Inside Texas Politics

[0:00] congresswoman welcome back to the program you told us last time we spoke that if polls show [0:04] you can win then you would run but there isn't a single public-facing poll that shows you beating [0:09] any of the three republicans so what do the internal polls say and where do you see a path [0:13] to victory yeah so we do have internal polls i don't like to necessarily show my hand but [0:19] uh i wouldn't jump into this large of a race just because uh so i will say that confidently [0:26] uh we do have polling that shows me ahead um but so as to not give a specific candidate [0:34] anything to talk about i'd rather not it just doesn't make sense listen this is not a game of [0:40] checkers this is a game of chess but i am telling you confidently that i have polling that shows [0:47] that but more importantly jason you and i have talked a lot about expanding the electorate [0:51] and looking at the elections that we're seeing just like yesterday where [0:56] there was a flip in georgia which is down south just like seeing down in miami where they flipped [1:01] a seat that had been red for the last 30 years i am telling you that what we need to do is we need [1:07] to energize people and give them someone that they can believe in to be their fighter someone that [1:12] they know to be their fighter and according to our polling we were able to excite that very coalition [1:18] that we would need to not only just have what the general poll is saying but maybe even expand those [1:25] numbers a little bit in case the general polling is a little off which we've seen here and there [1:30] specifically in the state of texas you announced your candidacy with an hour left before the filing [1:36] deadline why wait until the last minute yeah so there were a couple of things about this you know [1:41] this was a very difficult decision as i stated at that time in addition to that if i was going [1:48] to file i needed to know what the supreme court was going to do so the supreme court only told [1:53] us a couple of days prior to the end of filing if there was anyone that started to really mess [1:58] us up in the state of texas it was definitely the supreme court because we didn't even have [2:03] those lines and i'll also tell you that most people started talking about me potentially [2:07] being in this race when i did an interview on sirius xm and in that interview larie she asked [2:14] me she was asking me about the redistricting she asked me about the senate race and i said to her [2:19] if they want to snatch house seats i may have to snatch their senate [2:23] seat listen i want people to know that this race is bigger than just this particular race [2:28] is bigger than texas but also think about those down ballot races um that now they're saying [2:34] listen we've got you know five seats that were taken but if democrats continue to swing at the [2:40] rates that we've been swinging which is no less than a 10-point swing then they may have thought [2:45] that they were doing the republicans a favor but they may have been doing them a disservice [2:49] and if you have a candidate that can bring out so many more texans [2:53] i think that we may be able to actually even get over the supreme court and so i took all these [2:59] things into consideration i also wanted to try to work because there were candidates as i said very [3:05] publicly that i thought would be great assets potentially to the ticket because of their [3:11] fundraising prowess because of their name id because of a specific demographic that is very [3:16] close with them to the extent that they have a rapport and would actually come out specifically [3:20] for them and so i was engaged in those conversations [3:23] i was engaged in those conversations up until the last minute trying to see if i could figure out [3:29] what we could do to give texas its best shot people know you as a fighter but but let's talk about [3:35] policy for a moment here if if you were to win and and represent texas in the city what are the top [3:40] two issues you would pursue yeah so for me it's definitely going to be voting rights um i definitely [3:46] got to make sure that i throw that in there but it's housing um and it's immigration so i'm going [3:54] to be voting rights those three um and then we'll move on so number one voting rights that's where [4:01] we get the opportunity to have our representation and it is clear that we've been thrown into chaos [4:07] with the chaos leader that we have because we did not have in place a voting rights act like [4:14] historically we had had the voting rights act which had been signed into law by lbj [4:18] that's number one so when we're looking at will we get the health care that we need will we get [4:23] education that we need will we get access to someone who will listen to the needs of the [4:29] people we have to make sure that we're going to be fair about the lines that are drawn so i think [4:34] you don't get anything without fair lines and so that's why voting rights would be number one on [4:40] the list for me number two though would have to be housing because right now people are hurting [4:45] our economy is struggling right now um and so when you're looking at things like am i going to be [4:52] able to buy a home in fact when we look at the economy right now it's struggling right now um and so when you're looking at things like am i going to be able to buy a home in fact when we look at [4:53] the 24 election we know that most young people were saying i can't afford to buy a home and if you [5:00] can't afford to buy a home then you can't start to build that generational wealth so as we start [5:04] to talk about this wealth gap and how it's widening there's so many layers to this but [5:09] this is how you build