Talarico, Huffman talk about primary fights for Senate seat, Texas AG job
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AUSTIN (Nexstar) — State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, officially announced his run for U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning, entering the Democratic primary against Terry Virts and Rep. Colin Allred.
Talarico, a former middle school teacher, has been vocal in the Texas House of Representatives about issues concerning education and religion. The four-term state representative was critical of Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to create an education savings account in Texas, a program that gives families public dollars to send their kids to private schools.
The state representative also participated in the Texas House Democrats’ quorum break during the first special session of 2025.
In his announcement, the 36-year-old Talarico said he wants to “take power back for working people.”
“The biggest divide in our country is not left vs right — it’s top vs bottom. Billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians have taken over our state and our country, rigging the system for themselves,” Talarico said in his statement. “This is an underdog fight. We’re going up against the political establishment, and we’re going up against a lot of money. Big Money is powerful, but it’s nothing compared to people power.”
You can watch the full interview below:
Read more about Talarico’s launch, from Nexstar Reporter Dylan McKim and KXAN Reporter Cora Neas.
Two years after passage, patient protection law sparked by KXAN nears full effect
A patient protection law, sparked by a series of KXAN investigations, is “very close” to finally taking full effect — two years after it was passed, according to the Texas Medical Board.
“Your news station, in conjunction with working with us, really helped push that legislation to help protect our patients,” said TMB President Dr. Sherif Zaafran. “So, I really thank you for doing that.”
House Bill 1998, which passed with bipartisan support in 2023, requires stricter scrutiny of doctors and more transparency for patients when it comes to discipline records. The TMB can now keep real-time tabs on doctors licensed to practice in multiple states, said Zaafran. The board receives discipline, criminal and malpractice alerts from the National Practitioner Data Bank — a confidential clearinghouse established by Congress in 1986 — instead of relying on doctors to self-report during medical license renewals every two years.
“That has been a huge, monumental step forward in us being able to act in a timely fashion,” said Zaafran.
Read the full story from KXAN Investigator Matt Grant.
Sen. Joan Huffman talks crowded AG run
State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, became the latest high-profile Republican to join the race for the state’s chief legal officer.
She has more than a decade of experience as a prosecutor in the court room and almost two decades as a legislator in the state Capitol. If she won, she would be the first woman to become the state’s attorney general.
“I will be elected attorney general because I am the best-qualified, most experienced candidate who understands the intricacies of every function of state government,” said Huffman in a June news release announcing her candidacy.
Her competition in the GOP primary includes fellow state Sen. Mayes Middleton and Aaron Reitz, a former aide to Ken Paxton. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ primary is currently between former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski and state Sen. Nathan Johnson.
In August, Paxton gave his endorsement to Reitz.
You can watch her full interview below:
Read more of Nexstar’s coverage of Huffman’s June announcement.
