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After Lewd Comments, Texas Republicans, Donors Retract Support For Donald Trump

Gage Skidmore
/
The Texas Tribune
Despite dozens of Republicans calling for Trump to step down as nominee, he says he'll "never withdraw."

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Texas still allows paddling as punishment in schools; a Fort Worth man broke into the Texas Capitol to deface a portrait; register to vote by tomorrow; and more.

Since Donald Trump’s lewd comments made about women in a 2005 clip surfaced Friday, dozens of Republicans have retracted their support for the presidential nominee. NPR has a running list of GOP leaders calling for him to step aside. But, according to The Texas Tribune’s tally, only two Texans are doing the same — U.S. Representatives Will Hurd of San Antonio and Kay Granger of Fort Worth.

So far, just a handful of Texas Republicans — Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Austin, U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess of Lewisville and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller — have all criticized Trump but are still supporting him. A much larger group, the Tribune reports, hasn't commented on the subject.

And, according to the Tribune, Trump’s problems in Texas might weigh heavier financially. He is scheduled to headline fundraisers in Dallas and San Antonio this week to raise around $5 million for his campaign. "It is an open question whether those fundraisers will happen," The Tribune says. Two high-profile Texans in San Antonio and Houston have already pulled out of fundraising efforts. [NPR, The Texas Tribune]

 

  • The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday. Your best bet will be to submit your registration form in person to your county voter registrar’s office. If you think you might already be registered to vote, check here. If not, here’s the registration form to fill out, print and take to your county’s office. Forms are also available in libraries, post offices and high schools. From now until Tuesday, there might be a few last-minute local registration events in Dallas-Fort Worth, like this all-day event in Plano. Have more questions? Find answers here. [KERA News]

  • Texas is one of 19 states that still allows paddling in schools. Elizabeth Gershoff, a UT-Austin researcher, found that corporal punishment is used disproportionately against boys, African-Americans and students with disabilities, Texas Standard reports. “Corporal punishment in the schools usually involves paddling a child on their behind with a wooden paddle,” Gershoff says. The findings come from data on discipline practices sent by public schools to to the U.S. Department of Education. Listen to the conversation. [Texas Standard]

 

  • A Fort Worth man was arrested for allegedly breaking into the Capitol in Austin Sunday to deface a portrait. Tanner Christian Graeber, 22, faces burglary of a building and criminal mischief charges, The Texas Tribune reports. “According to details from a preliminary investigation, Graeber is accused of breaking a window to enter the building on the second floor and ‘intentionally damaging’ a portrait of former Gov. Fletcher Stockdale while there. He was then arrested ‘without incident.’” [The Texas Tribune]

 

  • Former leader of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Kevin Farrell was named a cardinal on Sunday. Farrell is one of 17 new cardinals appointed by Pope Francis. Farrell had already received a papal promotion and moved at the end of September to lead the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life within the Vatican. Farrell spent nine years as Bishop in Dallas, overseeing a region of more than one million Catholics. Revisit his conversation with KERA about the transition. [KERA News, AP]

Correction: Trump's fundraisers in Dallas and San Antonio will be this week not next week as previously reported.