North Texas delegates to the Democratic National Convention tell political reporter Jack Fink the message they want to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Republican North Texas Congressman Roger Williams explains what he believes is a key economic argument for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. Texas Representatives Brian Harrison and Mihaela Plesa discuss the ongoing school choice battle between Democrats and most Republicans in the Texas House. A controversial new policy at the State Fair over guns ends up with the Texas Attorney General threatening legal action against the City of Dallas. Jack Fink covers these stories and more in the latest edition of Eye on Politics (original air date: August 18, 2024).
Democratic National Convention
Delegates from across North Texas and elsewhere are convention-bound. They’re gathering in Chicago for the start of the Democratic National Convention on August 19.
Here’s what you can expect:
Citing a source, CBS News reports President Biden and former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will speak Monday night.
Former President Barack Obama will speak Tuesday night, while on Wednesday night, former President Bill Clinton will address delegates before Vice Presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
On Thursday night, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination.
The Vice Presidential candidates have agreed to a debate. Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance and Democratic Governor Tim Walz will square off October 1st on CBS News.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in their first debate September 10th. Another debate between Trump and Harris may take place in October.
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In the six battleground states the Real Clear Politics average of polls has tightened.
In Arizona, former President Donald Trump is leading Vice President Harris by point eight percentage points. Trump’s biggest lead comes in Nevada – where he’s up by 3.5% points. In Georgia, Trump is only up by 0.6% points. Harris leads in Wisconsin by 1% point. Her biggest gain over Trump is in Michigan where she’s up by 2.1% points. In Pennsylvania, it’s close to a tie, where Trump is up by 0.2% points.
Jack spoke with four delegates from Dallas County who are heading to the convention: Carmen Ayala, Kathy Nealy, Tony Pham, and Jeff Strater. They discussed the messages they would like to hear from Harris and Walz at the convention.
Watch Jack’s conversation with the DNC Delegates below:
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Delegates from North Texas discuss Democratic National Convention expectations
21:39
Congressman Roger Williams on Trump-Vance message
The Trump-Vance campaign is renewing its focus on inflation, affordability, and border security.
They continue to criticize Harris for not holding a news conference or doing a formal, sit-down interview.
Jack spoke with North Texas Congressman Roger Williams, R-25th Congressional District, who chairs the Small Business Committee, about the presidential race.
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Watch Jack’s interview with Congressman Williams below:
Congressman Roger Williams on Trump-Vance message
08:16
School Choice battle
The controversial policy of taxpayer-funded education savings accounts, ESA’s, or vouchers returned to the Texas Capitol last week.
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The House Public Education Committee held hearings on this and other issues.
State Representative Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie strongly favors taxpayer-funded education savings accounts. “I want every parent to have education freedom because I believe every child deserves a quality education and the best way to do that, Texas should make up for being late to school choice by being bold. I want us to have a truly universal education savings account program so that every family has the opportunity to make a choice for their kid.”
State Representative Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, disagrees and says some rural Republicans in the Texas House will still join Democrats to try to block any legislation. “They continuously bring up that these voucher scams do not do anything to promote their districts and their schools. One of my colleagues pointed out that he represents almost 19 counties. I might be mistaken, but somewhere around 19 counties. Not one private school in any of those counties.”
While lawmakers held a hearing, bills will start being filed in November for the next legislative session that begins in January.
State Fair fight over gun policy
A legal fight is brewing involving the State Fair of Texas over its new gun free policy.
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The Texas Attorney General sent the city of Dallas a letter last week threatening to sue over the new policy for this year’s event that won’t allow people who have permits to carry concealed firearms to bring them into the State Fair of Texas.
In a statement, AG Ken Paxton said the policy, “that infringes on LTC holders’ Second Amendment rights is unlawful. Dallas has 15 days to fix the issue, otherwise I will see them in court.”
The Fair begins September 27.
Leaders of the fair made the decision in part because there was a shooting there last year that injured three people.
The only exceptions to the new rule are for active police officers and certain retired officers.
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Some 70 Republican state lawmakers signed a letter and sent it to the State Fair’s Board of Directors urging them to change the policy.
Representative Harrison was one of them. “Even if the State Fair’s intentions were pure there, it’s just a purely misguided policy. So, I very much hope they overturn it. Look, I’m proud to represent hundreds of thousands of Texans who believe in the Constitution. They believe in the Second Amendment, and they want their families to be protected. The good news is those things go together hand in glove. Even if the State Fair’s purported objective is to maximize safety, what they’ve done is to reduce safety.”
