It’s time for the week that was in Texas politics with The Texas Tribune’s Editor-in-Chief Emily Ramshaw.
The Democratic National Committee has selected Houston as the location for the next round of democratic primary debates on Sept. 12 and 13. Ramshaw says this reflects Texas’ influence in the 2020 presidential race.
“The national party Chairman, Tom Perez, hailed Houston’s status as America’s most diverse city,” Ramshaw says. “He said it’s ‘the perfect place to showcase our candidates so they can share their vision for a better future with the American people.’”
A new candidate, former U.S. Congressman Chris Bell, entered the race this week to challenge Texas Sen. John Cornyn for his seat in 2020. Ramshaw says Bell is joining former U.S. House candidate MJ Hegar in the Democratic primary, but she says it’s unlikely party favorite Beto O’Rourke will enter the race.
And Cornyn is visiting a migrant processing center in McAllen, Texas, today with Vice President Mike Pence. Ramshaw says he plans to hold a roundtable discussion to address his concerns about the border.
“Cornyn has acknowledged that border officials are overwhelmed, they’re not adequately staffed and they don’t have proper infrastructure,” Ramshaw says. “He’s called it an ‘extraordinary, unprecedented flow of humanity,’ and he has blamed it on Congress.”
Written by Hayden Baggett.