Free Republic

As part of Tuesday’s blue wave, Democrats took control of the Texas House. Even though the Texas Senate will be helmed by Democrat Vicki Goodwin, the chamber itself remains in GOP control. The Republican losses in the House exceed 20 seats, but final results are still pending. When the House convenes in January, the members first action will be to select a new speaker.

Whenever a Republican crosses over to vote for a Democrat, you can bet on at least one of two things happening: the Democrats applaud this brave act of putting country over party or we learn that the so-called "lifelong Republican" was not. In this case, we learned that the Republican who penned an op-ed in The Dallas Morning News was actually a paid operative for Gina Hinojosa. But what The Dallas Morning News didn't dig into was that the writer, Suzanne Bellsnyder, received $57,000 in consulting payments from the Gina Hinojosa campaign.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould, Dallas Police, and federal law enforcement agencies announce joint federal actions following the deadly Deep Ellum Halloween shootings.

A deadly Learjet crash in South Florida has taken an even more troubling turn. Federal investigators now say evidence at the scene indicates pieces of the aircraft separated before the jet slammed into a mobile home community near Greenacres on Sunday. Nine people aboard the plane were killed. The finding does not establish why the aircraft went down. It gives the National Transportation Safety Board a critical new trail to follow as investigators reconstruct the jet’s final moments. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy summarized the first confirmed facts after the crash: Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a...

The Dallas Morning News published a glowing opinion piece praising Texas Democrat gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa. The author was billed as a “longtime Republican” and former staffer for Republican lawmakers. There was just one problem: the author was on Hinojosa’s payroll.

A Travis County judge has sentenced a 36-year-old man to probation after finding him guilty of manslaughter in the death of Killeen Fire Department Capt. Marvin Taylor III, who was killed in May 2025 when a speeding Dodge Durango slammed into his vehicle in Austin. Rodney Earl Bremby II will serve 10 years of straight probation, along with 403 hours of community service and $535 in fees. Bremby pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony charge and was found guilty of manslaughter, according to The Killeen Daily Herald. Court records cited by the outlet show the plea was entered in Travis...

California liberals move to red Texas, keep voting Democrat, and longtime residents sound alarm In McKinney, Texas, California transplants explain why they're voting Democrat despite leaving a blue state, as Republicans fear a political shift. McKinney, Texas, is ground zero for the migration of voters from California to Texas over the past several years. On Election Day, it is these newcomers who may well tip the balance not just in the Senate and governor's races. They may also decide whether the once ruby red Lone Star State will continue to grow bluer. I met Oren at The Celt on the...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement working with Texas law enforcement arrested more than 4,000 illegal foreign nationals in 10 days in Texas without incident. [snip] Through Lone Star Mission, five ICE-Enforcement and Removal Operations field office staff working with law enforcement partners arrested 4,170 foreign nationals illegally living in Texas. They had removal orders, criminal histories including murder, sexual assault, human smuggling, and multiple illegal entry and illegal reentry charges. The operation took place statewide between Oct. 19 and 29. ICE ERO field offices involved are based in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Harlingen. “When we have cooperation,...

A new poll has found that Republican Ken Paxton has moved past Democrat James Talarico as the race for U.S. Senate enters its final days. The poll by Quantus Insights surveyed 1,221 likely voters between Oct. 26 and 28. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.2%. Republicans made up the majority of respondents at 46.7%, with Democrats comprising 39.4% of respondents and Independents at 13.9%. Texas Senate race is a dead heatThe Quantus poll found that 48.7% of respondents backed Paxton, while 47.6% backed Talarico. Only 2.2% of respondents said they were undecided. According to the poll, Talarico...

An email address that James Talarico’s attorneys confirmed belonged to and was at one time used by the Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate appears in a database search result associated with the adult dating website Fling.com’s 2011 data breach. A Fling.com account was created with Talarico’s email address just before Talarico began teaching sixth graders.The result lists the username “mohawk787” and an account creation timestamp of December 26, 2010, at 20:56:49. The profile’s interests field lists “FETISH,” “GROUPSEX,” “SEXUAL RELATIONS,” “ONLINE FLIRTING,” and “OTHER.”Townhall shared the information described in this article with the Talarico campaign and requested comment Friday morning,...

