Good morning!

With Thanksgiving just two days away, our One Click Survey focuses on what you are thankful for in 2021.

Here is today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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No Ruling Yet On Heartbeat Law

• Although numerous media outlets speculated over the weekend that the Supreme Court of the United States would issue a decision regarding the fate of Texas’ Heartbeat Law on Monday, nothing was released. Griffin White reports the justices may likely hear a case regarding the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban before a decision on the Texas law is announced.
   
• The Biden Administration’s Justice Department and a group of abortion profiteering clinics have sued Texas over the manner in which the Heartbeat Law is enforced, not the actual question of abortion. The law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers who take the life of a baby after a heartbeat is detected.

“Leave TASB”

• The Texas Freedom Caucus, comprised of a dozen members of the Texas House, have sent an open letter to the state’s school districts, encouraging them to leave the Texas Association of School Boards. Jeramy Kitchen has the story.
   
• TASB is the state affiliate of the National School Boards Association, which recently asked the Biden Administration to use resources allocated for counter-terrorism efforts on parents who attend and participate in local school board meetings across the nation. The NSBA even went as far as to suggest the use of the Patriot Act and called these parents “domestic terrorists.”
   
• While other states’ school board associations have left the national group, TASB has not.
   
• “Since the Texas Association of School Boards refuses to do the right thing to sever ties with the clearly un-American organization called the National School Boards Association, it’s time for our local ISDs to leave TASB,” the Texas Freedom Caucus members stated in their letter. “Parents are under attack, and it’s time for us to stand up and send a strong message supporting parental rights by no longer forcing taxpayers to pay for or belong to organizations that accuse sincerely concerned parents of domestic terrorism.”

No Shutdown? Really?

• Eyebrows were raised around Texas by a social media post from Gov. Greg Abbott. In it, he claimed there was no shutdown of the Texas economy in 2020.
   
• “Job loss in Texas during the pandemic is less than the United States as a whole, less than any other large state, & less than all but 3 other states — Utah Idaho & Arizona. This is because Texas did not lock down like so many other states,” wrote Abbott.
   
• Of course, under his orders more than a million Texans lost their jobs, thousands of small businesses were closed, and at least one person – hair salon owner Shelley Luther – was jailed because she attempted to re-open her business.
     
• Next thing you know, Greg Abbott will claim the power grid didn’t fail last winter.

Campaign Roundup

Gohmert Announces For A.G.

• Late Monday, east Texas U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert confirmed that he is in fact running for Texas Attorney General. Jeramy Kitchen reports that Gohmert joins an already crowded Republican field challenging the incumbent Ken Paxton for the position.
      
• On November 9, Gohmert announced that he was ‘exploring’ a run for the position and indicated on his campaign website that if he could raise $1 million in the first ten days he would run for the position. He was scheduled to appear on the Mark Davis Show late last week to announce whether he had reached the goal or not, but much to the chagrin of the host, Gohmert never appeared. In his announcement video, Gohmert mentioned that he reached his $1 million goal.

      

Sources: Krause Won’t Run For A.G.

• Rather than mount a statewide bid for attorney general of Texas, State Rep. Matt Krause (R–Haslet) is reportedly considering a run for Tarrant County criminal district attorney. The incumbent D.A., Sharen Wilson, announced earlier this month she will not be seeking re-election in 2022. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• Krause faced an uphill battle against incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a race that – when he announced – already included Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. The Tarrant County race won’t be a cakewalk. Already running for the job is Republican Phil Sorrells, who currently serves as a district judge in Tarrant County and has been endorsed by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
      

Patrick Files For Re-Election

• Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick will seek a third term in the state’s second-highest office. He has two declared challengers in the Republican primary: Tracye Bradford and Daniel Miller.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

For what are you most thankful in 2021? (Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with a brief thought you’d like to share!)