Progress Texas Podcasts

Latest Episodes:

Happy Hour 268 - Fighting for Texas Workers: Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar Mar 14, 2026

Show notes

Texas is an anti-worker state, and working Texans are tired of being trampled by billionaire-bought politicians and interests. You can see it in support of a more affordable Texas: public education that sets our children up for success, quality jobs that pay a living wage, environmental protections that shield us all from pollution, and justice for our citizen and immigrant neighbors under attack.

It’s clear that tides are changing, and with it, union membership is at the highest it’s been in 25 years, with major growth in the South, plus major victories from union leaders like Taylor Rehmet, who will deliver on people-first policies fighting for Texas workers. We can’t think of a better leader to talk about labor than the new president of the Texas AFL-CIO, Leonard Aguilar.

Learn more about the Texas AFL/CIO at https://texasaflcio.org/.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

In Progress: Trump And Cornyn Are Testing The Fences Around YOUR Right To Vote Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

A theme has emerged this week: as the Dallas County Democratic Party throws in the towel on a lawsuit over denied voting access on primary Election Night, judging the Republican-dominated Texas Supreme Court a hostile venue for that complaint - while our senior Senator John Cornyn reverses himself on the filibuster out of pressure from Donald Trump and Ken Paxton to pass the SAVE America Act, which will allow the GOP to disenfranchise untold millions of American voters - the very foundation of our democracy is now under slow, steady, determined attack.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 3/13/26: Desperate Republicans Target Talarico With Deepfakes And Lies, And More Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The Texas Tribune collects a lineup of Talarico-isms currently being distorted and twisted by Republicans, who clearly see their reign over Texas under dire threat by the Democratic nominee for Senate: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/12/james-talarico-texas-senate-republicans-attacks-god-is-nonbinary/

...They've also conjured a super-creepy and uncanny Talarico doppelganger via AI to deliver these supposedly-controversial lines: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ai-ads-texas-21957736.php

Senator John Cornyn, who has reversed himself on the Senate filibuster in an attempt to deliver the SAVE America Act to Donald Trump, is seen in a video failing to understand what it will do if passed: https://newrepublic.com/post/207707/republican-senator-cornyn-learns-save-act-bad

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Happy Hour 267: Zach Herbert, Dem Nominee For State House District 112 Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Among the midterm races that in cycles of yore might have seemed without hope for Democrats - but considering the massive outpouring of primary interest this year, suddenly seem possible - is Texas House District 112 in the northeast Dallas area, where widespread dissatisfaction with longtime Republican incumbent Angie Chen Button couples with that Democratic momentum to give nominee Zach Herbert a fair shot. Zach is an attorney, an entrepreneur, a veteran and a community leader - we enjoyed meeting him for this podcast.

Learn more about Zach Herbert and his run for the Texas House at https://zach4texas.com/.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 3/12/26: A Desperate Cornyn Flip-flops On Filibuster, and More Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Under pressure from both Donald Trump and Ken Paxton - after years of defending the filibuster in the U.S. Senate - Senator John Cornyn, desperate for Trump's endorsement, has changed his position on a primary safeguard for the minority party in that body: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/11/john-cornyn-filibuster-save-america-act-texas-senate-runoff-voter-id/

...For now, the actual end of the filibuster seems unlikely - but Donald Trump is frantic and determined: https://www.axios.com/2026/03/11/save-act-talking-filibuster-senate-thune-republicans

Governor Greg Abbott is threatening a state takeover of Corpus Christi's water system as they plunge into a deep supply crisis - though it's unclear what the state would be able to do about it: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-corpus-christi-water-crisis-22070712.php

...Meanwhile, a huge chunk of Texas between San Antonio and south Austin is under a similar threat as the Edwards Aquifer nears its most severe warning level ever: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/edwards-aquifer-nears-emergency-drought-conditions/

A group of reporters at the New York Times analyzes the video of the ICE-involved shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island - and reveals the name of the agent who pulled the trigger: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/us/texas-ice-shooting-south-padre-video.html

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Daily Dispatch 3/11/26: New Polling Shows Cornyn Dead In The Water, and More Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

New polling from Texas Public Opinion Research shows Senator John Cornyn eight points behind Ken Paxton in the Republican primary runoff in May - a deficit too wide to be overcome by a Trump endorsement. Cornyn now faces a choice: eliminate Paxton from the race by helping kill the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act in the Senate, or head into a runoff he's likely to lose: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-senate-runoff-cornyn-paxton-trump

Trump's war on Iran is spiking profits for Texas oil companies and investors - while also spiking gas prices for the rest of us: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/11/texas-oil-iran-war-gas-prices/

Recent Texas GOP smears against our Muslim neighbors makes more sense in the context of a new war in the Middle East - they've already begun discriminating against Muslim schools in our new private school voucher scam: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/03/11/texas-vouchers-islamic-schools/

The "Antifa" trial in Fort Worth continues, featuring Trump federal prosecutors mining the defendants' personal lives for evidence of "material support of terrorism" - by criminalizing First Amendment-protected expression and association: https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next/2026/03/antifas-reality-is-on-trial-in-texas

