Zorro Ranch

This elusive New Mexico property is located near Stanley, New Mexico, about 40 miles southeast of Santa Fe, and spans roughly 7,500 acres. The property includes a large main residence, several guest houses, equestrian facilities, and extensive undeveloped land.

Zorro Ranch was widely considered one of convicted-pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's primary residences, alongside his properties in New York City, Palm Beach, Little Saint James, and Paris. Former associates, court records, and media investigations show that Epstein spent a significant amount of time at his New Mexico property.

Zorro Ranch has long been the subject of allegations that Epstein used the property to sexually abuse and traffic girls. Annie Farmer, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network, testified that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused her at Zorro Ranch when she was a teenager. Lawmakers and investigators now believe that the ranch may have been home to a wide array of crimes, including human trafficking.

Who is Don Huffines

Don Huffines is a Texas business owner and former state senator who has long been a controversial figure, even among his fellow Texas Republicans. Originally elected in 2014 to represent District 16, Huffines ended up serving just one term. He lost re-election in 2018 to Democrat Nathan Johnson after proving himself to be too-radical for conservative suburban voters in Dallas.

Huffines mounted a desperate attempt at a political comeback in 2022, when he primaried Governor Greg Abbott. Despite the millions of dollars Huffines spent on this race, he earned a measly 12% of the vote. Now, Huffines is running yet another ego-driven vanity campaign, this time for state comptroller, which just became a much more complicated endeavor after this latest revelation.

The Huffines Connection

According to a report that was first published by the Santa Fe New Mexican, a Limited Liability Company setup by Don Huffines and his family purchased Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County, back in 2023. The Huffines campaign first tried to ignore the story, before eventually releasing the following statement about the controversy:

“Four years after Mr. Epstein’s death, the Huffines family purchased property in New Mexico listed at public auction whose proceeds benefited his victims. Prior to the auction listing, they had never visited the property,” said Allen Blakemore, Huffines’ campaign spokesperson.

While the statement tries to paint the purchase in a positive light, neither Huffines nor anybody involved with his campaign answered direct questions from reporters about the reason for this purchase. It’s not every day that business owners and real estate developers purchase property linked to one of the most notorious pedophiles in U.S. history.

The Truth-finding Commission

New Mexico authorities have recently announced two investigations into the Zorro Ranch property. One of these investigations is being headed by state lawmakers as part of a truth-finding commission, while the other is being led by the NM Department of Justice.

New Mexico state lawmakers recently voted 64-0 to create their four-member bipartisan commission, whose role it will be to investigate the property for any evidence of potential crimes that took place on the premises. This truth-finding commission is calling on any survivors to come forward if they have information that will be helpful to the investigation.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez previously announced that his office would reopen an investigation into the property, which was originally dropped in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors who were building their own case.

Despite the many lingering questions and concerns about this property acquisition and subsequent investigations, one this is quite clear: this controversy can be added to the ever-growing list of Republican politicians and financiers who are linked to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network.

Data centers are exploding across the Lone Star State and Texans are increasingly worried about their rapid expansion. Residents, farmers, and activists are concerned about the environmental and economic impacts of these data centers, including their water usage. Despite this mounting concern, Greg Abbott’s government continues to entice data centers to build in Texas.

In 2024, Texas tax breaks to data center companies totaled $148 million, while in 2025, that number ballooned to a whopping $1 billion. Residents across the state are now questioning why these massive companies are getting tax relief from the state to destroy farmland, natural landscapes, and the water supply, while millions of Texans struggle to pay sales and property taxes. In addition to the environmental impacts, these data centers have also caused utility prices to rise by 70% in some cases, passing the operating cost onto regular Texans while these companies reap the benefits.

In the face of this aggressive expansion, some Texas communities have taken matters into their own hands by passing their own data center bans. Hill County, which is located southwest of Dallas, recently voted to ban data centers for one year. The county court of commissioners voted 3-2 for the ban, and a spokesperson for the county says they expect lawsuits from data center companies but remain steadfast in their decision.

Other Texas communities like Hays County have also proposed temporary bans, but nothing has been decided quite yet. The momentum on this issue is clearly on the side of residents, farmers, and activists, but these data center companies have massive pools of revenue to wage legal fights for years to come. It’s going to take bold action from the Texas Legislature to settle this issue once and for all, but there’s always a possibility that the “business friendly” Texas Republicans, including Gov. Abbott, oppose such measures.

Texas Democrats, including Agricultural Commissioner candidate Clayton Tucker have seized on this contentious issue and made it a central pillar of his campaign. Tucker has an entire page on his campaign’s website dedicated to this issue, hoping it will energize Texas voters to back Democrats in these crucial statewide races. Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa has also made data centers a central talking point out on the campaign trail, showing just how seriously Democrats are taking this issue.

Despite this political momentum, only time will tell if Texas voters take these warnings seriously, or let Republicans like Greg Abbott continue to put private corporations over the needs of residents and farmers.

Texas has ben a reliably red state for over thirty years, but the Republican Party’s monopoly on power may finally be starting to break. Due to a combination of economic anxiety, voter fatigue, Donald Trump’s rising unpopularity, and Paxton’s controversial past, Democrats might actually have a chance at winning the statewide race for U.S. Senate.

With Donald Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn, it’s all-but-guaranteed that Talarico will face-off against Paxton in the general election. Paxton, for his part, has surprisingly had a difficult time raising money for his campaign. He previously begged his billionaire donors and supporters for 20 million dollars, but as of the last campaign finance report, he had raised less than 6 million dollars. Meanwhile, James Talarico raised a record-breaking 27 million dollars, which will be a huge asset leading up to Election Day.

The latest poll from Texas Southern University, shows Talarico tied with Paxton, with each candidate receiving 45% support. This result is a disaster for Republicans and confirms their greatest fear: the real possibility of losing Texas. When Beto O’Rourke was running against Ted Cruz in 2018, O’Rourke never polled higher than Cruz. In fact, the Real Clear Politics polling average had Cruz with a +7% lead, meaning O’Rourke over-performed the polling average by over 4 points, losing to Cruz by roughly 2.6%. As of today, the Real Clear Politics average shows the Democrat, Talarico, with a 1.5% average lead over Paxton. If Talarico were to over-perform like O’Rourke, he will be the next U.S. Senator from Texas.

