The Blast - Fri, Oct 24, 2025

7 days until early voting ends
11 days until the November election
15 days until the 2026 primary candidate filing period begins
45 days until the 2026 primary candidate filing deadline

IN TODAY’S BLAST

• Abbott unveils 2026 efforts

• Abbott and the White House skirt Senate endorsements

• Brandon Herrera beats his 2024 fundraising pace

ABBOTT UNVEILS 2026 EFFORTS

Heading into his reelection bid next year, Gov. Greg Abbott says he will spend the majority of his $87 million campaign nest egg to turn Harris County “dark red.”

“I got $90 million in my bank account, and I’m going to spend most of it in Harris County, Texas, to make sure, precinct by precinct, we turn out voters who voted in the presidential election, turn out voters who never voted before,” Abbott said at a get-out-the-vote event this week in Cypress ahead of next month’s constitutional amendment election.

Abbott made a similar claim about turning El Paso County red in the next election during a stop there yesterday.

Flipping Harris or even El Paso wouldn’t personally benefit Abbott in his own race, but the governor’s money could make a difference downballot. Take, for example, the Harris County Commissioners Court, where Tom Ramsey is the lone Republican and the GOP hopes to make some flips after Vice President Kamala Harris won the county by only 5.5 points last year.

Abbott’s campaign is sitting on so much money that he has successfully scared most leading Texas Democrats from even considering a run for governor. Most Democratic musings have been about the Senate race, given U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s perceived weakness in his primary.

There isn’t much harm in burning that money in Harris County, particularly because he couldn’t use it on the federal level in 2028 if he wanted to run for president.

But while Abbott funnels his money and attention into Harris County, one region where Republicans could use additional help is South Texas. There lay the two hardest reaches for Texas Republicans at the congressional level.

The 28th and 34th congressional districts have both been redrawn into districts President Donald Trump carried by 10 points. However, that’s based on presidential election year turnout and the Trump-Harris margin, and Democratic U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen both ran ahead of Harris.

If Abbott is targeting voters who voted in 2024 or haven’t voted before, the Republican nominees in those districts could benefit from Abbott’s coattails.

Abbott today also launched a voter turnout phone app called Abbott Impact. The app will tell users who in their contacts list has or hasn’t voted, updated daily, and allow users to post reminders, Abbott said at a Texas Federation of Republican Women event in San Antonio today.

“This will be one of our key tools this election to ensure that Texas remains bright red,” Abbott said.

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ABBOTT AND THE WHITE HOUSE SKIRT SENATE ENDORSEMENTS

Gov. Greg Abbott and the White House are still sitting out the Republican U.S. Senate primary even as that race heats up with fresh attack ads from all three sides.

Reporters asked Abbott about his potential endorsement after he voted early this afternoon.

“I work very closely with all of them, and I wish them all well,” Abbott said, turning his focus to the general election. “We’ve got a lot to do and we’ve got to make sure we have the right senator to be there to do that, and I feel that the winner of that Republican nomination will be that person.”

President Donald Trump has repeatedly declined to endorse but has left open the possibility. He hasn’t been asked since U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston entered the race, complicating U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s defense.

Polls show Cornyn had made back ground against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, but a three-way race will make it harder for Cornyn to lock up the nomination without a runoff, when low turnout could skew the race toward the insurgent candidate.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who plays a role in Trump’s campaign operation, similarly declined to share the president’s endorsement on a podcast yesterday with Punchbowl News. Blair, building off Trump’s past line, said the president now has three friends in that race.

“Senator Cornyn appears to have done a good job pulling his polling numbers up from where they were a few months ago, and Wesley jumping into the race is a little bit of a wildcard in that I think we’ll see how it plays out over the next weeks and months,” Blair said. “We will see if and when the president decides to engage in the primary, but I’m very confident that a Republican will be or remain the senator from Texas.”

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BRANDON HERRERA BEATS HIS 2024 FUNDRAISING PACE

YouTuber and Second Amendment activist Brandon Herrera says it took less than two months for him to nearly match his fundraising from his first primary and runoff against U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, showing a sharp increase in his money threat to the San Antonio Republican.

