Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:
Patrick Calls on CenterPoint CEO to Resign
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick appeared before the Public Utility Commission – the state agency with regulatory authority over utility companies – to encourage the board of CenterPoint to ask for the resignation of Jason Wells, the company CEO. CenterPoint continues to be under strict scrutiny from state officials and regulators for its botched response to Hurricane Beryl when a record 2.3 million customers lost power for many days and weeks. Patrick went on to say he expects the PUC to audit CenterPoint’s business operations to ensure the utility company is not overcharging customers.
The comments came at the meeting of the PUC last Saturday that is continuing the investigation by the PUC of CenterPoint and its response not only to Beryl, but also the “derecho” storms in May that also caused widespread power outages. Patrick told the Commission that his desire to have Wells removed is not personal, and that he has been having conversations with Wells in the aftermath of Beryl. But he said he feels the company needs new leadership “that will have foresight, not look back and say we will fix it now.” The PUC will have continued discussions on the CenterPoint response and make recommendations to the legislature for legislation to address storm preparations and response during the next legislative session beginning in January.
Presidential Polling Numbers
A New York Times/Sienna College poll released this week shows former President Trump with a sizeable lead of nearly 6 points over Vice-President Kamala Harris among Texas voters. The poll shows Trump with the support of 51.6% of Texas voters compared to 45.9% for Harris. The poll also showed Trump leading in Florida by a 13-point margin at 54% to 41%. Democrats had hoped that Florida and Texas may come into play in November, but this poll is indicating otherwise. Florida was once a battleground state but has trended more Republican in recent elections. Trump won Florida in both the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections.
Nationally, the poll showed Harris with a slim 3-point lead in the popular vote, by a 49% to 46% margin. The poll was conducted from September 26th-29th and surveyed 622 likely voters in Florida and 617 in Texas. The national survey was among 3,385 likely voters. A full analysis of the poll can be found here:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/08/us/elections/times-siena-poll-texas-crosstabs.html
More broadly, a poll released this morning by the Wall Street Journal shows a dead heat in the race nationally and in several key swing states. The poll – conducted from September 28th to October 8th among 4,200 likely swing state voters – showed Harris with slim leads of 2 points or less in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Trump has leads in Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Among all of the swing state voters surveyed, Trump holds a 46% to 45% edge over Harris. Of note for Trump, he leads Harris among the voters when asked about their confidence in which candidate has the ability to handle key issues. Trump led Harris by double digits on the issues of the economy, inflation, and immigration. Harris led Trump on the issues of housing affordability and health care.
Cruz/Allred Race Update
The same poll from The Times/Sienna College showed Republican incumbent US Senator Ted Cruz ahead of Democratic challenger Colin Allred by a 48.1% to 45 percent margin. This despite Allred’s massive media outlay over the last several weeks.
With less than a month to go before the election, both candidates have released their most recent fundraising figures with Allred continuing his impressive money raising prowess. The Democratic nominee reports raising $30.3 million in the third quarter of this year, compared to $21 million raised by the Cruz campaign. Both campaigns have now raised a staggering $132 million for this campaign. Cruz now reports having $16.2 million on hand for the final push, but the Allred campaign did not report cash on hand totals.
Allred has received another endorsement from a Republican. Former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley – who served from 2007-2022 — said he will support Allred in November. Whitley cited Cruz’s support of former President Trump and what Whitley called “a total lack of character” in Cruz as the reasons he is supporting Allred. This comes on the heels of former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois – now a Texas resident – organizing a group of “Republicans for Allred”. Kinzinger has received commitments from other Republicans including former Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Steve Bartlett as well as former state Representatives Jason Villalba and Todd Smith.
And turnabout is fair play. Cruz also is crossing party lines for support. Democratic Harris County DA Kim Ogg is now appearing in a television ad supporting Cruz, where she proclaims, “I am supporting Cruz because Democrats and Republicans must work together to solve Texans’ problems now.” The Cruz campaign announced that this ad is the first of a series that will shift the campaign focus from transgender issues into a declaration that Cruz is a more effective bipartisan negotiator.
Texas Senate Competitive Race
There is only one race in the Texas Senate that will be legitimately competitive this November, which is the seat currently held by Democrat Morgan LaMantia of Brownsville. The seat is based in the Rio Grande Valley, but runs north to the Corpus Christi area, taking in several areas in the Valley and Nueces County that are trending more Republican. Republican Adam Hinojosa is challenging LaMantia again this year after losing by less than 700 votes out of over 175,000 total votes cast in 2022.
Hinojosa received a huge boost to his campaign this week when he received the endorsement of former longtime Democratic Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr, who held this seat for 30 years from 1991 to 2021. In the announcement, Lucio said Hinojosa’s pro-life position aligns more with his, and that Hinojosa “will put your interests above any partisan divide and is more qualified to secure the best future for the RGV.”