that generational wealth in addition to kind of like dovetailing on that [5:14] and we're us talking about the fact that there is this widening gap you've got to talk about [5:19] the fact that i actually want to raise the minimum wage i think it's necessary so when you're talking [5:23] about whether or not the state of texas or just the country in general is going to be in a better [5:30] position to be solvent what we need to do is make sure that you don't have working folk [5:35] that as we saw during the shutdown we're having to line up and go and try to get food from a food [5:41] bank these are working people people saw the images so right now we have so many corporations [5:47] that are getting away with not paying a livable wage to their workers and getting tax cuts from us [5:54] and we're having to supplement and help their workers that doesn't work for anybody that is [5:59] fiscally irresponsible um and then finally immigration i just don't think that you can [6:06] talk about the state of texas and not talk about immigration now here's the reality the plurality [6:12] of people in the state of texas are latino the reason that i bring that up is because whether [6:17] you support um the immigration policies that were laid laid out which are not currently being carried [6:24] something completely different is being carried out we know that there are people that are [6:29] telling us every single day in fact i had a hearing in the senate just yesterday so on my first day [6:36] back i had my first hearing in the senate which is kind of uh yeah serendipitous but nevertheless [6:42] um so we went we had a joint hearing and we heard from five u.s citizens they are all [6:49] of um well not all of latino descent but the vast majority of them were [6:55] and uh they were talking about what had happened to them they had talked about being shot at they [7:00] had talked about being incarcerated and it was all because of the color of their skin so regardless [7:07] as to whether or not they believe that we should be stronger on immigration what's happening right [7:12] now violating people's due process rights that is something where people are being racially targeted [7:17] and i think that you can't run for this type of seat and not address that when 41 percent of the [7:25] is latino you're well known among democrats you're popular with progressives [7:31] uh probably less so though with texas independence and those independents as you know though lean [7:35] conservative here in this state what's your plan to go meet them yeah listen i think you just talk [7:40] about the real issues i mean you can decide that you're going to vote for a drr because it's just [7:45] kind of what makes sense or you can decide that you're going to vote for somebody that understands [7:49] the struggle of the farmer and the rancher or what it is to live in rural texas because that's actually [7:55] so that's why i'm here today i want to talk about the real issues in rural texas and the [7:58] stories that people come up with in our in our country you know as you know i grew up i have [8:01] my own equation and i stand for a great deal of my land and my political career [8:05] was in east texas where i still own property and so i know what it is to wake up and smell [8:11] the paper plants i know what it is when there's a threat about shutting down the tire plant i know [8:16] what it is when you don't have those specialists right there in your area and you have to travel [8:21] to dallas to go see a specialist so i understand these things i always have and so i think engaging [8:25] access to health care, or whether we're talking about the fact that there is a record number of [8:30] bankruptcies that are being filed by our farmers, or whether we're talking about the fact that in [8:34] the state of Texas, we do trade big. And right now with these tariffs, that is hurting so many [8:40] businesses, especially our small businesses, or whether we're talking about the fact that you [8:45] don't know how it is that you're going to pay for your child to go to college. And right now we have [8:50] a Department of Education that is making it more difficult for you to get those funds, and instead [8:55] it's becoming a matter of the haves versus the have-nots. And so I think having these real [9:00] conversations, talking about making sure that people have access to capital to start their own [9:05] businesses, making sure that people aren't being told, oh yes, you can get into a home so long as [9:10] you sign a 50-year loan in which you'll pay some ridiculous amount of money over that time. I think [9:16] we should just focus on the issues. And at the end of the day, I think [9:20] that's what we're talking about. [9:20] And I think that we'll find that we have more in common than not. The last point that I'll make is [9:25] that I received an email specifically from a man. I looked at it this morning, and I think I'm going [9:31] to keep looking at this email from Mark. And this was an email from a man named Mark that lives in [9:36] Texas, and he was asking me to run for Senate. So this is prior to me getting in the race. And Mark [9:43] told me about the fact that he had historically been a Republican, and he just can't bring himself [9:48] to call himself a Republican nowadays, but that's what he said. And I think that's what I'm going to [9:51] do. And I think that's who he is. And he told me that he doesn't agree with me on a lot of issues, [9:55] but he said, we need your leadership and your clarity in this moment because the Republican [10:00] Party has lost its way. I think there are more Marks out there than not. People that see through [10:07] the nonsense and recognize that people are weaponizing these labels and trying to make [10:13] people be scared of