Good morning, 

In last night’s raucous debate, President Trump said to Joe Biden: “Let me shut you down for one second.” The American people will have the chance to shut down Biden permanently in November. 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, September 30, 2020
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Many folk have been asking about a memorial service for our colleague Ross Kecseg, who passed away last week. A Celebration of Ross Kecseg’s Life will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the DFW Metroplex. More details will be sent in the coming days. Meanwhile, the family is holding a private service this weekend, which is not open to the public.

• With more than 68,000 votes cast in the Senate District 30 special election, no candidate crossed the 50 percent threshold. This means the top-two vote-getters, Republicans Shelley Luther and State Rep. Drew Springer, will advance to a run-off.
       
• In the unofficial tally, Springer and Luther each had approximately 32 percent of the vote. Democrat Jacob Minter came in third, with 21 percent. The remaining three candidates (all Republicans) had single-digit showings.
   
• All things considered, it was a strong showing for Luther. A political newcomer, she took on a sitting member of the Texas House who had the support of his fellow lawmakers and the entire Austin lobby. Yet in a 30-day campaign sprint, she matched him vote-for-vote.
        
• The SD 30 runoff election between Luther and Springer gives voters a simple choice. Should they promote a sitting House lawmaker with a mixed record on the issues, or a dynamic political outsider who is campaigning to his right?

• Remember the Alamo? State Rep. Kyle Biedermann is pledging to make sure his colleagues in the Texas House will do so in the 2021 legislative session. The Fredericksburg Republican has pledged to file legislation that would take control of the Alamo Plaza, where the historic Cenotaph is located, from the City of San Antonio. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• Biedermann has led the fight from inside the Texas Legislature to block attempts at “reimagining” the history around the Alamo in a way that diminishes the 1836 battle.  
      
• “The city of San Antonio and the [General Land Office] have abused their authority, and it’s time for Texas to take back the entire Alamo Plaza through the power of eminent domain if necessary and the primary narrative should prioritize the battle for Texas Independence.” – Rep. Kyle Biedermann

• Yet another Democrat lawsuit to bypass Texas election laws has been blocked, effectively ending an attempt to revive straight-party voting for the November general election. Erin Anderson reports the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a lower court’s order that would have brought back straight-ticket voting.
   
• Straight-ticket or straight-party voting allows voters to select all of a party’s candidates on the ballot with one mark. November 2020 will be the first general election without that option since the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 25 in 2017.

• Meanwhile, an election integrity group is suing Harris County, demanding Democrat officials clean up the voter rolls. The lawsuit is the result of Public Interest Legal Foundation obtaining public records that show election officials are adding potentially ineligible people to local voter rolls—including applicants who state they are not U.S. citizens.
     
• “When someone is telling you upfront that they aren’t a citizen, don’t register them.” – Logan Churchwell of Public Interest Legal Foundation

• As it turns out, Greg Abbott’s heavy-handed approach to handling the coronavirus by keeping the state’s economy under his thumb isn’t winning many friends among Texas’ grassroots activists.
     
• In yesterday’s Texas Minute we asked: “Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has fully re-opened his state, ending all the restrictions imposed during the early days of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, Texas’ Greg Abbott (R) has kept significant sectors of the state’s economy closed or restricted. Whose approach do you favor?”
     
• Some 1,500 respondents overwhelmingly (97.4% to 2.6%) said they preferred the way Ron DeSantis is handling things in Florida.
    
• We also asked the same question on Twitter, a less friendly environment for conservatives, and found 85.8% favored DeSantis’ approach over Abbott’s.

SAVE THE DATE:
Celebrating the Life of Ross Kecseg

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, at 1pm in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Details coming soon!

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