Brad Johnson - Senior Reporter, The Texan Joins Houston's Morning News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Seven one. Now you're in Houston's morning news. All right,
last day to file is today. Brad Johnson joins US
senior reporter at the Texan. What has been a lot
of news here us just the last couple of days,
including this morning. Brad, Let's start with the latest news.
Colin Allred has decided to drop out. Is that just
a realization that he can't win.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, it's been a wild morning already, with a couple
more twists and turns expected. I first heard about this
last night that Already and Crockett had been talking behind
the scenes and basically Crockett Armbard already out of the race,
and he realized he had no path and it's spent
a lot of money with no shot of victory if
she jumps in. So he is jumping out. I think that,

(00:42):
like you said, is a recognition of the state of
his campaign and the fact that he has not picked
up any momentum since launching on July first, and really
the only person who has is in the race it
is Tallerico. And meanwhile, you have Crockett, who hasn't even
jumped in the race, who has gotten a lot momentum,
and she leads basically all the polling that we've seen

(01:03):
in that primary race. So the wrinkle there is that
all the Republicans are thankful that she is jumping in
the race because they feel like she is a better
opponent to run against given her high negatives in the polling.
And so she might jump in as the front runner
for the Democratic Party primary, but the tough road ahead,
and I think she's got something else up her sleeve

(01:26):
with this rather than just you know, running for office.
I also heard last night she's got a Netflix deal
with her campaign, so she might have a camera crew
following her around at her announcement later this afternoon.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Would that not be classic Jasmine Crockett. I mean, that
is just so Jasmine Crockett to do that, wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Oh? Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Wow, talk about an attention horror. And she is in Okay,
So you're assuming, I guess that she's in the race.
You think she's going to be announcing today she's in
the race.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Well, first of all, she scheduled a big announcement. I
don't think she scheduled an announcement just to refile for
her house seats. And then you see already dropping out.
I think all signs are pointing to her jumping in
the race for sure.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Yeah, how did the Supreme Court change this game? The
Supreme Court ruling that our redistrict game here in Texas
is perfectly legal and logical, and that will stand. That
certainly has to have some impact on who's running and
who isn't and where they're going to run.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Certainly, So take up in Dallas, there are currently three
Democratic US House seats, and after redistricting, that's dropped down
to two. So people have to make decisions. And for example,
already the seat he's choosing to run for, there is
another incumbent Democrat, Julie Johnson, in already filed for that seat.

(02:51):
And so yeah, he's avoiding a quote of bruising primary
at the top of the ticket in the Senate, but
he's going to have a tough primary for the US
House in that is because I don't see Julie Johnson
just willingly giving up that seat. So Democrats have to
make a lot more decisions. We're seeing that down in
Houston too, with al Green switching the Bay excuse me

(03:12):
eighteen congressional district after his Texas nine was moved into
a Republican flip territory. So because of the fewer seats
for incumbent Democrats to run in, they're having to make decisions,
and some are retiring, some are not, some are switching
to different seats, and others were seeing competitive primaries involved

(03:34):
for some of these constructed seats.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
What are some of the other races that you see
is maybe the most interesting. I'm still fascinated with what's
going to happen in the Republican primary for the Senate seat.
John Cornyn has been just spending bucket loads of money
trying to line himself up as some sort of a
Trump advocate, when in reality he's anything but. I just

(03:58):
I never dive over the fact that when John cornyin
last ran for re election, his campaign spots demed didn't
even mention that he's a Republican. He's a Republican when
he chooses to be.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Well. He was dead in the water around April May
of this year when Kim Paxton jumped in, and all
that money has not put him into first place, I'd say,
but it has closed the gap in terms of image.
Now that has come in the context of Paxton and
Hunt barely spending any money attack in Corning, So once

(04:33):
we get closer, we will see the money that is
there come out for that and those negatives on corn
and probably increase where they haven't so far this year
because he's been just frankly, the only one spending money.
So yeah, of course that race is going to be
fascinating to watch. Whoever the nominee is, you know, you

(04:54):
have to give it to the Republican at least as
a handicap off the bat, because the state has gotten
a writer since the last time this general dynamic popped
up in twenty eighteen, where Democrats do have a favorable
environment to run in next year in a midterm, but
this is still it's still Texas. It may not be

(05:15):
Oklahoma in terms of partisan leaning, but it is still
a Republican friendly. The other one I'm watching that I
think is going to be the most interesting is the
attorney general race, and you've got four Republicans in that,
You've got two Democrats, actually three Democrats, and it's really
wide open to see who is going to win that.
On the Republican side, you've got Chip Roy, who has
the highest name ID, but then you've got Nathan Middleton,

(05:38):
who has a lot of money. You can run the
kind of the porn and play of spending himself into
a runoff and then run off for a different game,
so who knows which way that goes. You've also got
Aaron Wrights and Joan Hufman in that race as well,
but pound for pound, I think that's going to be
the most interesting race next year.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
All right, Brad, thank you, appreciate your time. Brad Johnson,
Senior reporter at the t J Excent at seven twenty
seven is we'd take a look at your money