Republicans will likely end up spending a lot of money on this race, but Talarico’s war chest should be able to blunt most of the GOP’s spending. Paxton is also much less popular than Cruz was at that time, after spending much of this past decade riddled in personal and professional scandals. Paxton, as a frequent philanderer, destroy’s the Republican Party’s claims to family values, while Talarico, a former schoolteacher and seminarian in training, has a unique ability to speak in a language Christian Texans understand.

As the battle for Texas’ Senate seat intensifies, all eyes will remain on the race in the months leading up to Election Day in November, and the Pioneer will continue covering every major development along the way.

In a report first published by the Caldwell/Hays Examiner, financial documents reveal that State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) has financed the creation of a new political action committee or PAC with the sole purpose of unseating the incumbent Democratic county judge, Ruben Becerra. Becerra faces a primary challenge from current Hays County Commissioner Michelle Cohen.

Ruben Becerra was first elected to office in 2018 during a blue wave year, flipping the county blue and becoming the first Latino county judge in Hays County history. This year, Becerra has been endorsed by every Democratic organization in the county in addition to the statewide Texas Progressive Caucus. He has also been tapped to serve as chair of this year’s Texas Democratic Convention which will take place in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Erin Zwiener was also elected in 2018 and flipped her seat, HD-45, from red-to-blue. Since then, her professional relationship with Becerra has deteriorated. The two have frequently clashed over both leadership style and political strategy. While Becerra has cultivated a more populist and combative public image, Zwiener has maintained a lower-profile approach centered on policy advocacy and legislative organizing.

The two politicians recently feuded over Becerra’s proposed water-use moratorium, which sought to temporarily pause approval of new high-water-use industrial developments in Hays County amid worsening drought conditions and growing concerns over long-term water scarcity. The public spat escalated when Zwiener was denied entry to Becerra’s “Clean Water Summit” after she had criticized aspects of his approach and was labeled an “agitator.”

For many, this divide reflects more than just policy and style differences, and instead ties into longstanding racial tensions within Hays County politics over minority representation and voter engagement. Becerra’s status as the first Latino county judge has energized Latinos across the county and they see attempts to oppose his agenda as a return to the previous white-dominated status quo.

This tension brings us to the present day, when Hays Progressives United, a brand-new PAC, began attacking Ruben Becerra on social media beginning in April 2026. For weeks before the financial disclosures became public, many Hays County voters and progressive activists had questions about this new group, including who was involved and who was funding it. Now, thanks to the Caldwell/Hays Examiner, the picture is much more clear.

98% of the PAC’s funding originated from Erin Zwiener for Texas House, the political campaign committee for State Rep. Zwiener. Despite the name of the PAC purporting to represent Hays County Progressives, other local progressive politicians, activists, and organizations don’t seem to be involved in the PAC’s funding or operations. Furthermore, the PAC’s online posts are solely focused on attacking Becerra as he seeks another term.

This revelation has sparked outrage and concern among local Hays County residents, who see this move as potentially damaging Democratic unity in Hays County, where Republicans still pose a real threat in county-wide races. Still, it remains to be seen if these type of political attacks will work and if there will ever be any reconciliation between the two political leaders.

Update: The Hays Progressives United PAC has sent out mailers to Hays County voters criticizing Judge Becerra for various issues, using Republican talking points, and siding with Ken Paxton’s office. Many donors to Zwiener are likely not aware that their donations to her campaign are being used to attack a fellow Democratic candidate.

Special thanks to the Caldwell/Hays Examiner for their investigative work that contributed to this piece. Interested readers can support the Examiner using this link.

This story has been updated to remove a reference to the former Hays County Democratic Party Chair Donna Haschke. The information presented was not accurate and has since been corrected.

James Talarico, who won his party’s primary back in March, is leading both of his potential Republican opponents in the race for U.S. Senate. Although the lead is within or close to the margin of error, it points to a hotly contested race ahead of the May GOP runoff, which both Cornyn and Paxton are hoping to win.

The poll, conducted by the nonpartisan firm Texas Public Opinion Research, shows Talarico ahead of Cornyn with 44% support compared to 41% support. Additionally, Talarico is leading Ken Paxton with 46% support compared to 41% for Paxton. The polling took place between April 17-20 and included over 1,018 likely voters.

While polling is not necessarily a predictor for future results, it is a good snapshot of where the race is at today. The fact that Talarico is polling ahead of any of the GOP candidates is a good sign for the future. The last time Texas Democrats were this confident in their U.S. Senate nominee, it was 2018 with Beto O’Rourke facing off against Ted Cruz. O’Rourke came within 2.6% points of victory, but notably never polled ahead of Cruz in any independent survey. The Real Clear Politics average for that race had Cruz with a +7% lead over O’Rourke. If Talarico were to outperform the polls as O’Rourke had, he will be the next U.S. Senator from the State of Texas.

Democrats are cautiously optimistic about this race, due to the fact that Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and polling the Lone Star State remains a difficult task due to our large rural population and the variety of major metropolitan areas. Still, Talarico does continue to raise massive sums of money, far out-pacing both of his Republican opponents, which is a testament to the enthusiasm behind his candidacy.

Take a look at the full polling results for a more detailed breakdown:

TPOR April 2026 TX SEN Poll

1.29MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

In a state where working families are increasingly squeezed by rising costs and limited support, Marcos Vélez’s story stands out. Raised in Houston by a single mother who took “back-breaking jobs” to provide for the family, he saw firsthand what it means to make an honest living in Texas, a state that is often hostile to those struggling to get by.

Like many working-class Texans, Vélez sought work in the oilfield after graduating high school. He’s no stranger to long hours, hard labor, and the scorching Texas sun in an industry that is both physically dangerous and mentally taxing. Later in his career, he joined the United Steelworkers, a labor union that represents more than 1.2 million workers nationwide. It was in this role that he advocated for working people and their rights to organize for better wages and working conditions.