Money is pouring in for both candidates, and they will both have plenty of cash on hand for the last month of the race. In the latest reports filed by both candidates, LaMantia reports raising just over $300,000 over the last three months and has $1.2 million cash on hand. She does however have nearly $10 million in outstanding loans to her campaign. Hinojosa reports raising $1.8 million and has $800,000 cash on hand.
US Supreme Court to Review Nuclear Waste Site
The US Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that will decide where radioactive waste from commercial nuclear reactors is stored. A federal appeals court has ruled that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission lacked the authority to issue a permit to Interim Storage Partners – a private company that proposes to store more than 40,000 tons of radioactive waste at an above ground landfill facility near Andrews in west Texas for a period of 40 years. The state of Texas has expressed stringent opposition to the Court hearing the case.
Currently, roughly 100,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel is being stored at various nuclear plant sites throughout the country. The waste is intended to be stored temporarily before being injected deep underground for permanent storage. The site in Andrews would serve as a temporary offsite storage facility for the waste while a long running battle over a site for permanent storage is resolved. Through legislation enacted by Congress, the Yucca Mountains in Nevada have been designated as the final and permanent location to store nuclear waste, but local opposition has delayed the construction of that facility.
The Biden administration is appealing the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the federal commission lacked the authority to issue a permit to a private company in Texas to store the waste temporarily, despite the commission having issued many similar type permits in other parts of the country. The federal solicitor general also argues that the state of Texas has no legal standing to challenge the decision of the Court to review the case. The state of Texas argues that federal legislation has made it clear that all nuclear waste shall be disposed of at a government owned facility in the Yucca Mountains and the issuance of the permit for Texas disregards clear statutory language.
The US Supreme Court began its current term this week.
Voting/Election News
Attorney General Ken Paxton is continuing to focus on noncitizen voting and has asked the federal government to provide assistance. He sent a letter this week to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service requesting that the federal agency confirm the citizenship status of over 450,000 registered voters in Texas. The list of names sent to Immigration Service was determined by those that did not use a state-issued driver’s license or ID card when registering to vote. Current state law also accepts other forms of identification to register to vote such as a military ID, a handgun license, or passport. The Texas Secretary of State has also sent a letter to the same federal agency making the same request. Paxton has not said what he will do if the federal government does not respond to the request. Federal law prohibits the removal of any names from voting rolls within 90 days of a federal election.
Political Notes
Following the theme mentioned earlier regarding competitive seats in south Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, Republicans are pouring money into three state House seats in the region that are currently held by Democrats. Republicans are hoping to flip the seats held by two Democrats who are retiring – Rep. Abel Herrero of Robstown and Rep. Tracy King of Uvalde. The other seat they are hoping to flip is held by Rep. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass. According to the latest campaign finance reports, the three Republican candidates have combined to receive over $1 million, compared to less than $250,000 for their Democratic opponents. The Morales and Herrero seats are going to be an uphill battle. Morales won reelection by 11 points in 2022, and Herrero won by 15 points in 2022. Albeit by opponents with much less financial support. The King seat in Uvalde is more likely to flip to the Republicans. Trump carried the King district by 4 points in 2020 and Abbott carried it by 6 points in 2022.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has been subpoenaed to testify in the criminal trial of one his former top aides and political consultants. Todd Smith was indicted on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery in 2022 for allegations that he accepted money in exchange for the issuance of hemp licenses issued by the Department. Smith was indicted for soliciting a bribe of $150,000 for guaranteeing an exclusive hemp license. A license to grow hemp costs $100 in Texas. Miller has been ordered to testify on October 21st in state district court.
Elon Musk – by all estimates the richest man in the world – has donated $1 million to a prominent PAC in Austin with a long history of supporting Republican candidates and officeholders. This continues Musk’s trajectory in Republican circles that started when he started a PAC to support former President Trump and continues to use his social media platform X to promote the Trump campaign. This donation specifically for a PAC to support Texas legislative candidates shows Musk is now wanting to enter the state political arena. Musk has a vested interest in the Texas political landscape. His Tesla headquarters are in south Austin, and he recently announced he is moving the headquarters for X and Space X from California to Texas.
State Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, was the first to announce that he is running for chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. The current chair of the caucus, Rep. Victoria Neave, was defeated in this year’s primary election in her challenge to state Senator Nathan Johnson and will not return to the House. Romero said he has been encouraged by many colleagues to run and has been pondering a run for several months. Rep. Christina Morales of Houston also announced later this week she will also be joining the race for chair of the caucus. Rep. Armando Walle of Houston is also rumored to be considering a run for the chair.
What’s Next??
The Senate State Affairs Committee has hearings scheduled over three days next week that will cover almost every topic issued to them for interim studies. The committee will discuss election and voting procedures, alcoholic beverage regulation, lottery ticket sales, homelessness, impeachment reform, and THC beverage manufacturing.
Here is a link to the full list of hearings later this summer and fall, and the agenda for each hearing: https://capitol.texas.gov
There are 25 days until the general election and 94 days until the start of the regular legislative session.