Representative Plesa supports the State Fair’s new policy. “When I see my colleague sign on to, a letter, you know, condemning the State Fair of Texas for trying to keep their community safe after they saw gun violence in Fair Park, that’s crazy to me. I think that’s why most people are ready for commonsense gun legislation, making sure that people have to do a background check that we don’t have a situation where three people were injured last year.”
Watch Jack’s interview with Representative Plesa below:
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Texas Rep. Mihaela Plesa discusses school vouchers and funding, state fair gun policy
14:05
Watch Jack’s interview with Representative Harrison below:
TX Rep. Brian Harrison discusses school vouchers and funding, state fair gun policy
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13:33
City budgets
Two of the largest cities in North Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth, have proposed budgets for next year.
In Dallas, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert proposed a $1.9 billion dollar general fund budget, which is up by more than $65 million dollars from this year’s budget.
Some highlights include: the largest single year reduction in the property tax rate. It would lower the rate from 73.57 cents per $100 valuation to 70.47 cents per $100 valuation.
The proposal would also increase the property tax exemption for those 65 and older and the disabled, from $139,400 to $153,400. The city would also hire 250 police recruits and add 63 firefighters and four paramedics.
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In Fort Worth, City Manager David Cooke has proposed a nearly $1.1 billion dollar general fund budget for next year, up $49 million from this year’s budget.
Cooke said in his proposal that the city’s population could pass the one million mark next year. His budget would increase the property tax rate by half a cent from 67.25 cents per $100 valuation to 67.73 cents per $100 valuation.
In a July interview with Mayor Mattie Parker, she discussed whether Fort Worth could surpass the cities of Austin and Jacksonville in population, and a key element to make that happen. She also discussed the presidential race and U.S. Senate race in Texas.
Watch Jack’s interview with Mayor Parker below:
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Fort Worth Mayor Parker says cities could play important role if Trump is re-elected
17:19
Jack Fink
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Jack Fink covers politics for KTVT-TV CBS 11 and has been with the station since September 2003.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary.
So when he travels to the state on Friday for his first post- State of the Union trip, where he plans to promote his energy and economic policies, Trump will have all three candidates in the competitive race join him — just days before his party casts ballots in the primary race.
Sen. John Cornyn is battling for his fifth term and is being challenged by state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a primary fight that has become viciously personal. And all three men, missing the coveted endorsement from Trump, have been trying to highlight their ties to him as they ramp up their campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
For his part, Trump will be seeking to ride the message of his State of the Union address from Tuesday, where he declared a return to economic prosperity and a more secure America — two centerpiece arguments for Republicans as they campaign to keep their congressional majorities this fall.
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Trump’s hesitation to endorse in the Texas Senate primary speaks to the tricky dynamics of the race.
Cornyn is unpopular with a segment of Texas’ GOP base, in part for his early dismissiveness of Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign and for his role in authoring tougher restrictions on guns after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But Senate GOP leadership and allied groups see Cornyn as the stronger general election candidate, in light of a series of troubles that have shadowed Paxton.
Paxton beat impeachment on fraud charges in 2023, and has faced allegations of marital infidelity by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, right, is joined by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, during a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. Credit: AP/Eric Gay
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have urged Trump to endorse Cornyn. They and allied campaign groups argue that the seat would cost the party hundreds of millions more to defend with Paxton as the candidate.
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“It is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee,” Scott told Fox News on Wednesday.
Hunt, a second-term Houston-area representative, was a later entry to the race, but claims a kinship with Trump, having endorsed him early in the 2024 race. Hunt campaigned regularly for Trump and earned a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
If no candidate reaches 50% in Tuesday’s primary, the top two finishers will advance to a May 26 runoff.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, arrive before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Credit: AP/Allison Robbert
Cornyn’s campaign and a half-dozen allied groups have poured more than $63 million into the race since last fall, chiefly trying to slow Paxton but recently attacking Hunt in an effort to keep him from making it to the runoff.
Earlier this month, Trump feinted toward weighing in on the race when he said he was taking “a serious look” at endorsing in the Texas primary. He has since reaffirmed his neutrality.
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Still, you wouldn’t know it from watching TV in Texas. Cornyn has been airing ads since last year touting his support for Trump’s agenda, even though his relationship with the president has been cool at times. Paxton and Hunt both have ads airing now featuring them standing with Trump.
“I like all three of them, actually. Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good. You’re supposed to pick one, so we’ll see what happens. But I support all three,” Trump said earlier this month.
The GOP battle comes as Democrats have a contested primary of their own in Texas between state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who regularly quotes the Bible, and progressive favorite U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Trump hasn’t been shy about wading into other contested Republican primaries in the state. Parts of Corpus Christi fall within Texas’ 34th congressional district, where former Rep. Mayra Flores is fighting to reclaim her seat against the Trump-endorsed Eric Flores. (The two are not related.) The winner of the primary will face off against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, long a target of the GOP, whose district was redrawn to make it easier for a Republican to win.
Eric Flores will be at the Trump event at the Port of Corpus Christi, which technically is located in a neighboring district.
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Elsewhere in the state, the president has also endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is fighting calls from his own party to resign from Congress after reports of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after she set herself on fire. Gonzales is refusing to step down and has said that there will be “opportunities for all of the details and facts to come out” and that the stories about the situation do not represent “all the facts.”
Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun rights influencer who Gonzales defeated by fewer than 400 votes in their 2024 runoff. The White House did not return a request for comment on Thursday on whether Trump stands by his endorsement of Gonzales.
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting his reckless driving caused a head-on collision in rural West Texas that killed Laura Lynch, a founding member of the country music group now known as The Chicks, prosecutors said.
Domenick Chavez, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Dec. 22, 2023, crash in Hudspeth County, according to a news release Tuesday from El Paso County District James Montoya, who also oversees nearby Hudspeth County.
The news release said Chavez was driving a truck westbound when he tried to pass four vehicles on a two-way undivided highway and collided head-on with Lynch’s eastbound truck. Lynch, 65, of Dell City, was trapped in her vehicle and died. Prosecutors said Chavez was traveling between 106 mph and 114 mph.
Prosecutors said alcohol wasn’t a factor in the crash but that Chavez was driving on a suspended license, which had been revoked due to his failure to comply with DWI-related surcharges and penalties from convictions in 2014 and 2017.
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Lynch, along with Robin Lynn Macy and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, formed The Dixie Chicks in the late 1980s. Lynch and Macy eventually left the band and Natalie Maines joined the sisters. The trio hit commercial fame with their breakthrough album “Wide Open Spaces” in 1998 and have won 13 Grammys. In 2020, the band changed its name to The Chicks.
In a social media post after Lynch’s death, The Chicks said Lynch had “infectious energy and humor” and was “instrumental” in the band’s early success.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Billy Richmond III scored 23 points and No. 20 Arkansas took advantage of Texas A&M’s miscues to beat the Aggies 99-84 on Wednesday night.
Richmond, who shot 8 of 13 from the floor and has scored 20 points or more in the last four games, had 15 points in the first half as the Razorbacks (21-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) took a 37-28 lead into halftime.
They carried the advantage in large part because Texas A&M (19-8, 9-6) couldn’t take care of the ball. Thirteen first-half turnovers led to 15 points for Arkansas.
Darius Acuff Jr. scored 22 points for Arkansas, Malique Ewin had 18, Trevon Brazile 14 and Meleek Thomas 13. Acuff, who entered leading the SEC in scoring with 22.2 points per game, had been held to just five points until the final nine minutes as he made his last six of his last seven shots from the floor after a 1-for-12 start.
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Texas A&M forward Rashaun Agee (12) is fouled as he tries to drive past Arkansas defenders D.J. Wagner (21) and Malique Ewin (12) during an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Fayetteville, Ark.
Michael Woods / AP
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Zach Clemence came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points for Texas A&M. Rashaun Agee added 17.
After the teams traded baskets to start the game, Texas A&M went on an 11-0 run as Arkansas went more than 4:30 without a field goal, missing seven straight. The Razorbacks followed with a run of their own, scoring 16 straight points over the next 3:28 to take the lead for good.
Texas A&M pulled within five points with 9:21 left on Agee’s layup. But Arkansas countered with a 9-2 run to stretch its lead back to double-digits.
For the game, the Aggies committed 16 turnovers and were outscored in transition 30-13.
Up next
Arkansas plays at No. 7 Florida on Saturday. The Razorbacks have won at Florida just twice in 18 games since joining the SEC ahead of the 1991-92 season.
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Texas A&M hosts Texas on Saturday.
Fort Worth’s Ranchbot helps agriculture tap water as Texas grapples with scarcity fears
NCAA women’s basketball bracketology: Where are local teams projected in March Madness?
Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
