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Trump Sabotages Trump Agenda

Explore episode Jun 26, 2026
Government
Gina Hinojosa on Why the Texas Governor's Race Could Decide Congress

Trump Sabotages Trump Agenda · Jun 26, 2026 Government

Texas will redraw congressional maps next year with no Voting Rights Act guardrails. If Republicans control the governorship, Democrats could lose 5 seats immediately, plus 4 to 5 more after the census adds congressional seats. The Texas governor effectively controls 10% of Congress. That's why Gina Hinojosa says this is the most important governor's race in the country.

2m 10s

Where this was said

Latino Voters, Immigration, and What Democrats Keep Getting Wrong

At 1:33:10 · chapter starts 1:27:20

Jon Favreau probes the tension between Democratic assumptions about Latino voters and the 2024 reality. Hinojosa's analysis is pointed: Democrats have allowed Republicans to set the terms of the debate, spending energy on culture war fights instead of the core economic message. Her math is simple — if she hits Beto's 2018 mark of 64% of the Latino vote, she wins, because the Latino share of the Texas electorate has grown since then. Taylor Ramette's 79% Latino support in the Tarrant County state Senate flip demonstrates what's possible. She is candid about immigration: she grew up on the border and wants real border security. The district attorney in Harris County, she notes, cannot prosecute child sex abuse cases because witnesses have been detained, deported, or are too afraid — making the current approach less safe, not more. She is equally candid that it is hard to ask Americans to be generous with immigration when they feel the American dream is out of reach for themselves. And she calls Biden's late-term border management a failure of leadership, noting that when she escalated the issue in December before his final year, a Biden-brokered enforcement deal with Mexico caused crossings to plummet almost immediately.

Government
Texas Screwworm Crisis: A DOGE Failure Abbott Won't Criticize

Trump Sabotages Trump Agenda · Jun 26, 2026 Government

The New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite eradicated from the US 60 years ago, is back in Texas cattle and spreading. Reporting indicates DOGE cuts slowed the federal response. Abbott has not criticized the administration despite Texas having a Secretary of Agriculture in the Trump cabinet. Hinojosa calls it a failure of Abbott's leadership and juice with Washington.

2m 20s
Government
Gina Hinojosa on the Latino Vote and Why 64% Is the Magic Number

Trump Sabotages Trump Agenda · Jun 26, 2026 Government

In 2018, Beto O'Rourke won 64% of the Latino vote and came within 2.5 points of winning Texas statewide. The Latino share of the Texas electorate is now larger. Hinojosa says if she hits that same 64% threshold, she wins — and a recent state Senate race in Tarrant County saw 79% Latino support for the Democratic candidate.

2m 20s

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