I believe that Vélez’s professional experience and labor advocacy make him an essential asset in politics for the millions of blue-collar Texans who often go unrepresented in state government. His campaign is laser-focused on kitchen table issues that keep many Texans up at night, wondering if they’re going to pay rent, utilities, groceries, or schedule that important doctor’s visit. These are the issues that motivate politically-inactive Texans to show up to the polls. The math is simple: these voters will be key to flipping this state and his type of campaign is exactly how we motivate people to vote for something, rather than against something.

For me, this race is personal because I also come from a working-class family. My father became a firefighter after graduating from high school and later went to work in the oilfield to provide for our family. The job comes with strange hours, long nights, and days away from the family, but my father (like millions of Texans) had no other choice. It’s time that families like ours had real representation in our state government and that’s why I’m proud to endorse Marcos Vélez for Texas Lieutenant Governor.

Early voting for the Democratic primary run-off will take place from May 18-22, with Election Day scheduled for May 26, 2026. I hope you will consider voting for Vélez and giving us working-class Texans a representative in government. This would send a strong message to the billionaires who believe they own our state government.

“Everything is bigger in Texas” is how the old saying goes, except for our thinking, apparently. For decades, Texans have complained about heavy traffic and gridlock affecting nearly every metropolitan area, especially along the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin. The solution to this problem is not more highway expansions or toll roads, it’s rail transit.

Trains are designed to move a large amount of people in a cost-effective and efficient way. However, right now in the Lone Star State, the only intercity rail network that exists is Amtrak. Unfortunately, Amtrak in Texas mainly serves as a transit method for long-haul travel between states, rather than an efficient system to move Texans from city to city. This problem stems from the fact that Texas Republicans have not prioritized rail travel, in fact, most are openly hostile to Amtrak and rail transit more broadly.

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) explicitly prevents Amtrak from funding routes that are less than 750 miles long and defines anything less as “state-supported” routes. This means, for example, that Amtrak cannot fund a new connection between Dallas and Houston (the two largest metropolitan areas in the state) without state funding. Nor can Amtrak fund additional trains to serve existing routes like the one between San Antonio and Austin.

States like California, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington (among others) have invested in their own Amtrak networks to produce these state-supported spinoff services. This provides local residents with new state-supported routes to efficiently travel within the state without having to worry about driving or paying for an expensive and environmentally destructive flight.

While these Amtrak state-supported routes are good at moving people from city to city, they still lag behind other developed nations in terms of speed. Other countries like China, Germany, and Japan have invested in high-speed rail, which can significantly reduce the travel time between cities and, in the case of Europe, between countries.

Seeing the success of these high-speed rail systems across the world, a group of Texas investors saw an opportunity to create the state’s first high-speed rail system with an initial route connecting Dallas and Houston. The project, known as Texas Central Railway, raised significant amounts of money, however, the state’s Republican political leaders treated the project with animosity. As a result, Texas Central Railway used most of their initial funding on costly legal battles. With the issue eventually reaching the Texas Supreme Court, the company was finally cleared to use eminent domain for land acquisitions and begin construction on the tracks, but by this point most funding had dried up and the state was completely uninterested in any sort of partnership for the project.

Seeing the failure of this project, Amtrak under President Joe Biden, sought a partnership with Texas Central Railway, but this plan was quickly scrapped following Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Now, Texas Central Railway behaves more like an advocacy group rather than a private rail company. The group has subsequently stopped posting on social media and the last media update on their website is from 2023.

The failure of this project is just another example of how irresponsible Texas Republicans have been at managing growth throughout the state. Whether it’s private rail projects or a state partnership with Amtrak, Texas Republicans seem committed to keeping Texans reliant on highway travel and expensive short-haul flights.

HOUSTON — At a press conference on Monday, James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate announced his “close the loopholes” agenda, which calls for taxing the ultra-wealthy and reining in their unchecked power.

Standing in front of a private airplane hanger, Talarico targeted the loopholes that billionaires use to avoid paying taxes, including the private jet loophole that millions of non-billionaire Texans will never be able to take advantage of.

“The system is rigged,” Talarico declared, noting that the average American pays about 14.5% of their income in federal income taxes, while the 400 wealthiest billionaires pay around half that rate. “Over the last 50 years, billionaires have bankrolled political campaigns and their puppet politicians turn around and rewrite the tax code to benefit them at our expense,” Talarico added.

Talarico’s plan calls for the elimination of the tax loopholes that billionaires use to lower their taxable income, including off-shore bank accounts that the ultra-wealthy use to hide their income and assets. “We are going to target the billionaire tax cheats,” Talarico proudly affirmed. His plan also targets luxury item business write-offs that billionaires often use to avoid paying taxes.

The overall tone of Talarico’s press conference was populist-oriented. He was laser-focused focused on the billionaire loopholes and explained how they harm regular working people, including how the system allows the billionaires to continue buying politicians and writing their own policy.

The data supports Talarico’s thesis, according to a 2012 study from the Russell Sage Foundation, U.S. politicians are much more receptive to the interests of the rich and powerful, while regular Americans have little-to-no influence over political outcomes. Talarico argues that this happens because the ultra-wealthy are allowed to buy politicians through their political spending, thanks to the landmark Supreme Court Citizens United ruling which legalized unlimited political spending.

Talarico believes these common sense populist positions are winning issues, and he’s right. According to polling from Data for Progress, over 7 in 10 Americans believe billionaires should pay more in taxes, including 71% of independents and 53% of Republicans.

In a state that is so hostile to poor and working people, Talarico’s economic message may resonate with voters who typically vote for Republicans or don’t vote at all, key demographics he will need to flip the state. The real challenge, as we see it, will be getting his message to break through the partisan noise, including the millions of dollars that the ultra-wealthy are going to spend against him.

If you feel like everything around you is getting worse, it’s not just you. Millions of Texans across the state are feeling the pressure too and wondering if things will ever get better. I’m here to tell you they will, even if it doesn’t seem like it yet.

To understand how we got here, we have to step back in time to 2003, when Texas Republicans consolidated control over all three branches of government in the state for the first time in history. They won by promising Texas real reform, to make the state better for working families and businesses alike, but history shows us this did not exactly pan out the way they promised.

