Breaking News!
In BREAKING NEWS, State Rep. Jolanda Jones just endorsed Amanda Edwards for the 18th Congressional District Special Election runoff. Great news.
_____
We will soon have four Latinas/Latinos on the H-Town City Council. We had four back in the 1990s.
_____
MAGA Gov. Greg Abbott is targeting seven Democrats in the Texas House from Harris County in 2026. Here is the list from the Chron:
House District 135, an open seat being vacated by state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, who is running for Texas Railroad Commission.
House District 137, held by state Rep. Gene Wu since 2013.
House District 140, held by state Rep. Armando Walle since 2009.
House District 143, held by state Rep. Ana Hernandez since 2005.
House District 144, held by state Rep. Mary Ann Perez since 2017.
House District 148, held by state Rep. Penny Morales Shaw since 2021.
House District 149, held by state Rep. Hubert Vo since 2005.
The Chron also has a story today on Abbott vowing to make Harris County dark red in the 2026 general election. See this:
Gov. Greg Abbott is prepared to pour $25 million into his effort to turn Harris County — a Democratic stronghold he lost by 10 percentage points in 2022 — “dark red” as he seeks a record fourth term in office, according to details of the plan shared with Hearst Newspapers.
As part of that, the Texas Republican is planning to target House Democrats there with messaging on crime, bail restrictions and property taxes, key planks of his reelection pitch. The governor recruited Republican candidates to run in every state House seat in the county, including some where the GOP has not had a candidate on the ballot in years. And he’s hired a consultant based in Houston to help coordinate their efforts.
“Governor Abbott is going on the offensive in Harris County, a key battleground for the state,” said Eduardo Leal, press secretary for the governor’s campaign. “Governor Abbott’s mission is clear: to keep Texas affordable, safe and prosperous.”
It is a lofty goal for the governor, who has not won the county since his first gubernatorial run in 2014. And it comes as Republicans are expected to be largely playing defense amid a midterm backlash against President Donald Trump, who drew just 46% of the vote in Harris County last year.
“You want to rally your base, but to say they’re going to make Harris County ‘dark red’ — I think that’s a very ambitious plan,” said Renee Cross, senior director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. “I honestly don’t see it.”
But the investment from the governor’s campaign speaks to how serious it is taking the challenge. Abbott has about $90 million in his campaign account and is planning to spend more than a quarter of it in Harris County.
Here is the entire Chron read: See Greg Abbott’s plan to turn Harris County ‘dark red’ in 2026.
Six of the seven Harris County Texas House seats Abbott is targeting are held by Democrats of color. If Abbott does follow through and makes Harris County a major battleground, that is going to drive up turnout across the board. If that happens, Democrats will win big. Real big. Bring it on. The big, beautiful, backfire.
_____
I saw this in the Daily Beast:
Disney is sticking with its live-action remake playbook, but this time, the studio is flipping the script. According to Deadline, Disney is developing a live-action film centered on Gaston, the swaggering antagonist from the beloved 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast. The project will not be tied to Disney’s 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast, nor will Luke Evans return to reprise the role. Instead, the studio appears to be carving out a standalone origin-style story for the character — a move reminiscent of Disney’s earlier villain-focused reimagining with its 2014 live-action Maleficent. According to the outlet, Disney previously discussed expanding the Beauty and the Beast universe with a Gaston-centric series starring Evans, which was brought up after the 2017 film’s box-office success but was ultimately shelved before production. For the new film, Deadline reports that Dave Callaham has been tapped to write the script, with Michelle Rejwan attached as producer. No director has been announced, and casting details remain under wraps.
I don’t know about this. In both the animated and live versions, Gaston falls off a ledge. Did he not croak? Oh, well.
_____
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra dropped by “Today” this morning as in the featured photo and played some of their tunes. Cool.