Quorum Report Radio

Now that he's the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Texas, national Republicans – and the ones around here – are wastin' no time working to define him as a "far left" Austin liberal. He’s trying to get ahead of that but Republicans are using Talarico’s own words to prove it. Meantime, Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton spent most of their week wondering if President Trump is about...

Reporting from Deep East Texas this week: A Texas Senate race here is intriguing because it's the only such race in which Little Gov. Dan Patrick isn't overtly trying to hire a specific senator. We'll explain. Plus, bossman Harvey Kronberg checks in about how the primary and general election could completely change the math in the Texas House for Speaker Burrows, who's made the decision to govern...

Reporting from San Antonio this week: Big John Cornyn says the future of the Republican Party itself is on the line in this primary season that now features a former Senator buying Jeffrey Epstein's ranch and Sid Miller's opponent turning a debate into a public confessional about alcoholism, porn addiction, and infidelity. Meantime a Congressman faces allegations of an affair with a woman who late...

The hatred some Texas Republicans expressed for the Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime show reminds me of the racism and hatred some Texans expressed decades ago when a legendary rock station in Houston flipped formats to Latin Pop. Then, as now, they sound angry and bitter. More significantly, they sound like the past while Bad Bunny sounds like the future. We'll get into that. Plus, faith-based group...

Not even 48 hours after their historic win in Fort Worth, Texas Democrats were already at each other's throats in the US Senate primary with former Rep. Colin Allred all but calling Rep. James Talarico a racist and a pro-Talarico group slamming Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the first attack ads of the party's nominating contest. But are these the nastiest attacks ever seen in Texas? The boss, Harvey Kr...

This week, why don't we all have a conversation about why we are now in a place where federal immigration enforcement includes the deadly shootings of American citizens? How did we get here? After the ICE shootings in Minneapolis and the detention of children and tear gassing of protesters in South Texas, I can't help but think about the way a Republican President's administration 20 years ago pro...

Reporting from the campaign trail this week in Dallas-Fort Worth: As a potentially catastrophic winter storm bears down on Texas, Republicans and Democrats are going head to head in a special election in deep red Tarrant County that even Little Gov. Dan Patrick thinks the GOP could lose. As Patrick said, Democrats might pull off an upset victory because it's something Republicans were able to do i...

Reporting this week from Houston: The Republican primary for Texas Attorney General includes talk of fighting the "dark forces of the left" and making state government the enforcer of biblical values. Reporter Jen Rice checks in about the governor's plan for the state to take over Houston elections. And we check on the Uvalde families seeking at least a small slice of justice following the massacr...

The year begins with unrest around the world after US Military action in Venezuela and an ICE shooting in the Midwest that's reverberating on the campaign trail in the Great State with less than six weeks to go before early voting starts in one of the most consequential elections on Earth: The Texas primary. Plus, President Trump kind of admits what the whole redistricting war that started in Texa...

It's a Christmas extravaganza this week as we close out the year with a debate about ketchup on tamales with Chad Hasty, check in with my mother about her favorite songs of the season, and a Christmas Miracle as Dan Patrick brings a voice of reason to the debate over property taxes. Our producer is the famous Evan Sherer and the original music for the show is by Checkmayne in Houston.  

Democrats who were hoping they could avoid what's sure to be a nasty US Senate primary in Texas are about to find out if they've got the stomach for it. We'll take you to Rep. Jasmine Crockett's launch event in Dallas and you'll get some historical perspective on how combative candidates have fared in Texas. Plus the redistricting wars that started at the Capitol in Austin at the behest of Preside...

The way President Trump and New York Mayor-elect Mamdani's meeting at the White House went this week—not a fight but nearly a love fest—tells you that the MAGA right and the far left Democratic socialists largely fundamentally agree about the number one issue informing voter attitudes right now: The state of the economy. Plus, the Democrats had a big win on redistricting this week but what happens...

Panicked headlines across America and Texas as Congress dealt what many say is a lethal blow to the hemp industry. But our friend Susan Hays, an attorney who's become an expert on the subject, joined the show to say everyone should take a breath and she stressed this is a much longer game than most are saying. Plus, Rep. Tony Gonzales is now sort of addressing rumors about the apparent suicide of...

The game is certainly afoot now, with Governors Gavin Newsom and JB Pritzker rallying Democrats in Texas while Gov. Abbott announces his reelection. Meantime, "Big John" Cornyn is in the fight of his political life. Driving across Texas to cover it all this weekend led to a broken windshield for me right as Rep. Jasmine Crockett gave her clearest explanation yet as to why she might run for US Sena...

After a special election in an off year, the reminder is always to never read too much into the results. But my reminder to myself is there's no way to get y'all to avoid doing that, so let's talk about it all. One key race in Tarrant County may speak to a serious and potentially durable enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans. Plus, Texas House Democrats appear to have helped California...

The race for US Senate in Texas may be turned upside down if Rep. Jasmine Crockett jumps into the Democratic primary. Crockett says she may seriously consider it if the courts uphold the newly drawn congressional map demanded by President Trump. But we start with growing concerns that a proposal to fund critical water infrastructure projects across Texas may fail at the ballot box. Plus: After blo...

Our publisher, serial entrepreneur Harvey Kronberg recently appeared on the Changing Austin Podcast to talk about where Quorum Report has been and where we're going: "Since joining the Quorum Report in 1989 as a contract writer, Harvey Kronberg has become a trusted voice in Texas politics. In this episode of the Changing Austin podcast, Stacy Armijo sits down with Kronberg for a candid conversatio...

In Texas politics, two things have the unique ability to inspire candidates: God and queso. But if the queso is bland, it might say something about the candidate. And if someone says God told them to run for office, watch out. We now have potentially nasty statewide Democratic primaries shaping up in addition to the GOP primaries that are already heated. As those campaigns got rolling, Democratic...

Only in Texas politics could you call someone "the biggest asshole" and it's in defense of that person. You'll want to hear what that has to do with a White House call to the Texas GOP this weekend and what Speaker Dustin Burrows' comments to the Republican Party might mean for the operations of the House. Then you'll get the scoop from El Paso, where the redistricting battle that led to a smackdo...

You know, the way a government shutdown was handled in a fictional TV show years ago seemed to be more serious than the way it's being handled by leaders in Washington in real life now. Quorum Report Publisher Harvey Kronberg has the scoop on how the issue at the center of the shutdown could affect competitive elections in Texas next year. But, we start with a disturbing story out of South Texas,...

This week: The rumors just won't die about a possible third special session of the Texas Legislature in Austin. But what would even be left for them to tackle this year? You'll get real talk about that. Plus, more finger-pointing after the deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, where a conservative media star suggested Fox News likely wouldn't even cover the story if it turned out the shoot...

Sen. Ted Cruz surprised his haters this week by going back to his roots as a "rock-ribbed constitutional conservative" arguing the FCC Chairman sounded like a gangster who threatened ABC, pressuring the network to fire Jimmy Kimmel for comments about MAGA and Charlie Kirk. These things don't happen in a vacuum. And even though Kimmel is returning to TV after government threats, the erosions of fre...

With the assassination of Charlie Kirk as the backdrop, I got a stark personal reminder of the stakes in the aftermath of last week's shooting in Utah. Returning to the microphone, an open and honest dialogue about this whole issue is warranted and I hope this episode can be a start. Plus, Quorum Report Publisher Harvey Kronberg weighs in on the newest entrant in the race for US Senate, James Tala...