The Blast - Mon, Jul. 13, 2026

113 days until the midterms

Texas’ candidates for the U.S. Senate have dueling events scheduled in the Rio Grande Valley this week, stepping into their roles at the top of their party’s tickets.

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is currently on Day 3 of his “Frontera Tour,” with stops planned in McAllen and Edinburg on Wednesday. That’s one day after Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton will “Rally in the Valley” in McAllen.

The competing events highlight the significance both sides have placed on South Texas and Hispanic voters this cycle after that demographic shifted significantly to President Donald Trump and the GOP in 2024. Since then, cracks have formed in Republican’s Hispanic support, creating a race to persuade those voters.

In the latest New York Times poll, Talarico carried Hispanic voters 61% to 29% and the San Antonio and South Texas region 57% to 37%.

The Talarico campaign has prepared at least $12.3 million in ads for the general election, according to AdImpact. That includes $1.2 million in the San Antonio market, $505,000 in the Harlingen market, $37,000 in the Corpus Christi market and $29,000 in the Laredo market. That includes a weeklong $1 million broadcast buy beginning tomorrow in the Dallas, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston and San Antonio markets, with $499 in Spanish in the Harlingen market.

The Paxton campaign and his allies, meanwhile, have barely started spending.

Paxton holding his rally this early suggests a significant change of pace for him in the general election. In the primary and primary runoff, Paxton largely limited his barnstorming to the early voting period.

When Talarico announced his tour last week, embarking from El Paso en route to the Valley, he took a swipe at Paxton for not paying attention to the RGV.

“Ken Paxton hasn’t been to a single border community this entire campaign, probably because there aren’t enough billionaire mega-donors down here,” Talarico said in a statement, welcoming disillusioned voters to his campaign.

Paxton’ rally also shows him stepping into his role as the top of the GOP ticket. He’ll be joined by Republicans’ top two Texas congressional challengers, Army veteran Eric Flores and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina. Flores is running against U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, while Tijerina takes on U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.

Another top-billing guest is National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez, a step toward unity in the GOP. His organization endorsed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn nearly one year ago today, and Perez was Cornyn’s guest for the most recent State of the Union.

Talarico’s trip today included a “commonsense border security press conference” in Sanderson, near the Big Bend. He pitched hiring more border patrol agents and immigration judges, taking advantage of border surveillance technology and focusing ICE on “deporting those who mean to do us harm, not moms and babies and our hardworking neighbors.”

He also called for focusing physical barriers “where they’re actually needed,” not in the Big Bend region.

“A border wall through Big Bend would be a monument to corruption,” Talarico said.

Showing his pull at the top of the ticket, Talarico was joined by state Rep. Eddie Morales, a moderate from Eagle Pass representing a Trump +15 district. And Talarico’s big catch of the day was Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, a Republican who has largely praised Trump.

Cleveland has credited Trump on matters of immigration policy. However, he opposes a physical barrier in the Big Bend region.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Cleveland said at the press conference, playing host in the Terrell County seat.

After the event, Cleveland posted a photo with Talarico and Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson and Val Verde County Sheriff Jose Francisco Martinez, who are both Democrats.

“While a Sheriff may choose a party to run under, the badge doesn’t see political affiliation, it sees people,” Cleveland wrote. “At the end of the day, we’re all human. That’s something that will always matter more than party lines.”

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U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson is officially throwing his hat in the ring to lead the House Armed Services Committee next Congress.

The third-term Republican from Amarillo, a strong fundraiser and one of Trump’s closest allies in the House, had been signalling the bid for months. Jackson is a retired Navy admiral and served as the White House physician to both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. 

To win, Jackson will need to beat two Republicans further up the dais than him — Virginia’s Rob Wittman and Mississippi’s Trent Kelly. 

Republican committee leaders are chosen by the conference’s powerful Steering Committee, where Speaker Mike Johnson and leadership have a lot of power. Steering members can take seniority into account, but are not bound by it and typically don’t weigh it as strongly as Democrats do. Texas gets two seats on Steering by default — currently held by Reps. Jodey Arrington of Lubbock and Pat Fallon of Frisco.

All three candidates are subcommittee chairs — Jackson of Intelligence and Special Operations; Kelly of Seapower and Projection Forces and Wittman of Tactical Air and Land Forces. 

The committee has traditionally kept a spirit of bipartisanship, but that esprit de corps has eroded in recent Congresses as culture war fights have consumed annual military authorizations and the Iran War has roiled the Hill.

Jackson launched his campaign by emphasizing his capacity as a party fundraiser. He’s contributed more than $1 million to the National Republican Campaign Committee this cycle and distributed $380,000 to more than 100 Republican House members and candidates.

That support for Republican candidates matters beyond being a selling point to the Steering Committee. The eventual winner will either be the chairman or the ranking member, depending on if Republicans defy the odds and hold the House. A Republican chairman would get to craft the National Defense Authorization Act and consider what legislation to pursue. A ranking member would be stuck attempting to stymie Democratic efforts to conduct Pentagon oversight and challenge Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the Iran War. 

(Jackson successfully introduced an amendment to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War in the NDAA, though it has yet to pass the full House.)

“As Chairman, I will work to strengthen our national defense, support our servicemembers and their families, advance President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda, and safeguard America for generations to come,” Jackson said in a statement. “I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues and leading the committee during this critical time in our country’s history.”

Jackson’s predecessor in his Amarillo-based district, Mac Thornberry, was himself an Armed Services chairman, leading the panel’s Republicans from 2015 to 2021.