After consolidating power, Texas Republicans worked to turn the state into a capitalist’s dream: lower taxes, fewer regulations, and hollowed-out social programs. They even deregulated college tuition which sent costs soaring for students and families. Texas Republicans did all this while promising prosperity for regular people, and, to nobody’s surprise, these reforms made life harder for everyday Texans.

In return for giving big businesses more power, Texans were rewarded with less income, less stability, and less upward mobility. And despite skyrocketing inflation, Texas Republicans have never once considered increasing the minimum wage, which currently sits at a depressing $7.25/hr.

Since 2004, the cost of housing in Texas metros has more than doubled in many areas, far outpacing wages, leaving families stretched extremely thin just to keep a roof over their heads. That’s not even mentioning groceries, utilities, and gas, which have all risen roughly 60–70% over the same period, making every month feel like an existential fight to make ends meet.

Social programs that were meant to catch families when they fall have been cut or left underfunded, and millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funds go unused because Texas Republicans refuse to expand the program. This leaves millions of impoverished Texas without reliable childcare, health care, or support in times of crisis.

While the future for working class Texans looks bleak now, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. While Texas Republicans may have the money, there are tens of millions of Texans who hold the real power, with their voices and votes. In the 2024 general election in Texas, turnout was about 49.65% of the voting‑age population, which means roughly half of Texans old enough to vote didn’t cast a ballot in that race. Texas Democrats could retake power with just a small uptick in turnout, but they must truly embrace populist, common-sense positions that actually speak to the concerns of working Texans.

That, it seems, might be the real challenge after all.

In this video, recorded back in 2014, Herrera is seen promoting the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group dedicated to whitewashing the real history of the Civil War. The group claims that the United States was the aggressor against the Confederacy and they also downplay the role that chattel slavery played in the war.

Throughout the duration of the footage, Herrera peddles talking points often used by Lost Causers. He called the Civil War a “war of northern aggression,” which contradicts recorded history. He also goes on to explain the purpose of the organization, which he said is open to “male descendants” of the Confederate terrorists.

The SCV, or the Sons of Confederate Veterans, is an historical honor society, dedicated to preserving Confederate heritage and learning more about our ancestors who fought and died in the War of Northern aggression. —Brandon Herrera

The group doesn’t just try to rewrite history, but they also maintain a burning hatred for the United States. At one point in the video, Herrera explains how this group shoots at targets of American soldiers. “Once a year we actually have what we call our annual Yankee shoot,” Herrera said in the video. “We go out back with black powder rifles … and we go out and we shoot up posters of our favorite Yankees.”

This latest controversy follows another unearthed video of Herrera, where he is showing off his copy of Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s personal manifesto that has been slammed by critics as the schizophrenic ravings of a meth-addicted man.

Herrera appears to have a tough fight on his hands and it will be interesting to see what other controversies arise before election day. Democrats see this as a prime opportunity to flip another red seat, but it remains to be seen how much they will invest in this race.

Despite sitting on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Corpus Christi faces a growing water crisis as city leaders warn summer demand could soon outpace supply. According to the city’s water supply dashboard, they currently have 346 days until they reach a Level 1 Water Emergency that would affect over a quarter of a million residents.

Corpus Christi has historically received much of its fresh water from Lake Corpus Christi and the Choke Canyon Reservoir. Due to widespread industrial expansion in the region, these water sources have not been able to keep pace with the growing demand and water levels have noticeably declined. Earlier this month it was reported that Lake Corpus Christi water levels dropped below 10%, a stunning decline that critics say is the direct result of unchecked industrial demand.

U.S. Senate Candidate James Talarico (D) released a statement slamming Texas Republicans for failing to reign in corporations for their ever-increasing water demand. Companies like Tesla and Exxon operate massive facilities in the region that have driven demand beyond a point that natural water fresh levels can reasonably supply. Exxon’s facility alone uses around 25 million gallons of water per day at full capacity.

“Giant corporations have guzzled water from Corpus Christ’s already limited supply for years — using more water than all residents combined. Now the city is facing an emergency water shortage, and politicians like John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, and Greg Abbott are protecting the interests of corporations and the billionaires who run them at the expense of the people of Corpus Christi.”
— James Talarico

The overall demand for fresh water in Corpus Christi is expected to explode with the opening of the new Harbor Bridge that now allows larger vessels and a higher volume of ships to pass through. This makes Corpus Christi’s ports a much more attractive business opportunity for a wide range of companies throughout the supply chain process. This growth will place significant pressure on the region’s declining water supplies, even as state leaders appear unconcerned about the broader statewide trend of dwindling freshwater sources.

City leaders attempted to tackle this issue by investing in a desalination plant, but ultimately decided against it after cost estimates ballooned from $160 million to over $1.2 billion. This forced the city council to scramble to find alternatives, which led to the approval of a $175 million brackish desalination plant alongside other scaled-down projects. Unfortunately, they aren’t expected to come online until later this year, long after the projected date for the water emergency declaration.

It’s unclear how the city plans on filling the gaps in demand before their new infrastructure comes online, but state leaders have threatened to takeover and micromanage the city if a solution is not found.

Texas’ 23rd congressional district has voted for Donald Trump in the last three presidential elections and he carried the district by 15 points in 2024, but today Democrats are now surging in new district polling. According to a new survey from Public Policy Polling, James Talarico beats both John Cornyn and Ken Paxton among TX-23 voters in the race for U.S. Senate. In the gubernatorial race, Gina Hinojosa is tied with current incumbent Greg Abbott, while Democrat Katy Padilla Stout trails Brandon Herrera in the race for U.S. House by just two points.

Republican Tony Gonzales currently holds this seat, but was forced to end his re-election campaign after pressure from national Republicans following an affair with a staffer that preceded her self-immolation. The GOP’s replacement for Gonzales is Brandon Herrera, a controversial social media figure who may prove to be too-polarizing for TX-23 voters.

