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July 31, 2026 11:47 AM

People on the Move

Top staff moves, agency news, lobby gigs, a notable retirement, and more

Late night cowboy poetry and Tanya Tucker singing her classic cover of “Texas If I Die” in Senate Business and Commerce this week made it feel a little bit too much like a legislative session around here.

That’s at the same time that campaigns are in full swing in the middle of the summer with statewide GOP nominees already appearing alongside each other in rural Texas while the Democratic top of the ticket candidates barnstorm from DFW to the RGV and everywhere in between. That’s while some of you post beach pics on your Instagram accounts. Good for you.

Meantime, there are some significant career moves to pass along this week. POTM tends to slow down some during the summer and this is no exception. But anytime there’s career news to share, you can send it to ksbraddock@gmail.com to make sure the entire Texas Capitol community notices. If you use POTM in the subject line, it helps me keep it all straight. And if you see a mistake, feel free to let me know about that as well.

Please and thank you.

Here’s the latest edition.

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By Scott Braddock

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July 31, 2026 11:14 AM

After marathon B&C hearing, Lt. Gov. Patrick and Chair Schwertner ask PUC to deny pending applications for 765-kV transmission lines

"I agree with Chairman Schwertner in calling on the PUC to deny the pending applications for 765-kV transmission lines, and not consider re-applications, until the transmission companies can address the serious concerns raised by landowners at Wednesday’s hearing," Patrick said

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July 30, 2026 5:26 PM

Texas House Homeland Security hears from hawks on foreign adversaries

Meanwhile Vice Chair Lopez presses members to remember due process rights

The only way to combat the threat of Halal certification and Sharia banking systems, which deny loans to atheists and women, from funding radical Islamism and the Communist Chinese Party includes eliminating due process, gutting the First Amendment and creating a police state.

That’s one possible takeaway from a conspiracy-heavy hearing before the Texas House Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affair Committee as part of the panel’s examination of the threat of foreign adversaries to the state.

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By James Russell

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July 30, 2026 2:42 PM

Austin Holder appointed new LD to Gov. Abbott

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July 29, 2026 4:07 PM

Texas Democrats could take a lesson in forgiveness from Rep. Shelley Luther and others as the GOP statewide rural campaign starts

Democrats still feuding over the nasty primary between Talarico and Crockett might learn something from the GOP stalwart in Grayson County who hosted the very governor who put her in jail during the pandemic; it’s far from the only act of forgiveness on display as Republicans push to hold onto power in Texas

SHERMAN – At this point, it is beyond cliché to say that “all politics is local.”

But for Texas Republicans facing national headwinds and a disengaged base, a major challenge they face here in Grayson County and across large swaths of rural Texas seems to be figuring out ways to motivate voters increasingly angry about the proliferation of data centers, 765k transmission lines, rising property taxes, and school closures. Plus, many farmers would tell you President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other ag-related policies amount to abandonment and betrayal of their industry. All of it led one Texas House Republican to tell supporters recently that rural Texas “is on fire politically.”

Increasingly at risk of separation from a sizeable portion of their base – Republicans can historically bank about 1 million votes in rural Texas – it makes perfect sense that nearly every statewide GOP nominee jumped at the chance for a speaking slot at an event here, even one organized by someone who was once thrown in jail thanks to the executive orders of Gov. Greg Abbott.

Rep. Shelley Luther, who spent 2 days in the Dallas County lockup over her refusal to close her hair salon on the orders of Abbott in 2020, this week hosted the Red River Roll Call. It was probably the single largest event of its kind ever organized by a Texas House member. It attracted Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Railroad Commissioner nominee Bo French, Sen. Mayes Middleton, and many others for a two-hour event that felt at times like the fusion of an old school tent revival and a professional wrestling pay-per-view complete with intro videos set to rock songs.

For the event to have happened at all, Luther and others had to really let bygones be bygones.

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By Scott Braddock

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