— Gabby Birenbaum

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Texas slipped a couple ranks in CNBC’s annual business rankings, and Democrats are beginning to pounce on the moment.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Republicans have touted the Texas’ long-running trend as a top state for business. Last year, the Legislature passed a slate of laws attempting to show up Delaware as the best place for business. On Thursday, CNBC published its 2026 business rankings, which showed Texas fall from No. 2 last year to No. 4 this year.

Abbott’s Democratic challenger, Austin state Rep. Gina Hinojosa laid the blame on the governor, accusing him of being more interested in helping billionaires than working families. In a press release today, she pointed to the rising cost of living, schools closing and an encroachment of “foreign owned” data centers in communities.

“Abbott isn’t interested in working families; he’s interested in keeping his billionaire donors rich and writing him checks,” Hinojosa said. “His trickle-down agenda is selling Texas out to the highest bidder, and we are all paying the price.”

Instead, it’s the 1870s all over again. Ohio rocketing from No. 5 to No. 1, its first time at the top position in the history of CNBC’s business rankings. Virginia also passed Texas, inching up from No. 4 to No. 3. North Carolina, last year’s top state, slid to No. 2.

CNBC ranked states based on 10 categories. Texas’ worst categories were cost of living and quality of life, which Hinojosa latched on to.

“This ranking change is a direct result of Greg Abbott’s failed policies that put his billionaire donors before working Texans,” Hinojosa said, attacking the governor on school vouchers, energy costs and the data center “tax dollar giveaway.”

State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, a Dallas Democrat and a repeat GOP target since she flipped her district in 2022, piled on in a video posted on social media by the Texas House Democratic Caucus. She said Texas dropped two slots thanks to ranking 49th in quality of life.

That’s true, based on CNBC’s scores. If Texas had matched the quality of life scores of Wyoming, West Virginia, Mississippi and Alaska (the median states), Texas would have topped the list by a healthy margin.

Texas ranked 49th in quality of life last year, as well. On the bright side, both were an improvement from dead last in 2024.

Quality of life’s score includes crime rates, environmental quality, healthcare, worker protections, wage policies, paid leave, labor rights, the inclusiveness in state laws, voting rights and secure elections.

Of course, CNBC has some Republican detractors.

“That’s right, CNBC watchers! Stay away from Texas!” posted Belton state Rep. Hillary Hickland, reacting to the state’s second-worst to live designation. The Texas GOP reposted her take.

One defense for Republicans could be that CNBC tweaks its rating system each year to “reflect the latest reality.” This year’s change just so happened to benefit Ohio and Virginia more than Texas.

CNBC increased the weighting of the infrastructure category in its rankings and decreased the influence of states’ economy scores. Infrastructure ranked as some of Ohio’s and Virginia’s best categories while Texas was middling in that field. The inverse is true on the economy.

The infrastructure category includes what you’d expect, plus commute times, water infrastructure and the reliability of the grid. Anyone who’s been following the Lege recently knows water infrastructure and grid reliability are areas for improvement in the Lone Star State.

“Companies want strategic locations, with ready access to their customers and suppliers through a robust network of roads, bridges, ports, and airports,” wrote CNBC’s Scott Cohen.

Texas’ economic toplines remained steady, GDP growth going from -0.1% to 0.9% and the unemployment ticking up slightly from 4.1% to 4.3%. However, the economy category also factors in the state’s budget picture, pension obligations and real estate market, the latter of which potentially hurt the Lone Star State.

Infrastructure was Texas’ most improved category, but Ohio’s increase in economic score overshadowed Texas’ those gains. Meanwhile, Texas backslid on the economy and business friendliness, two areas the state’s leaders like to tout.

As for the categories Hinojosa mentioned, cost of living is the ranking’s least important category, making up less than 3% of the overall score. Quality of life became significantly more important.

Nevertheless, Abbott can’t entirely blame the new scoring. Even under the weighting used in 2025, Texas would’ve ranked after Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia.

Texas has finished first at least four times, most recently in 2018. Abbott celebrated the ranking that year, including with an op-ed in CNBC. So far, no peep from the governor this year.

The jobs Texas will need to fill in 10 years are being defined today, and the state's education and workforce systems are racing to catch up.

At a daylong symposium co-hosted by The Waco Bridge, we’ll look at how Texas is building the systems, partnerships and programs needed to develop its workforce for the economy ahead.

Together with business, education and civic leaders, we’ll explore what's working, where gaps remain and what’s needed in the next five years to make Texas’ workforce vision a reality.

Highlights include an opening keynote from Roberto Coronado, senior vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and a lunch panel on the workforce in Waco, hosted by The Waco Bridge. See the full event schedule.

Doors open for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Texas State Technical College in Waco and the first session begins at 9 a.m. The event concludes at 3:30 p.m.

RSVP today

Next week

View the full list of upcoming committee notices here and here.

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“‘Who do I vote for?’: Cornyn voters weigh Paxton, Talarico or sitting out in November,” by Alejandro Serrano of The Texas Tribune

Op-ed: “Texas Sen. Perry argues AI data centers have benefits, need vetting,” by state Sen. Charles Perry in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

“Meet the Flower Mound baker who sparked a MAGA uproar,” by Sarah Bahari of The Dallas Morning News

There’s always a Texas tie: “‘It followed me home’: Erling Haaland lights up the internet with a unique souvenir after Norway's World Cup run,” by Megan Divers via WFAA

Do you or someone in your office have a birthday you’d like mentioned? Email us.

(July 13) State Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring

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Disclosure: Patricia and Sam Harless and The New York Times 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.