Democrats believe these latest developments have opened a rare opportunity to flip this West Texas congressional district. This would be a stunning blow to Republicans, who spent weeks and large amounts of political capital on their mid-decade redistricting efforts that were designed to make sure places like TX-23 would elect a Republican. This latest poll is more evidence that Democrats are becoming more competitive in places once considered safe havens for Republicans.

While Democrats should feel confident with these numbers coming out of TX-23, the district comes with its own unique set of challenges that makes traditional campaigning very difficult. Still, Democrats do stand a real chance at flipping this U.S. House district if they seriously invest in the race and if Katy Padilla Stout can win over the trust of local voters. Padilla Stout is a former public school teacher and current attorney running on a progressive populist platform that includes universal Pre-K, Medicare for All, and reducing costs for working families.

This polling should be setting off alarm bells for national Republicans. If they lose this House seat, Democrats will almost certainly have the numbers to take back the House after the midterms. And over in the Senate, this poll shows James Talarico with a massive 5-6 point lead over both potential Republican opponents among TX-23 voters. If Talarico finishes in November with similar numbers in other rural districts, he will be the next U.S. Senator from Texas.

Whether the polling numbers hold or shift as the campaign unfolds, one thing is quite clear: this district is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races in the state and potentially one of the most consequential.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved forward with plans to begin construction on a border wall through Big Bend National Park. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem issued a determination to waive federal laws that protect environmentally and culturally sensitive areas, to pave the way for the construction of the border wall in Big Bend National Park. Now, Texas Democrats are ramping up their efforts to defend one of the state’s most treasured landmarks.

U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico took to social media to express his strong opposition to these plans, telling Donald Trump to “come and take it,” a reference to a battle flag used during the Texas Revolution. Today, 47 members of the Texas House penned a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, urging him to use the power of his office to stop the project from moving forward. Abbott, for his part, reaffirmed his support for Trump administration priorities, telling Marfa Public Radio that he “fully supports using every tool and strategy to aid in the Trump administration’s deterrence of illegal immigrants.”

Locals and environmental activists are warning about the implications of constructing such a large wall through the environmentally sensitive region. And Democrats are seizing on this opportunity to save an important Texas landmark, which they believe is a winning issue even for rural voters in the Trans-Pecos region.

An interactive Customs and Border Protection (CBP) map shows the portions of the park where there are currently plans to construct a physical barrier, which experts say would severely disrupt local wildlife. In addition to the environmental costs, these plans also threaten to cutoff access to the river for park visitors, including areas near Rio Grande Village, a popular destination for tourists.

Big Bend National Park falls within Texas’ 23rd congressional district, represented by Republican Tony Gonzales. Gonzales is facing a difficult reelection campaign following a personal scandal involving an affair with a staffer that preceded her self-immolation. The race has since drawn heightened national attention. Democrats view the district as increasingly competitive territory in a region that has historically leaned Republican, and some are also using the moment to spotlight questions about Big Bend’s long-term future.

With federal waivers now in place, the future of border wall construction through Big Bend remains uncertain but increasingly likely. As political tensions rise in D.C. and Texas, the fight over the park’s landscape is quickly becoming both an environmental flashpoint and a campaign issue.

This story includes a reference to self-harm. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit 988lifeline.org for support.

On a warm Sunday afternoon, over a thousand supporters of State Rep. James Talarico packed into the historic Stable Hall near downtown San Antonio to hear the lawmaker make his final pitch to South Texas voters.

Talarico was introduced by Uvalde’s State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who delivered a fiery speech in support of his friend. Gutierrez took the stage and told the crowd that he supports Talarico because he has “ganas,” a Spanish term for “desire” or “urge.”

Talarico took to the stage after Gutierrez riled up the crowd and immediately commanded the room’s attention. He began the rally by thanking his supporters and reminding folks that he started his professional career right here in San Antonio, teaching at Rhodes Middle School on the east side of town. The main message of the evening was focused on “love” and “unity,” with Talarico making them the central theme of each and every political issue he spoke about.

Talarico made a broad pitch to the room, telling the crowd that he believed there was a place for everyone in the movement he is trying to build here in Texas. He boldly proclaimed that even Trump supporters who are “sick and tired of the corruption,” have a place in the movement. His message sounded more like that of a candidate making a pitch for a general election crowd, rather than a primary election where the rhetoric is more confrontational. This approach may be a sign of confidence from Talarico and his campaign about their odds ahead of Tuesday’s election.

At the conclusion of Talarico’s speech, he thanked everybody for showing up and promised to take a photo with every person who wanted one. Volunteers helped coordinate the line and it wrapped around the inside of the venue out into the main plaza. With such a large number of people waiting, it took over an hour and a half for the line to end, yet Talarico maintained his positive energy and connected with each and every person that walked up to take a picture.

Texas will have one final opportunity to vote in the Democratic primary election on Tuesday, March 3.

Deep in North Texas, Sand Branch is a small unincorporated community of fewer than 100 residents on the outskirts of Dallas County. Founded by freed Black Texans after the Civil War, it remains the county’s poorest community. The community currently falls within Texas’s 5th Congressional District and is represented in Congress by Rep. Lance Gooden.

Sand Branch has long-been neglected by local, state, and federal leaders for decades and the community still has no access to running water or a modern sewage systems, which makes day-to-day life extremely difficult for the residents. James Talarico, who is currently running for U.S. Senate, saw what was happening and used his campaign infrastructure to setup a water drive to deliver clean water to the Sand Branch community.

Local organizers in Sand Branch took to social media to praise Talarico and everyone who assisted in bringing fresh water to the community. Organizers are still pleading with the public and government officials to bring decent infrastructure to the community so residents can safely access clean drinking water and safely dispose of waste.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett and other Texas Democrats have previously advocated for the Sand Branch community, however it remains neglected by the state’s Republican government.

For those interested in more information for how they can help Sand Branch, visit waterforsandbranch.org

Alfonso Salazar is running for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney in Hays County and has been endorsed by several organizations, including Vote Vets, the Texas Progressive Caucus, and Texas Young Democrats among many others. Salazar is a veteran, former member of law enforcement, and attorney who believes he can best serve the Hays County community as District Attorney.

