As we tick off the last few hours until the weekend, it’s time to talk Texas politics. Joining us once again is Texas Tribune editor Emily Ramshaw.
Let’s back up to Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate. Lots of folks were anticipating some fireworks between Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, but that didn’t quite happen.
“At the end of the night what happened was actually a Cruz-Rubio face-off over issues of immigration and legalization,” he says. “Trump really stayed away from Cruz… he ended up deciding it was better to take the high ground and it has really worked for Cruz so far.”
Cruz drew a line in the sand, saying that he has never supported legalization. But is that true? Ramshaw says no, citing an extensive interview he did with the Tribune in 2013.
“He was very forward in saying Republicans were having trouble being taken seriously on this issue because they weren’t talking about those particular issues,” she says. “He appears to have changed his tune on this, particularly in light of his stance in the GOP presidential primary.”
Crossing the aisle, former Texas Sen. Wendy Davis is heading to Iowa to stump for Hillary Clinton, holding rallies of her own rather than touring with the Democratic presidential candidate.
“She’s someone who still has a national presence, particularly among the grassroots, so she’s a draw in and of herself,” Ramshaw says. “Wendy Davis is using this as an opportunity to be out front and center. She has discussed that her own political career may not be over.”
Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.