me. But at the end of the day, I'm a Texan. I want to be safe like everybody else [10:19] in my home. I want to be safe. I want to be safe. I want to be safe. I want to be safe. I want to be [10:20] sure that those kids that are growing up in my neighborhood, that they have opportunities to [10:25] recognize the American dream. I want to make sure that when we're doing immigration, we're doing it [10:30] smart and we're not letting bad folk in, but instead we're making sure that those people that [10:35] have real asylum cases or whatever contributions they're trying to make to our country, that those [10:41] are the ones that are getting in. And frankly, I think it's abysmal that we have lost 1.1 million [10:47] jobs. And it's not even been a year since. [10:50] I think that the world is facing a similar trend that the American administration has been in. [10:52] I also think that it is terrible that on my launch day, I had a mother come to me and say, [10:58] I was going to send my son to you to see if he could get a service Academy nomination. But under [11:05] this administration, I am scared to send my son into the service. And all he wants to do is serve [11:11] our country. But as a mother, I am scared because I don't trust the people at the top to do what's [11:17] right and do right by my son. That is a shock. [11:21] shame. Democratic primary voters, though, are going to see you and James Tallarico on the ballot [11:26] first. What would you tell them? I've read a lot of online chatter who say, why in the world are [11:32] the two best Democrats in this state running against each other? How are you most different [11:37] from him? I think it's probably experience. You know, at this point in time, I think everyone [11:42] will agree that we're living in unprecedented times, and let's hope that we never have times [11:45] like this again. But we know that I've been on the state level. We know that I currently serve [11:52] on the federal level, and by the time we get through this election, it would have been [11:55] approximately four years. This is a big job, and so I think that there's more question marks. There's [12:01] tons of receipts for who I've been on the federal level, for what my advocacy will look like, [12:06] and regardless of what people try to say or how they try to paint me, the facts are the facts, [12:11] right? We know for a fact that I've actually worked across the aisle, [12:15] we know for a fact that prior to entering into this very competitive primary, [12:21] our senator had nothing but good things to say about me. Me and Senator Cornyn have worked [12:26] together on things where we could find common ground. Senator Cornyn made it clear that when [12:32] I got to Congress, if there was something that I felt like was smart and good for Texans, [12:36] that I should come to him. I should not look for a Republican, I'm sorry, a Democrat [12:41] on the Senate side. And so we've worked on fentanyl legislation together. [12:45] We've worked on fentanyl legislation together. We've worked on fentanyl legislation together. [12:45] We've worked on food security bills together. And frankly, I've worked with other Republicans [12:50] to make sure that we got an ARPA-H location into my district in 30. It was Kay Granger, [12:57] who was the Republican chair of appropriations that helped me kind of co-lead this effort to [13:04] bring together Republicans in our region. So there are documents and letters showing that I [13:09] have worked together for what was good for Texas, and it was only Texas. Texas was the only red [13:15] state that ended up getting one of those ARPA-H locations. And what that meant was investments [13:21] right there in Texas 30. What it meant was diversity in our trials. What it meant was [13:25] exploring and trying to make sure that we were ready and prepared, hopefully, for the next [13:29] pandemic that hopefully is not coming too soon. These are the things that I've done. Like, this [13:35] is just the record. Those are not the things that actually go viral. And so I think that [13:39] when it comes down to it, when people are like, should we take a chance or should we go with what [13:45] we know? I think that's a great question. I think it's a great question. I think it's a great question. [13:46] I think that that's really the biggest difference. I don't think, you know, obviously I worked with [13:51] James on the state level and so it's been a while since we've worked together, but I think that [13:55] that's really the biggest difference. And I think beyond that, you have someone who has a lot higher [14:01] name ID. My name ID is close to twice as high as James Tallarico's name ID. And so with that, [14:08] you know, we are going into a race where I personally believe we have to expand the [14:12] electorate. But if the basic electorate, which is where we're getting the name ID numbers from, [14:19] if they don't know who you are, I don't know how you then go beyond that and go and grab [14:23] up other people. We can do this, but it is going to take a heavy lift. And the final point that [14:29] I'll make is, you know, like I have, I have traveled this country on behalf of Democrats [14:34] everywhere. I have never put self first. I've always put what mattered most to the American [14:40] people first. That includes campaigns, [14:42] campaigning in California for Prop 50. That includes campaigning in Pennsylvania to make [14:48] sure that they retain their judges just in case something goes crazy and we have to have election [14:54] cases that go up to them. That means making sure that I campaigned in Virginia for Abigail [14:58] Spanberger. That means that I went into Florida and tried to get Debbie Murkowski across the [15:04] finish line in Florida for the Senate. And I could go on and on and