I sat down with Salazar to learn more about his background and vision for the future of Hays County’s DA’s office.

The following interview has been edited for brevity.

Salinas: Thanks Alfonso for joining me, I appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions. I think it’d be great to learn a little bit more about your background and kind of what’s led to this part of your journey.

Salazar: Yeah, so about myself. I’m originally from San Antonio. I was raised by a single mom and my entire life, it seems like, has been pushing me to this election. When I turned 14 years old, my older sister was murdered in a gun violence incident; a guy opened a shotgun up into a crowd and my sister pushed her best friend out of the way and ended up taking a shotgun shell to the back. Um, so that changed my life. It changed my mom’s life. My sister was her best friend, so that left me kind of alone. She was already working 2 or 3 jobs and then having to try and mourn my older sister. It left me angry, alone, lost.

Salinas: Wow — yeah, that can really change somebody, for sure.

Salazar: Yeah, and so for a little bit there, I didn’t know what I was going to do. And it really does take a village of people to raise a kid. So, five women in my area that were friends of my buddy’s parents dragged me along. They took me everywhere that they took their own sons and told me that I would never be a stereotype because I would end up in jail or dead. And there was enough of that.

Salinas: Mhmm, yeah, absolutely.

Salazar: So they got me all the way through high school. But being from a working class family, poor, there was no options for college. I got my first job at 14 years old and I’ve been working ever since. And I didn’t know what I was gonna do. Well, 2 of those buddies of mine had joined the military and they came back and asked me, “well, are you going to try to do something? You should join the military. whether you want to or not.” So I did, and I became a military police officer for the Air Force. And the reason that’s important is because, I’m a little brown boy, I look the way I look, I dress the way I dress, I talk the way I talk. So from 14 until I left for the military, I was always harassed by law enforcement. I was detained for no reason, I saw what bad cops look like and the responsibility of the job.

Salinas: Yeah, having that both-sides perspective can really help in a position like this.

Salazar: Right, and so then I was a military police officer for 12 years to the Air Force. And during that process, I went to UT and got my undergrad degree in government and European studies with a minor in history. After that, I was in the Texas National Air National Guard, I went to Baylor Law School. And since I was a military police officer for so long at that point, I got the opportunity to go to the Williamson County felony division and work on felony cases, I had my 3 year bar card, so they allowed me to practice law even before I graduated. And I sat 2nd chair on a murder trial. And so that was my 1st experience as a lawyer was dealing with that. So, I went from putting people in prison because they gave me no choice to McClennan County where I set up or helped set up their first DWI and drug court. And this afforded us the opportunity to give people a second chance instead of ruining their lives.

Salinas: Right — yeah, restorative.

Salazar: Yeah, I went full circle, right? I had no choice in Williamson County, but to put these people away because the crimes were so bad. So, I eventually deployed again, and then finally, I separated from the Air Force in 2020. After that, I opened my own practice and I was focusing on criminal defense and civil rights. Civil rights cases extend out of my criminal cases for the majority of the time. It’s just officers that are doing their job incorrectly, violently or not following the law.

Salinas: Sorry to interject, but, you know, a lot of what I’ve noticed is there’s a fine line that a lot of defense attorneys draw between the civil rights aspect and the criminal aspect, but it’s interesting that you care about both.

Salazar: So I tell everybody, my clients, people that I’m suing, anybody. Two things can be accurate and two things can be true at the same time, right? Is my guy guilty or my gal guilty of breaking the law? Maybe. Did that officer violate a bunch of rights that are constitutionally protected and they hurt my person in the process? Sure, they both need to be held accountable.

Salinas: Mhmm, yeah, that makes sense.

Salazar: So from 2020 to about 2022, I shared an office with the current elected DA. And he came into my office one day and he’s like, hey, you know about politics and stuff, run my campaign. I’m going to be the DA. And I laughed and I was like, “no, you’re not, you’re not gonna do this.” And he’s like, “no, I’m serious.” And so I told him, “come back in 2 months when you file your treasury paperwork and then I’ll be ready.” And he did—he came back and told me he was running and filed the paperwork. And so we came up with a vision for the county, we put on a hell of a campaign, and we won by a landslide. Now, he’s stepping down now because of medical issues, but more importantly, he fell short.

Salinas: Oh really, in what ways?

Salazar: We created a vision for the county that we both wanted and he wasn’t able to deliver. And so I feel like the best person for the job would be me. I helped create that vision. I can finish it.

Salinas: That’s very interesting, it helps to know how your past has brought you to this present moment. Now, I wanted to ask you specifically, what does success in Hays County look like for you if you win this nomination and go on to win the general election?

Salazar: So the first thing I want to do as the DA is fix our intake division, right? What that means is, there’s a three step process. Police officers or law enforcement do their job, make an arrest, see a crime, stop a crime. Then what they do is they put a packet of information together and deliver that to the DA’s intake office. That intake office that decides what crime was broken or what crime happened, what should be charged if it should be charged. That office is wasted all across the United States and specifically here in Hays. We find that the intake division only utilizes what’s called a probable cause affidavit. Basically, it’s the story that police officers have written up. Well, when you file cases based on that, sometimes you don’t have all of the information.

Salinas: Right.

Salazar: So then when the videos and the rest of the reports show up, That report doesn’t reflect what happened and now you have a case that’s been filed, it shouldn’t have been. I wanna end that. I want to make sure that we’re filing cases that should be filed. And that we can prove up. The other thing is, I want to fix the gaps between regular everyday citizens and law enforcement. It’s not fair at all, but what happens in the United States. What happens in Texas, and what happens in all the other departments in Hayes County, affect every law enforcement officer here. What we need in our county is somebody who can stand in the dead center alone on an island. And say, these officers are doing a great job over here, highlight the ones that are doing their job, highlight the ones that are making our community safer. But then when one of them does step out of line, point that out. And say, no, this one is this is the problem. You are doing your job in one of a couple of fashions. One, it’s not illegal. But your demeanor or your actions are eroding the trust of our community. Two. It’s not illegal, but you should definitely not do your job like that. It breaks protocol or or, um, The training you received. Or lastly, it is illegal and we need to handle you because you’re one, you’re making a community unsafe.

