November's midterm election is nearly upon us, and will have Texans casting ballots for governor, attorney general, and a new state senator, among other races.
Eugene Daniels, co-host of "The Weekend" on MS Now and former White House Correspondents Association president, joined NTX Now's Ron Corning and Miranda Suarez to talk about what is shaping the political landscape in North Texas leading up to the election.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear to this conversation in its entirety, click the 'listen' button above.
U.S. Senate race
Former state rep. James Talarico of Austin is the democratic candidate in the race for the U.S. Senate election, running against republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. To Democrats hoping they can flip a statewide seat, Daniels says the political environment is better than when Beto O'Rourke ran in 2018.
"The environment is better for [Democrats] nationally, which means you're looking at voters who maybe voted for Trump in 2024, so many of them saying they wouldn't do so again," he said. "Ken Paxton has a host of different things and controversies that folks have looked past before, but when I talked to voters when I was on the ground — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, they said maybe they weren't willing to look past them this time around."
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention comes to Dallas next week on Sept. 9-10 and Daniels says it's possible Paxton could see a boost in favorability after the event.
The convention has been described as unusual, because a convention usually means formal delegate votes or platform adoptions take place. This convention will act like more of a campaign rally and Daniels says he expects the event to unify Republicans across the state.
"I think the thing that has been clear across the board, no matter what people's political affiliation, is that people want to know what you're going to do to lower their costs," he said. "[Citizens] are looking at all of the ways in which their lives are more expensive than they were, and they're not feeling like folks are doing anything."
"That is not Donald Trump's message," Daniels said. "That has not been his message. He has consistently called affordability of 'hoax.' He has constantly told the American people, including Texans, 'It's all good. Don't worry about it.' And if [Republicans] change that message and if [Paxton] is consistent, there could be a boost from that."
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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