensure water resources are properly allocated ahead of drought conditions. While data centers are statutorily required to respond to the TWDB surveys, the offense for not completing the survey is punished with a maximum $500 fine. The TWDB has declined to disclose how many penalties have been served to the violators.
      
• Data centers have been notorious for using large amounts of water to cool their electronics. Recently, closed-loop systems have been utilized by data center companies in an effort to conserve water. Some data centers, though, consider the type of cooling systems they use to be a business secret and therefore not subject to disclosure. 

Attorney General Demands Answers From Houston Methodist on Vaccine Mandate for Organ Transplants

• Houston Methodist Hospital is being warned that it cannot deny organ transplants to patients who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine. As Sydnie Henry reports, a new state law prohibits healthcare providers from refusing organ transplants, withholding related services, or lowering waitlist priorities based solely on a patient’s vaccination status.
     
• The Office of the Attorney General issued the warning yesterday following social media posts suggesting Houston Methodist’s Kidney Transplant Program required the COVID-19 vaccine for all recipients.
     
• A Houston Methodist spokesperson told Texas Scorecard the hospital “does not deny care based on vaccination status." The OAG has given Houston Methodist 14 days to provide written details of its compliance.
      
• Psst... 2020 called, they want their COVID vax mandates back!

UT-Austin Students Protest Trump Initiative

• Around 100 people staged a protest on Monday in opposition to the University of Texas' participation in the Trump administration’s new higher education reform initiative. As Adam Cahn reports, UT was invited to join an initial cohort of universities in adopting a series of reforms aimed at overhauling admissions, hiring practices, and campus governance in exchange for priority access to federal funding.
       
• Demonstrators voiced concerns over provisions in the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education that include requirements for standardized tests in admissions, strict bans on demographic-based preferences, and mandates for institutional neutrality on political issues.
      
• So the leftists want the university to engage in subjective admissions, racial preferences, and divisive politics? That seems on brand.

Expectations Following Texas’ Redistricting Hearings

• Following nearly two weeks of testimony, a federal three-judge panel is now considering Democrats' request to block Texas’ newly drawn congressional map ahead of the 2026 primary elections. Travis Morgan explores the legal arguments.
    
• Plaintiffs allege the state’s latest map constitutes both racial gerrymandering and racial vote dilution under the Voting Rights Act. The State counters that the lines only considered partisan advantages.
     
• Both parties are requesting that the preliminary injunction decision be made as soon as possible, ideally before the candidate filing period opens on Nov. 8. 

On The Record

A.G. Candidates: Online Gambling in Texas

• With online sports betting proliferating among young people, scientific literature reports that those who engage in internet gambling have the highest risk of developing a gambling disorder.
      

• Prediction markets, such as Kalshi, provide an avenue for individuals to wager on the outcome of an event, including sports. While other states have challenged Kalshi as an illegal gambling operation, Texas has not.
     

• The four declared GOP candidates for attorney general—Mayes Middleton, Aaron Reitz, Joan Huffman, and Chip Roy—offer their views on online gambling.

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Quote-Unquote

"Every step we take towards making the State our Caretaker of our lives, by that much we move toward making the State our Master."

– Dwight D. Eisenhower​

Y'All Answered

The Texas GOP is arguing in federal court that the constitutional principle of freedom of association means Republicans should be able to choose their nominees without Democrat participation. Opponents, like Secretary of State Jane Nelson, are arguing to keep in place Texas' law that requires open primaries.

Yesterday, we asked readers which position most closely mirrored their own. More than 95 percent of readers said they want the Republican primary closed to those who are not registered as Republicans beforehand, while 3.6 percent prefer the existing system, and 1.1 percent said they do not care.

Here is a sampling of the responses I received from folks who participated in the survey.

• “Only fools would allow the opposition to skew their primary voting. It is especially foolish in today’s dog-eat-dog political climate.” – Rich Hancock
     

• “What is the point of having a primary election if it is open to anyone? The decision should be made only by Republicans.” – Beverly Uhlmer Roberts
      

• “It seems the substance of GOP opposition to allowing Democrats to vote in the ‘Republican’ primary is a means to perpetuate ‘far-right’ ideological control of Texas politics. Is the Republican ideology afraid of open-mindedness in the governing of the state of Texas?” – Calvin Roach
     

• “This should have happened years ago!” – Eric Osterhout
     

• “Democrats should not be the ones choosing our Republican candidates, which is what has been happening for over a decade.” – Susan Valliant
     

• “In polite society, people respect personal and group boundaries. If the democrats cannot act honorably, then they must be excluded.” – Brian Willoughby 
     

• “Texas needs a closed primary. The only reason a Democrat would vote for a Republican…is to sabotage them.” – Maureen Smith
     

• “‘I don't care’ seemed the closest to my stance. Bottom line, Republicans need to do a better job of getting conservatives out to vote in the primaries.” – Roger Taylor 
      

• “Anyone with half a wit can see the methodology behind continuing with an open primary—to continue to steal the conservative vote in TEXAS! There should be no question regarding closing the primary,  as it should have always been!” – Deb Hillis 
     

• “Only rinocrat Republicans support the notion that the Democrat opposition should be empowered to select the Republican general election candidate in Texas.” – David Clark  
      

• “Do athletic teams allow the other team to participate in their play calling?” – Bailey McAnulty

Directory of Your Current U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

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