Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot to death on Tuesday in Houston by ICE agents, has formally been declared a homicide: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/07/09/harris-county-medical-examiner-rules-death-of-lorenzo-salgado-araujo-a-homicide/ ...Three eyewitnesses, including Salgado Araujo's brother, contradict ICE cl...

Widespread speculation spread rapidly upon the announcement of Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson's abrupt and largely unexplained planned departure from her office - weird timing for the state's top election official, just months before a monumental election, right? But, in steps Christian nationalist spokesmodel Nate Schatzline, who has no experience with running elections - but is a c...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Grief, frustration and rising anger are seen across the Houston community in the wake of the ICE killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/08/texas-ice-shooting-victim-son ...A large gathering convened in vigil last night on Houston's Canal Street, where the shooting occurred on Tuesday morning: h...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: In a tragically familiar scenario, another killing by ICE of a Texas motorist - this time Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who had lived in Houston since 1993: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ice-agent-fatally-shoots-mexican-motorist-texas-during-vehicle-stop-agency-says-2026-07-07/ ...A large group of Houston elected leaders and advocacy groups...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: In thanking Donald Trump for interfering with FIFA in a USMNT red card, Ted Cruz jinxed the team into an embarrassing defeat in the World Cup: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-sen-cruz-thanks-trump-for-getting-rid-of-folarin-baloguns-world-cup-red-card Governor Greg Abbott's reversal on data centers is nothing but talk, sho...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: By appointing Don Huffines, the GOP nominee for Texas Comptroller, to that post in the middle of an election for it, signals an amazing degree of arrogance and disdain for Texas voters: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/don-huffines-greg-abbott-comptroller-22330470.php ...And to double that effect, his elevation of e...

We're continuing to dig through the mountain of content we accumulated during the Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi, and up next are the full remarks from Friday from Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa. We'll remind you that Gina won the primary outright with nearly 60 percent of the vote in a crowded field, has been a longtime champion of public schools and thus on...

From Dan Patrick's declaration that the separation of church and state is dead, to Texas Republicans kicking Muslims out of their state convention in Houston, to the Ten Commandments and bible stories permeating our public schools, the takeover by Christian Nationalism of Republican politics is no longer a theory - it's real, and it's here, right now. How to resist is now one of the pr...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Governor Greg Abbott has failed to accept an invitation to debate Democratic nominee Gina Hinojosa in mid-October in Fort Worth: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/gina-hinojosa-calls-out-gov-greg-abbott-for-not-accepting-debate-invitation/ ...Abbott's drastic pivot on data centers would be very difficult to defend on a debate...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The one bit of good news - in two days of mostly bad news from SCOTUS - was the denying of Donald Trump his wish to end birthright citizenship: https://progresstexas.org/blog/statement-american-birthright-protected-trump-denied-tyranny ...Texas Republicans, as you might imagine, are beside themselves: https://www.chron.com/politics/articl...

In this moment of progressive resurgence and populist success nationwide at the ballot box, at 84, Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has lost none of his stride or fire. The main arena at Corpus Christi's Hilliard Center was packed with big Bernie fans as he gave the closing address of this year's Texas Democratic Convention! Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: After being seized off a McAllen street on her way to Sunday mass last weekend, Sister Letty Ugboaja has been released by ICE: https://www.tpr.org/news/2026-06-29/south-texas-nun-released-after-being-detained-by-ice Those of us who visited Corpus Christi last weekend might be wondering what the real story is with the water crisis: in shor...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi ended up an exercise in unity, despite opening concerns about unity: https://www.kut.org/politics/2026-06-28/texas-democrats-convention-2026 ...Headliner Senator Bernie Sanders fired up the room, calling for Texas Democrats to spearhead transformation in a time of oppressive oligarchy: htt...

Pretty sure this is a new record-long podcast for Progress Texas, and we loved every minute of hosting over two dozen candidates and dedicated advocates during our second day on the expo floor of the Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi! :00 - Ron Nirenberg, Democratic nominee for Bexar County Judge: 6:11 - State Rep. Jon Rosenthal, Democratic nominee for Texas Railroad Commission 9:56 -...

Progress Texas hosted a whirlwind revolving door of interviews today from the expo hall of the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi! Settle in for short and super fun conversations with: :00 - Bobby Pulido, Democratic Congressional Nominee, CD 15 7:49 - Lesley Briones, Harris County Commissioner 15:50 - Letitia Plummer, Democratic Nominee for Harris County Judge 22:49 - State Senator...

The team is in Corpus Christi for the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention, and we roll in with high hopes for a terrific event. With the Gulf Coast wind at their sails, Texas Democrats still have a difficult course to navigate - it's going to take brains, and heart, and guts, and unity to get it done. Progress Texas is very proud to be the official media partner of the Texas Democratic Convention...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The Progress Texas crew is headed for the coast as the official media partner of the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi: https://www.kut.org/politics/2026-06-25/texas-democrats-statewide-optimism-november ...With a once-in-decades opportunity for statewide Democratic wins, maximum mobilization and a strong unified front ar...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: New polling reveals a virtual tie between James Talarico and Ken Paxton, more typical leads for other statewide Republican candidates - but a strong lean towards the Democrats among independents: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article316233304.html Huge, multi-decade sentences have resulted in the tr...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The initial draft version of the Texas Democratic Party platform - to be debated and modified during this week's convention in Corpus Christi - covers a broad variety of topic areas, providing a launchpad for what promises to be a spirited session. The final version, as of the conclusion of the session, should be posted here: https://...

All of us at Progress Texas are packing gear for this week's Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi, which is promising to be a terrific time amidst a highly encouraging year for progressive folks across Texas! And we're proud to welcome back Chair Kendall Scudder for a quick preview of what to expect. Progress Texas is the official media partner of the convention this year - stay t...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is calling on Attorney General and Republican nominee Ken Paxton to release the files regarding the light sentence delivered to admitted child molestor Adam Hoffman: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/18/texas-senate-james-talarico-ken-paxton-sex-abuse-plea-deal/ ...Hoffman's attorney also re...

We enjoyed a live recording session this last Saturday at La Palapa Mexican restaurant in Austin with our friends and supporters the Northeast Travis County Democrats (or NETCo!) for a deep dive on how environmental issues will interface with the upcoming election - in particular, how the impacts of AI data centers threaten our water, farmland, energy and more - and we also introduce to much of th...

The Texas Republican Convention in Houston last weekend set brand new standards for regressive, stupid, bigoted and just straight up bad policy ideas. The bar has been set low for the Democrats, who convene next weekend in Corpus Christi - though in all the ways that matter, it's all on the line this year for the Dems. We unpack the GOP event and look forward to the Democratic event - of which...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Here's hoping you have a chance to recharge for the resistance tomorrow, on Juneteenth - it's important for all of us to understand the history behind the holiday: https://www.history.com/articles/juneteenth-emancipation-proclamation-texas Local officials in Presidio have sued the Trump adminstration over border construction plans...

It’s Pride Month, and here at Progress Texas we remember that pride is not just a parade, it’s a movement: and it takes resources! Joined by the leading statewide LGBTQ+ community foundation, the Texas Pride Community Foundation’s Chief Community Impact Officer, Robert Salcido Jr., discusses the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ community centers and grassroots organizations amid unrelenting attacks...