The nearly 2,000 primary Election Night votes in Dallas County sidelined by Ken Paxton and the Republican Texas Supreme Court continue to be counted, while their eventual legal validity remains uncertain: https://www.keranews.org/news/2026-03-10/votes-cast-after-judge-ordered-polls-to-stay-open-checked-by-dallas-county-ballot-auditors

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Daily Dispatch 3/10/26: Gámez-Cuéllar Family Released - But How Many More Are Unjustly Confined? And More Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The Gámez-Cuéllar family, including their two sons who are members of the acclaimed McAllen High School mariachi troupe, were released by ICE yesterday after a significant public outcry: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/09/texas-antonio-gamez-cuellar-monica-de-la-cruz-ice/

Laredo Congressman Henry Cuellar was one of four Congressional Democrats to vote against a blocking of Donald Trump's Iran war funding last week - that resolution would have passed with the party solidarity of those four: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/south-texas-democrat-henry-cuellar-helps-kill-resolution-to-end-u-s-involvement-in-iran/

Donald Trump, irked at media anticipation of his endorsement of John Cornyn and goaded by Ken Paxton's pledge to step down should the Senate pass the SAVE America Act, is now again withholding this endorsement as a bargaining tool for a legal tool he could use to neutralize millions of American voters ahead of the midterm election: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/09/trump-is-delaying-texas-senate-endorsement-to-pressure-gop-senators-on-save-america-act-00819991

An official search of the former Zorro Ranch - formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein but never searched despite his crimes, and now owned by Texas Republican Comptroller candidate Don Huffines - has begun in New Mexico: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/epstein/new-mexico-department-of-justice-begins-search-of-epsteins-zorro-ranch/article_697b6470-861c-4c33-b8e4-1d0c308c006f.html

While Democrats and progressives have celebrated record turnout in the primary, their polar opposites in the House Freedom Caucus appear poised to add a new group of extremist right-wingers to the Texas delegation: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/10/steve-toth-brandon-herrera-house-freedom-caucus-texas-republican-primaries-2026/

...One of them is Brandon "The AK Guy" Herrera, who once demonstrated on his YouTube channel the rifle used to kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by shooting at a target resembling Dr. King: https://meidasnews.com/news/texas-gop-candidate-recreated-mlk-assassination-reviewed-shooters-rifle

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Daily Dispatch 3/9/26: DPS Data Dump Does Not Show Justification For Ruben Martinez Killing, and More Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

As we reported Friday morning, Texas DPS released footage related to the federal border officer-involved killing of 23 year old Ruben Ray Martinez last year in South Padre Island, and it does not appear to justify lethal force: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/06/south-padre-immigration-officer-shooting/

...Meanwhile outrage is building over the ICE detention of a family including two celebrated teenaged mariachi musicians who have recently performed on Capitol Hill on the invitation of Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, after the case was exposed by her Democratic challenger, Bobby Pulido: https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2026/03/08/mcallen-isd-family-detained-by-ice-high-school-mariachi-student-separated-from-family/

...Meanwhile, at the Camp East Montana ICE lockup at El Paso, federal guards are alleged to have been betting amongst themselves as to which of their detainees will be next to commit suicide: https://apnews.com/article/suicide-ice-detention-centers-b2d1cb0e4b579e0d89caabd00aa04e34

The expected endorsement of Donald Trump in the Texas GOP Senate race, intended to circumvent an ugly and expensive fight between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, has thus far failed to arrive: https://www.semafor.com/article/03/09/2026/delay-in-trumps-texas-endorsement-raises-gop-anxiety

...Trump has, however, declared that he'll refuse to sign ANY legislation until the Senate kills the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/g-s1-112966/up-first-newsletter-iran-israel-us-mojtaba-khamenei-trump-voting-openai

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In Progress: Unpacking The Primary - And Onward To November Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

Every week, we marvel at the insanity of the week prior in Texas politics, and the primary election - especially Tuesday's Election Night, complete with Republican-orchestrated voter suppression in a major Texas city - certainly did not disappoint in that regard. We once again gather to self-therapize, celebrate a bit, and steel ourselves for the long, uphill fight to come.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 3/6/26: Paxton Mulls Quitting Senate Race, Gonzales Caves To Scandal, and More Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

At the behest of Donald Trump, Ken Paxton is mulling dropping out of the race for the U.S. Senate - on condition that Senate Republicans kill the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, which would help Trump suppress voters ahead of the midterm election: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/elections/ken-paxton-texas-senate-race-drop-out-trump-endorsement/285-de54f29c-0c5b-41f9-a687-617aa373c535

West Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales has finally admitted having an affair with a staffer who later committed suicide, and has stepped aside in his run for re-election, making the GOP nominee Brandon "The AK Guy" Herrera, a gun enthusiast YouTuber known for Nazi and Confederate leanings: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/05/tony-gonzales-drops-out-republican-primary-texas-23rd-district-congress/

A connection between Elon Musk and the mass shooter in Austin last weekend emerges - the shooter was a former Tesla employee who assaulted another employee in 2024; that victim is now suing the company: https://www.statesman.com/business/article/austin-shooting-suspect-tesla-lawsuit-texas-21957429.php

We expect a release of investigative data from state officials soon on the killing of Ruben Ray Martinez last year at the hands of a federal immigration agent: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/03/05/texas-dhs-shooting-citizen-killed/?

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