Austin, TX
Texas Republicans are using anti-Muslim rhetoric in their campaigns
TEXAS — Targeting Islam and stopping what many conservatives call the “Islamification” of Texas is an increasingly popular campaign promise. Islam is a faith practiced by over 300,000 Muslims in Texas.
“There are a variety of Islamist movements operating across Texas,” said Samuel Westrop, the director of the Islamist Watch project at the Middle East Forum.
The national conservative think tank Middle East Forum is dedicated to defeating what it calls radical Islam, a claim that people within the faith want to impose their own religious law on secular society. Westrop wants to see politicians distinguishing between people whose interpretation of Islam threatens others and those who peacefully practice the religion.
There is still a dangerous impact on the Muslim community, according to Sameeha Rizvi, a policy and advocacy coordinator for the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. In November, Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization.
“At this point, Islam, extremists, etc., have been conflated with one another. And then also on top of that, they’re attacking civil rights groups like CAIR and using terrorist imagery to depict us when we’ve only denounced terrorism,” said Rizvi.
In his bid for reelection, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, ran an ad outlining his opposition to CAIR.
“I’m fighting to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,” said Cornyn.
And when an ad from a PAC on behalf of Cornyn called Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, his top opponent, “weird,” Paxton called out Cornyn for his support of “radical Islamic Afghans.”
Candidates in the race to replace Paxton as Texas attorney general are using similar rhetoric. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, said he would use the office to defend Texas from “Islamist extremist networks.”
“This is a coordinated political effort to Islamify Texas and you gotta say it,” said Roy.
Westrop describes the scrutiny of the religion as protecting taxpayers from funding something that could cause them harm.
“Really working to limit the influence and effect of Islamist groups and certainly making sure that public monies doesn’t subsidize their extremism,” he said.
According to the Pew Research Center, 42% of Muslim U.S. voters identify with the Republican Party. Rizvi says the anti-Muslim rhetoric could isolate Muslims from the right.
“When you end up as a party, smearing your neighbors because of their religion, it betrays not only your values as a party but also the values of what it means to be a Texan,” said Rizvi.
The impact that faith-targeted ads will have on Republican voters could be clear after the primary elections on March 3.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.
The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:
- 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
- 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
- 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
- 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
- 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
- 26th in urban fatality rate
- 42nd in rural fatality rate
- 41st in traffic congestion
“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.
The full report can be found online.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
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