Shay and Wu
Election Day is six weeks from today.
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For the past couple of weeks or so, in his campaign ads, MAGA Gov. Greg Abbott has been telling us the state doesn’t have property taxes. Abbott rolled out an ad this morning accusing State Rep. Gina Hinojosa of voting to raise property taxes 40 times. Got it. He’s hurting for sure.
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The Chron E-Board today endorsed Democrat Stefanie Bord over #FireStanStanart in Texas State House District 126. Here is how the endorsement ends:
It’s an everyman pitch that felt more in touch than Stanart who continued to dance around culture war issues that should be put to bed.
He was breezily dismissive about concerns around Bo French, the railroad commissioner candidate who Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confidently called antisemitic not too long ago.
“People say things and lie about it. It happened to me,” Stanart scoffed.
Or the Republican talking points around Sharia law:
“People are really concerned about the Islamics that are coming here and when they’re saying that they want to take over our country and they want their own government,” he told us.
We pressed him: Had he seen any of this happening in real life?
“A lot of these imams are out there,” he insisted, though he couldn’t name any when asked, and instead generally referenced videos he saw on the internet.
How big is the threat really?
“We stopped it. We need to stop it,” he said, saying legislation had already been passed banning it but that more could be done.
It’s not just silly to indulge in this sort of conspiratorial fearmongering. It’s disqualifying. For all of his experience at the local level, Stanart talks more like he lives in an online partisan silo than on the ground in Harris County.
Does the Democrat even have a shot? There have been close races in this district, prior to redistricting. Bord actually got more total votes in her primary election than Stanart did in his primary or runoff.
Stanart has experience and expertise that could make him an asset in the Legislature. Unfortunately, he’s too unserious about too many things for us to take him seriously. Voters should pick Bord to better represent them and their everyday needs in Austin.
Here is the entire endorsement: For Texas state representative, District 126: Stefanie Bord.
House District 126 went for Donald Trump in 2024 by 18 points.
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Veteran Channel 13 News reporter Miya Shay and State Rep. Gene Wu got the “power couple” treatment from the Chron hard copy today. See the featured photo. Nice and well deserved. Go check it out.
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The Astros have played 156 games. Now it is down to 6. Just win, please.