Salinas: Yeah, okay, that makes a lot of sense actually.

Salazar: And what we need to do is be proactive in the steps. Because we have individuals here that suffer from being unhoused. Suffer from poverty, suffer from mental health issues, suffer from drug and alcohol addictions, utilizing those things of self medication, jail is not gonna stop those people from committing crimes in the future. Addressing the root of whatever’s happening there is how you stop recidivism rates. And so we can get those people help right up front. We can lower the amount of crime in the county, and we can also just, for pragmatic approaches for people like hardcore Republicans or people that don’t care about second chances, we can save money and we can prevent crime.

Salinas: Yeah, I think that that nuance is so important. Now, I did want to ask a couple of questions about, criminal justice related issues, but kind of like a lightning round, if you will. I mean, feel free to expand on an answer if you really feel like you need it. But yeah, so first, what is your stance on marijuana reform?

Salazar: Look, I tell everybody this, because this is get this is what gets asked at the door all the time when I’m knocking, right? But the government was never meant to be your mommy or your daddy, right? We’re not your parents, but we are is a buffer zone between your rights and my rights, so if you’re at home smoking marijuana or doing something that’s not bothering anybody else, the police shouldn’t even know about it. I shouldn’t even know about it. It’s the problems we get when people are driving high causing accidents. Well, now you have made that my problem. I didn’t go looking for it. You brought it to me. And the one thing that I tell everybody is, do not sell drugs in my county. From where I grew up. I understand what comes with that. It turns into this thing where now you are endangering everyday citizens that didn’t want anything to do with your drug use. That’s where I draw the line in this thing. Will you start making my county more and more unsafe? Now we have problems. If you are a responsible adult, you are doing what you need to be doing and you’re enjoying your things safely wherever you are doing those things. I’m not gonna come looking for you if that makes sense.

Salinas: Yeah, and I think that’s a pretty fair and balanced take. Now, I’m curious, what is your stance on the death penalty?

Salazar: So I am completely conflicted on that question because I have to look at it from every different vantage point, right? What is it doing for us making anything safer here? Is that just a vengeance ploy? Is it less cruel and unusual, right? Let’s say we go to an extreme situation, and we have an individual that’s killed, rapes, done whatever to our Hayes county citizens, and then they’re put into prison, and then they’re assaulting the other prisoners, and the guards, and everyone else in there, and they won’t even just stop the violence while they’re in custody. The next step is, then you lock them in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, and they get to come out by themselves for an hour a day, max, and the isolation is insane, and so like, what am I doing to this person now is that the punishment, and that’s the cruelty? So that’s just one of like a personal conscious thought. The other one is, do I trust the system that much to take somebody’s life? I tell my clients all the time, I have had nuns go into court and been found guilty when they were innocent, and I have had full on criminals going to court and been found innocent when they were 100% guilty. Do I wanna put my beliefs in the system that we currently have that it’s willing to allow me to take somebody’s life? I don’t know, and I think I would have to cross that bridge when I reach the case like I said, they’re all unique. I’m leaning towards note, though. I don’t think I would be able to do that in a fashion that I’m confident that it was the right choice and that it made anything better.

Salinas: Yeah, I appreciate the honesty. Because it is a really important decision.

Salazar: So let me well, let me put it to you this way, right? The person who injured all of those individuals and killed my sister is out living his life. He paroled out of prison, and he’s been out for quite a while. It changes nothing for me. him being out on the street doesn’t make me feel any different, him being in prison, it didn’t make me feel any different, whether they would’ve executed him or not, wouldn’t have made me feel any difference, and it never will undo the thing that you did to me.

Salinas: That’s fair and I appreciate sharing your personal perspective on this issue since you have first-hand experience. Now, I did want to ask about your position on cash bail reform.

Salazar: So, bail in itself has been perverted and used for things that it’s not for, right? There should only be two real reasons that they exists. One, to ensure somebody will come to court, and two, for the safety of the community. One allows people that are innocent, to continue living their lives, or guilty but accused and want to prove up their case, to live their life, right? They still need to earn money like we talked about. Hiring a lawyer is expensive. They need to continue working. They have real life responsibilities. They need to go and pay their bills, take care of their kids, their spouses, significant other, whatever may be, right? The other is, we have those people that fall into the category where they are actual criminals, and I think I should have made this distinction earlier. There are people who get in trouble, and then there are people who are criminals, and doing law enforcement and doing prosecution and doing defense. I have met both of those types of people, right? And what I mean by that is there are people who get in trouble because they didn’t think something through, made a mistake. We don’t ever parcel things out anymore with nuance when we’re talking politics or we’re talking criminal justice.

Salinas: Yeah. I see that.

Salazar: Bonds should be placed just like I said when reviewing cases. So depending on what the allegations are and depending on what the history looks like for this individual, bail and bond will be different.

Salinas: Well Alfonso, thank you so much for your time and allowing me the opportunity to interview you. I really appreciate it and look forward to seeing the results of the primary.

For Hays County voters, early voting will continue until Feb. 27 and Election Day is on March 3.

When it first became clear that the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate would be a contested race, many Texas Democrats were hoping for a clean primary with minimal infighting. Their hopes were bitterly crushed this week as Jasmine Crockett began to directly attack James Talarico with claims that have been debunked as false or misleading.

Earlier this week, Crockett was at a press conference in Dallas where she claimed that James Talarico was a charter school teacher. Friends, family, supporters, and even former students came out to defend Talarico, pushing back on the claim. Talarico taught at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, which is a public magnate school with a focus on technology, and remains a part of San Antonio Independent School District. This claim by Crockett is misleading at best, because Rhodes is not a traditional private charter school that is ungoverned by local voters.

Later in the week at a gathering with supporters, Crockett told the room that James Talarico was “running away from Lis Smith.” Lis Smith is a Democratic political strategist who worked on Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign. Not only has Lis Smith publicly denied being involved with Talarico’s campaign, but FEC records also show that she is not an employee, consultant, or in any way involved with his campaign. Lis Smith is however involved with Elect the Bench, an independent committee supporting 19 candidates across the country, including Mary Peltola in Alaska, Mallory McMarrow in Michigan, and James Talarico here in Texas, but due to federal laws they legally cannot coordinate with any of their endorsed candidates.