Herrera’s campaign says it has raised $830,000 since he entered the race on Aug. 11, according to updated fundraising numbers filed late. Herrera’s campaign said Gonzales raised $183,000 since that date. Overall fundraising data shows Gonzales raised $392,000 in the third quarter.

Money was an important factor in their 2024 matchup. Gonzales, a moderate third-term member, outspent the San Antonio influencer during the 2024 primary and runoff and received air support from House leadership. Yet Herrera, a political novice backed by then-U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and members of the House Freedom Caucus, lost by only 354 votes.

“We have the momentum. We will win,” Herrera posted along with his updated fundraising count.

The fundraising totals include both candidates’ campaign accounts and associated PACs. But despite Herrera’s gains, Gonzales has nearly $2 million more cash on hand still, plus potential for House Speaker Mike Johnson to come to his aid again.

Capitol Hill has been rocked by reporting from the Daily Mail and Current Revolt that Gonzales was romantically involved with his regional district director, Regina Aviles of Uvalde, before she died from severe burns in a fire at her home last month. Aviles’ mom dismissed that claim in an interview with the New York Post this week. The Blast has not confirmed the Daily Mail or Current Revolt reports.

For what it’s worth, the Daily Mail says Grant Moody, the lone Republican on the Bexar County Commission, and former Bexar County GOP Vice Chair Kyle Sinclair have been asked to enter the race. Moody previously told The Blast that he was considering a run in the new Bexar-area seat, the 35th Congressional District, and a source tells The Blast that Moody is not considering running for Gonzales’ seat.

“I look forward to another SUCCESSFUL re-election campaign,” Gonzales posted on social media last night.

During this year’s legislative sessions, state Sen. Paul Bettencourt took the lead on a number of high-profile issues: reducing housing costs, property taxes, replacing the STAAR test and more. 

Bettencourt and Tribune Editor-in-Chief Matthew Watkins will look back on the sessions and look ahead to their impact on 2026.

Doors open at Lonestar College-University Park in Houston at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, and the one-hour event begins at noon.

RSVP today

• Gov. Greg Abbott will be in Galveston County on Monday for a get-out-the-vote event. Texas House Appropriations Committee Chair Greg Bonnen, R-Friendwood, and state Rep. Terri Leo Wilson, R-Galveston, are slated to be there.

• Comptroller: Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock has picked up a series of endorsements from industry groups in recent days, including the Texas Hospital Association this afternoon.

• HD-9: Abbott endorsed recent Angelina County Commissioner Rocky Thigpen to succeed state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin. Ashby is running for the state Senate.

• HD-15: The governor endorsed Brad Bailey, chair of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors, to succeed state Rep. Steve Toth, R-Conroe. Toth is challenging U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Humble.

• HD-50: Samantha Lopez Resendez, recent chief of staff to state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, will hold her campaign kickoff on Monday in her bid to succeed state Rep. James Talarico, another Austin Democrat. Talarico is running for the U.S. Senate.

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched investigations into Love Austin PAC and related nonprofit Foundation Communities, saying the groups potentially engaged in illegal electioneering with a fundraising scheme to pass Prop Q, Austin’s controversial ballot measure to increase property taxes.

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• Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Kyle Hawkins to the Texas Supreme Court, succeeding retired Justice Jeff Boyd. Hawkins is a former solicitor general under Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who resigned soon after he didn’t sign on to Paxton’s lawsuit to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Read more here.

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“Alamo Trust president resigns after Dan Patrick calls for her removal” by Kayla Guo and Alejandro Serrano of The Texas Tribune

“Texas Republicans are redefining higher ed. It’s creating confusion about free speech on campuses.” by Jessica Priest of The Texas Tribune

“A costly radio system faltered when Texas needed it most” by Mike Baker, Danny Hakim and Blacki Migliozzi of The New York Times

“Houstonians line up to buy a piece of late Mayor and U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner: ‘It’s his legacy’” by Abby Church of the Houston Chronicle

“No, you can’t vote in your Spurs jersey. Elections administrator reminds voters of state voting law.” by Andrea Drusch and Amber Esparza of the San Antonio Report

Rep. David Lowe is coming into form as the reform caucus’ bulldog:

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(Oct. 25) State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin
(Oct. 25) State Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock
(Oct. 26) State Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston

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Disclosure: The New York Times and Texas Hospital Association have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.