A central detail in James Talarico's political origin story has been questioned in the New York Times just days out from the midterm elections as he battles to become the first Democratic Texas senator since 1993. Talarico, a former educator who currently serves as a Texas State representative, launched his original bid for office after spending two years in a San Antonio classroom as a Teach For America fellow from 2011 to 2013, when he was in his early 20s. In his initial campaign, Talarico claimed that he taught as many as 45 students at a time and that classroom...

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is ending a Biden-era rule aimed at reducing methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. The president announced the move during a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, saying it would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion and unlock 210 million barrels of oil. "Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas and produce 210 million barrels of oil," Trump said. He added, "We've...

Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, the young girl who was raped and murdered in June 2024, allegedly by two Venezuelan illegal aliens, appeared Tuesday with President Donald Trump in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Texas Children’s Hospital has opened the nation’s first detransition clinic as required by its settlement with Attorney General Ken Paxton.Vanessa Sivadge, a nurse and whistleblower in the case, announced on X that the detransition clinic is now open. Under the settlement, finalized in July, the hospital was required to open the clinic before the end of October. “I think of all the detransitioners who have suffered in silence, been dismissed, and fought desperately to have their voices heard,” posted Sivadge. “This win is for them.” “In accordance with my settlement with Texas Children’s Hospital, the nation’s first-ever Detransition Clinic is...

Congressman Keith Self (TX-03) introduced a bill to repeal the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery. The Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery program offers permanent residence to up to 55,000 applicants annually from countries with historically lower levels of immigration to the US, many of them in Africa. A California judge ruled the U.S. State Department must reinstate the program after the Trump administration had suspended it last December after a Portuguese national who received a visa through the program was suspected of killing four people in two separate shootings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. “We cannot allow activist judges to dictate our...

#NEW: As Talarico arrived to cast his ballot in Austin, I asked him about the deadlock race, his message to voters who believe his positions are too liberal for Texas, and his criticism of billionaires backing Paxton, despite billionaire donors also pouring millions into a super PAC supporting his own candidacy. He didn’t answer any. ----- Voters say that you're too liberal for Texas. Any reaction? - You've been saying that billionaire voters are funding this election, but billionaires are also spending money on your race. Isn't it the same thing?

Texas hasn’t gone blue in a statewide race in more than 30 years, but that streak could face a serious test this year. A new Fox News poll finds that while Texas likely voters favor Republicans retaining control of the U.S. Senate and give incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott an edge in his re-election bid, the Senate race remains deadlocked. The survey, released Wednesday, finds Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton tied at 49% each among Texas likely voters in the race to replace Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to President Trump-backed Paxton. Last month, Talarico...

A U.S. citizen operating from the Philippines pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Texas to his role in a scheme that stole money and veterans' benefits from thousands of U.S. servicemembers, federal officials announced. "Philippines-Based American Fraudster" Robert Wayne Boling Jr., 45, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before a federal judge in the Western District of Texas. The backstory According to court documents, Boling collaborated with co-conspirator Fredrick Brown, a former civilian medical records administrator for the U.S. Army in South Korea. Brown took...

The FBI has arrested and charged a 17-year-old boy from McKinney for planning to assassinate U.S. Representative Keith Self at an event last Saturday. Federal investigators said the juvenile was also planning to carry out a terrorist attack in North Texas on behalf of ISIS. The suspect was arrested on October 5 after acquiring a firearm, according to federal law enforcement sources. Sources tell WFAA that the 17-year-old had been radicalized recently and was being monitored by federal agents. The suspect remains in federal custody, and his name has not been publicly released. “Protecting our Constitutional Republic from radical Islam...

Jordan Walker Ross launched 'Faithful Texans for Talarico' as Ken Paxton countered with 'Pastors for Paxton' coalition 'The Chosen' actor Jordan Walker Ross endorsed Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Thursday, helping launch a faith-based voter coalition ahead of November's election while drawing criticism from a Republican state lawmaker over taxpayer-funded Hollywood subsidies. Ross, who portrays the apostle Little James in the popular faith-based television series, announced his endorsement in a campaign video promoting "Faithful Texans for Talarico," an initiative intended to attract religious voters.