on and on. [15:08] Well, what has happened is that I've put in a lot of goodwill. And so, [15:13] instead of just relying on those in Texas to help us organize and make those phone calls and [15:18] potentially get on doors, I've already, part of me waiting, so to speak, I was working. I just, [15:24] we're going to call it my working period. We're not going to call it my waiting period. [15:28] I was calling and I was asking people, I was asking elected officials all over this country. [15:33] If I do this, we have the earliest primary. Our primary is at the beginning of March, [15:40] along with Arkansas. It's just the two of us. [15:42] Right. [15:42] So, I was like, listen, people will need something to do. [15:46] Can you agree that you will get your volunteers to help us out in Texas? [15:50] And so, I have some of those assurances. And so, I am able to expand the organizing effort [15:57] beyond just Texas. But absolutely, we're going to go in, we're going to get Texas fired up, [16:02] in addition to making sure that the rest of the country understands [16:06] how important this seat is to our democracy as a whole, and therefore gets involved. [16:11] Collin Allred, [16:13] dropped out of the race for Senate. Do you plan to reach out to him to ask for his endorsement? [16:18] I will let you know. I feel like you're trying to get into my conversations. I'm not going to tell [16:25] you. [16:25] Did you have a conversation? [16:26] Well, you'll know what you know when you know it, is what I'm going to sell you on that one. [16:30] Have you had a conversation with him? [16:33] I will tell you that Collin Allred and I have been friends for quite some time. And so, we've had [16:38] multiple conversations as things have played out in general. I'm going to leave it at that because [16:43] one thing that I don't ever have a conversation with him about is that he's going to be my guest. [16:44] I don't ever do. So when there's reports about things that have happened, unless they can cite [16:50] myself or the other person on the other line, chances are the reports are false. But I don't [16:56] go against someone and betray their confidences. So I'll just say that I've had multiple [17:01] conversations with Colin Allred about various things. Before I let you go, I want to ask your [17:06] thoughts on Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's had a mea culpa. She has, you know, not she's not [17:12] running again. She's been critical of President Trump, something that a lot of people thought [17:16] they'd never see. You famously clashed with her multiple times. What are your thoughts on this? [17:22] Yeah, maybe we can team up. Maybe I can get her to Texas. Since we seem to be on the same team now. [17:28] No, I think it's really telling. You know, I think what we see is that the walls are crumbling [17:34] around the president. We know that Marjorie has been one of the fiercest, most loyal supporters [17:41] of the president. [17:42] In all ways. And for her to feel as if she should go against him, it has to be really, [17:48] really bad. This is someone who took on our former president, you know, sitting on the floor in the [17:54] State of the Union and having a MAGA hat and trolling him and doing all these things. But I [17:58] think that people should not forget who Marjorie has always been. Number one, I want you to always [18:05] remember who she's been. But I do think that it is important for people to understand the political [18:11] violence element. This is the part of this that I don't want to forget. I don't want to forget [18:13] that I don't want to be downplayed. You know, as people are like, oh, you know, why run and this and [18:19] that and whatever, you know, it is a real sacrifice because when you put yourself out there and when [18:25] you are brave enough and confident enough to stand up to arguably the most powerful person in the [18:31] world and tell him he's wrong when he is, right? Most people aren't telling him he's wrong, not [18:38] because they believe he's right, but because they're scared. And so once Marjorie got on his [18:43] bad side, she started to feel what it's like to be me every single day. And so while she's not ushered [18:50] in an apology directly to anyone, she has kind of seemingly said that she regretted any role that [19:00] she played in this because being a fierce and loyal supporter and allowing this type of vitriol [19:06] to play out in the way that it's played out, I've never disclosed a lot of things that have [19:13] happened to me. [19:14] But I look at the hate that is thrown at me and I think about, you know what, that means that I am [19:20] actually effective. That means that I am doing something. And so I'm not going to back down. [19:24] When people were kind of trying to do things to keep me out of this race, I remember having a [19:29] conversation with someone that will most likely be on my staff. And I said, these people have no [19:34] idea who they're talking to. I'm like, the more you taunt me, the more that it tells me that that's [19:40] exactly where I'm supposed to be. [19:43] So I think that it is [19:44] important, no matter if you are red or blue or independent, I think it is important that we [19:51] understand that when Marjorie and Jasmine Crockett are saying the same thing about what happens when [19:58] you're on the other side of Donald Trump, you should probably believe us because there's not [20:03] much that we actually agree upon. And I think it's important that while the tone is set at the top, [20:09] I think it's important because of the tone that has been set at the top, [20:13] that we, [20:14] down here, [20:16] start to set an example for him to follow. [20:19] Congresswoman, it's good to see you. Thank you for the time. [20:21] Thanks, Jason.