After Talarico’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was shelved at the advice of CBS lawyers, Crockett took the opportunity to accuse both Talarico and Stephen Colbert of staging the controversy for political gain, aligning herself with the position taken by Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission.

During all of these attacks, Talarico has maintained the high road and has not directly criticized Crockett, keeping his message laser-focused on the needs of working people and the threat Republicans pose to our way of life. Meanwhile, a new social media ad from the Crockett campaign is lumping in her fellow Democrat with attacks against Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. Talarico’s record in the Texas House leans fairly progressive, so many people have called this out as an unfair comparison.

Many Democrats fear that these kinds of attacks coming from the Crockett campaign will only work to weaken whoever the eventual nominee is. In a red state like Texas, the Democratic nominee for a statewide race is not going to be able to spare any votes as they take on the well-funded Republican candidate. When Beto O’Rourke ran against Ted Cruz in 2018 and came within 3 points of a historic upset, he had the advantage of running a relatively-uncontested primary campaign, which allowed Democrats to avoid a bitter internal feud and unite against the Republican candidate.

Only time will tell if Crockett’s negative strategy will ultimately lead to victory or another bitter defeat for Democrats in the Lone Star state.

For most politically-oriented Texans, James Talarico has been a known quantity for several years now. First entering office in 2017, the former-teacher-turned State Representative flipped a Trump district and has stood toe-to-toe against the extremist Texas Republican Party and their billionaire donors.

Talarico’s social media presence before his U.S. Senate announcement was decent for a state-level politician. He had some viral moments, including several speeches he gave during the two quorum-breaks, but his profile never really entered the national mainstream. Now, the rest of the country is finally getting a look at Talarico — and they seem to be loving what they’re seeing.

At the time of writing this article, the State Representative has over 1.5 million followers on TikTok with over 31.1 million total likes. These numbers are massive, even for a state like Texas with a large population. The content on his account is pretty straightforward: typically clips from campaign stops, media appearances, and recordings of his speeches on the floor of the State House or in committee hearings. It’s not uncommon for Talarico’s videos to reach several hundred thousand views, but it seems like every couple of videos he uploads goes viral with over a million views, which many TikTok creators know can be a very difficult milestone to achieve.

One of the reasons Talarico is such a hit on TikTok is his special talent for breaking through partisan noise and reaching people’s hearts and minds. It is not uncommon to find comments from self-described Democrats, independents, and even Republicans supporting Talarico. This kind of cross-partisan appeal is very rare, especially in today’s day and age when hyper-partisanship reigns supreme. This level of authenticity and resonance is rare in Democratic politics, but figures like James Talarico and Zohran Mamdani demonstrate that it’s possible.

Part of the reason for Talarico’s recent success is the young team behind his social media presence. Luminary Strategies, a Gen-Z led digital agency, is part of the talent behind his online campaign. In addition to managing his existing social media account, the team also created a new hub account for Talarico supporters, called @TeamTalaricoHQ. In just six months, the TikTok account ballooned to over 280,000 followers, 8.1 million total likes, and tens of millions of views.

This viral online support has translated well into personal and financial support. While we can’t know for sure how many of his campaign’s donations come from TikTok and other social media accounts, it’s safe to say they are most likely contributing to his historic fundraising numbers. The Talarico campaign recently announced that the campaign has raised over $20 million from over 290,000 grassroots supporters. It’s highly unlikely that his fundraising would be this massive without his viral performance on social media.

As the March 3 primary inches closer and closer, his fundraising haul and massive social media presence may be the defining factors in the race. Should he come out on top and become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, the Texas Republican Party will have a tough fight on their hands.

Update: Since this story was published, James Talarico has secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and will face the winner of the Texas GOP runoff scheduled for early May. Neither John Cornyn nor Ken Paxton currently has a presence on TikTok, giving James Talarico a major advantage in that arena.

When I first launched this Substack, I wanted to write about the many political issues in South Texas that often don’t receive much attention from traditional media organizations, while also framing them through a progressive lens.

Throughout these past couple of months I have seen the incredible power that words have, not just online, but in the wider political space as well. In an effort to allow our content to reach the widest audience possible, we are rebranding to the Lone Star Pioneer.

This new name was chosen both because we want to broaden our coverage, but also because it perfectly matches our mission. Pioneer is the anchor of our new name and it describes the type of work we are doing: pioneering a new era of political journalism for places like South Texas that often go ignored by state leaders.

I want to personally thank all of the wonderful readers who have subscribed to follow along in this journey and we hope you’ll stick around as we try to seriously expand into wider statewide news reporting.

Catherine Culbert is a self-described oil & gas expert, who announced on social media that she would be running for Texas Railroad Commissioner. In a recent post on X, Culbert told her supporters that she needs help raising money for the filing fees, so she included a link to donate. The link, however, leads to the left-leaning fundraising platform ActBlue.

It is not uncommon for political candidates to raise money from their supporters to help with the initial costs of the campaign. What’s different about this case, however, is the fact that Culbert raised money on ActBlue then went on to file her candidacy as a Republican.

According to ActBlue, they “aim to provide a platform for Democratic candidates, progressive organizations, and nonprofits to build small-dollar fundraising programs.” They also explicitly ban Republicans from using their platform. According to their Criteria for using ActBlue, “if a candidate is a registered Republican and/or candidate running or filed as a Republican,” using ActBlue is impermissible.

Now that Culbert is on the ballot as a Republican, she is forbidden from using ActBlue as a fundraising platform for her candidacy. Culbert has not stated whether or not she will return ActBlue donations, however ActBlue does allow donors to request refunds on their website.

If Culbert fails to return the donations, this may just be the beginning of a slew of legal problems she may face going forward. If her donors believed they were supporting a Democrat and gave her money on that basis, there is a risk that she engaged in misleading or deceptive fundraising, which is illegal.

The Culbert campaign did not respond to a request for comment via X.