Inside Texas Politics begins with the biggest race in the state: the Republican runoff for Texas Attorney General.
It is incumbent Ken Paxton versus outgoing Land Commissioner George P. Bush after Tuesday’s primary election.
Bush ended the night behind Paxton, who received double the number of votes. But the race could still go either way in the May 24 runoff.
The questions now are: Can Bush make that up? Can he get Eva Guzman and Louie Gohmert to join him, or is Donald Trump's endorsement of Paxton – which Bush wants the former president to reconsider – too much for Bush to overcome?
Ken Paxton was invited to join the program, but his campaign did not respond. George P. Bush accepted the invite and took questions from WFAA’s Chris Lawrence.
Transgender-affirming care
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to investigate transgender kids who get what's called gender-affirming care. A court said Texas can't do this.
Is this an issue that will help or hurt Abbott as he moves towards November? Ross Ramsey, the co-founder and executive editor of the Texas Tribune, explained it's "a culture war issue."
"It's a big turn in Abbott's tact during this campaign I don't' know that it will play all the way into the general election but it's interesting to me this didn't come up stronger before the Republican primary than it's coming up now," he said.
Primary election turnout
The turnout in last Tuesday's election ended up being higher than many thought. But there were also issues and problems.
Houston got behind on counting its vote when paper ballots were jammed as they fed into scanners. Tarrant County had a shortage of poll workers. And there was confusion everywhere over mail-in ballots.
So, what needs to happen before November? That's among the questions Inside Texas Politics asked Texas Secretary of State John Scott.
Russia invades Ukraine
Ukraine has united Texas Democrats and Republicans. State lawmakers want to punish Russia by withdrawing any financial investments the state has in that country. This is a bipartisan effort led by state Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat. Anchia spoke to Inside Texas Politics.
2022 Primary Election analysis
All the big competitive races last week were on the Republican side. What did Tuesday night's wins tell us about the direction of the Republican Party?
In Tarrant County, former Farmer's Branch Mayor Tim O'Hare defeated former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
What does that say about the direction of the party locally? How do you expect the leadership of the county to change (O'Hare campaigned on cutting the county budget by 20%). Is that doable?
Biden visits north Texas
President Biden is coming to Fort Worth on Tuesday to honor veterans. Will Texas Democratic candidates run to him for this visit – or away from him?
Watch the full episode of Inside Texas Politics below:
