It’s time for the week that was in Texas politics with Cassandra Pollock, state politics reporter for The Texas Tribune.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg filed to be on the ballot for Texas’ Democratic primary in March 2020, despite not having formally announced his campaign. The billionaire is the fourth candidate to file for the Texas primaries; he’s joining Pete Buttigeig, Kamala Harris and Amy Kloubuchar. The lone Texan in the race, Julián Castro, has yet to file. The filing deadline is Dec. 9.
Former Texas Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican, called on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ people against workplace discrimination in an op-ed for Newsweek on Tuesday. The Supreme Court is currently hearing oral arguments for three cases related to the issue. Pollock says there aren’t federal protections against workplace discrimination for LGBTQ employees, and Texas is among the more than 25 states that don’t have their own LGBTQ workplace anti-discrimination laws.
“I’m chalking this up to Straus staying in the conversation, wanting to remain a figure on the political landscape just ahead of, of course, the election cycle,” Pollock says.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s former intern, immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros, is challenging his seat in 2020, billing herself as the more progressive candidate. Cuellar is considered one of the House’s more conservative Democrats. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently endorsed Cisneros.
Written by Savana Dunning.
