Good morning!

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, December 2, 2020
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• In what has become a monthly reminder of the serious effects of continuous economic shutdowns in response to the Chinese coronavirus, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced on Tuesday that sales tax collections in November were down 6.3 percent from 2019.

• In a heated battle for a North Texas State Senate seat, Gov. Greg Abbott is endorsing in the special election against a salon owner who was sent to jail as a result of his shutdown orders. Brandon Waltens has the story.
       
• The special election in Senate District 30 runoff pits State Rep. Drew Springer (R-Muenster) against political newcomer Shelley Luther. She made national headlines this year when she opened up her Dallas hair salon in defiance of state and local shutdown orders. As a result, she spent two days in jail and became the face of Texans’ growing frustration with politicians who had enacted stay-at-home orders, mandates, and shutdowns. After the Supreme Court of Texas ordered Luther’s release, the governor removed jail as a punishment for violating his mandate and allowed hair salons and barber shops to reopen.
      
• In his endorsement, Abbott said: “Drew will work on behalf of North Texans to grow the economy, secure our border, and defend our Texas values.”
       
• The governor’s endorsement of Springer came as little surprise to anyone, especially Shelley Luther. 
       
• “The entire Austin swamp knows I can’t be bought. They know I will serve Senate District 30 without any strings attached, and it terrifies them.” – Shelley Luther

• In a new commentary, Edward Rhetta and Maria Garcia explore the significance of the Latino vote in the 2020 election. 
      
• “Latino voters went to the polls and finally voted for something different. If heavily Latino, deep-blue south Texas can see such a shift, perhaps the urban centers are next.” – Edward Rhetta and Maria Garcia

• Yesterday’s Texas Minute asked readers about legislation being proposed by Democrats to legalize and tax marijuana as a way to raise revenues for the Lone Star State. 
      
• By a three-to-one margin – 77.8 percent to 22.2 percent – readers disapproved of the idea. 
      
• Texas GOP Chairman Allen West told me: “I have never smoked cigarettes, cigars, consumed alcohol, and certainly never used illegal drugs my entire life. Therefore, you should be able to ascertain my position on the issue of making a hallucinogenic drug legal. I enjoy the endorphin rush I get six days out of the week doing a 3.5 to 5 mile run and workout. Why do we want to promote legalization of a dangerous drug in Texas which is by all means a gateway to harder illegal drugs?”

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