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Good morning!

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Nation Waits On Arizona

• With the election results still unclear in Arizona, everyone is watching to see how the battleground state will swing. Brandon Waltens is on the ground in Phoenix and reporting for Texas Scorecard.
      

• Many are focused on the partisan control of the U.S. Senate, but Waltens is there covering the final hours of the state’s gubernatorial campaign because of the potential impact on how Texas lawmakers address border security in 2023. Republican Kari Lake currently trails Democrat Katie Hobbs by less than 14,000 votes.
      

• Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of ballots remain uncounted in the state’s two largest counties. Sources close to the Arizona GOP tell Texas Scorecard they expect those unprocessed ballots to swing heavily towards Kari Lake and U.S. senatorial candidate Blake Masters.
      

• Using the authority outlined in Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, Lake has said she will declare an invasion at her state’s southern border on her first day in office. 
     

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been unwilling to take such an action here, but speaking to Texas Scorecard in August, Lake predicted Texas will “follow suit” when she takes that action.  

Republicans Won in Texas. Will Their Priorities?

• After Tuesday night’s Republican victories in Texas, Soli Rice examines the legislative priorities set by their party base earlier this year.

GOP Sees Advances In South Texas

• Although it was not the wave Republicans were hoping for, David Vasquez reports the GOP saw strong strides in South Texas. Voters there are sending new Republicans to represent them in state and federal offices.

      
• Monica De La Cruz won her race for the open 15th Congressional District of Texas, a Republican flip, making history as the first-ever Republican to represent the McAllen-based district.
      
• With Ryan Guillen’s successful switch from “D” to “R” and Janie Lopez winning the open HD-37 seat, the Rio Grande Valley will have two Republican state representatives in the state House for the first time.

Harris County’s Hidalgo Squeaks Out A Win

• Despite a hard-fought campaign by Republican Alexandra Del Moral Mealer to take back control of Harris County from first-term incumbent Lina Hidalgo, the Democrat held on for another four years. Sydnie Henry reports the race was decided by a margin of just 15,000 votes.

       
• With a new elections administrator at the helm and a history of election issues, Harris County voters experienced delays in voting on Tuesday; causes ranged from a shortage of paper ballots to malfunctioning equipment.
      
• Due to the problems, Harris County polls remained open until 8 p.m. Yet, county officials began releasing the results for early voting at 7:30 p.m. before the polls officially closed. Republicans are arguing this was a violation of Texas election law.
      
• It is expected Tuesday’s election will be audited for irregularities… though the county is still being audited for problems in 2020.

Pro-family Candidates Lose in Round Rock ISD

• None of the five candidates on a pro-family slate defeated the incumbents in scandal-plagued Round Rock Independent School District. Katy Drollinger has the details.
      
• From a superintendent being investigated for abusing his mistress to school employees caught abusing a student, the district’s high-profile problems have been on display for more than a year. District voters, though, chose to stick with the incumbents.

Are You Listening? You Should Be!

Texas Scorecard has several great podcasts for your consideration. They are all available on our website and everywhere you listen to podcasts.

• The Salcedo Storm: The “liberty lovin’ Latino” Chris Salcedo is well known from radio and national TV, and his Texas Scorecard daily podcast covers the gambit of local, state, and national news – with a good bit of culture, food, and entertainment thrown in.
      
• The Luke Macias Show: This insider’s dive into Texas politics from political consultant Luke Macias helps activists understand the undercurrents in state issues and elections.
      
• Liberty Cafe: Bill Peacock explores the theological and ideological core of the biggest issues facing Texans. While the human heart tends toward oppression, God’s grace gives us liberty.
     
• Reflections on Life and Liberty: So much time is spent “in the fight” that it becomes easy to forget why we are fighting in the first place. Each week, I try to put the fight for life and liberty in historical, biblical, and even personal context.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.