Talarico Wins, Cornyn and Paxton Face Runoff, & More Election News

Hey, all, it's Nikki. I've got a quick update on the West Sixth Street shooting. A third victim has died of his injuries, and Austin Police identified him as 30-year-old Jorge Pedersen. We'll have more on that story on future episodes and in the newsletter, but for now, let's get into today's episode. Democrats turned out in record numbers for yesterday's election, but new, confusing procedures caused major delays in counting the votes. So today on CityCast Austin, we're bringing you up to speed on who showed up, who won, and who has to keep fighting. It's Wednesday, March 4th. I'm Nikki Devon, and this is what Austin's talking about. Hello, I am here today with our producers, Alyssa Castles. What's up, Alyssa? Hello, it really is almost March 4th. It really, really is. And Ivorovovic, what's up, Ivoroo? Almost good morning. Yeah, so we are coming to you live at 11 p.m. because we were hoping that voting would be wrapped in a nice, tight little bow tonight. And boy, were we wrong. Delayed results were the story across the state tonight. And it seems that new laws and different voting procedures are to blame. So let's start with us. First off, in Travis County, Republicans here requested that early votes were not to be counted until election day. So essentially, no votes counted until polls closed at 7 p.m. today. That includes all of the early voting that everyone did. In record numbers. The record numbers of people. Yeah, so none of that could be counted until today at 7 p.m. So that has, of course, delayed results. Early voting is normally counted the Saturday after early voting ends so that those numbers can be released when the polls close on election day. And this is according to Travis County clerk, Diana Lemo Mercado. Workers have to count in-person votes, mail-in ballots, limited ballots, and provisional ballots, which takes several hours. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Those poor poll workers. I mean, seriously. Like, if you know a poll worker, you got to take these people out for dinner or something because this is ridiculous. This is their Olympics. I have to imagine they train for this, you know. Count in every piece of paper. I'm confused as to why they wanted to wait on the early voting so badly. That doesn't really make sense to me. I think it's just like general confusion.

just down the road in Williamson County. And also, you know, this happened in Dallas County, too. Issues were causing major concerns and confusion. In both counties, voters had been allowed to cast their ballot anywhere in their county for years. But for this primary, again, the local Republican Party opted against countywide voting. And the state law says that both major parties have to agree to the countywide system for it to be in effect. And that meant on Tuesday voters could cast ballots only at their assigned precinct. So in Williamson County, of course, this led to like confusion, long lines. The Democratic Party asked to extend the voting hours, but that didn't appear to happen. Two Williamson County polling locations were court ordered to remain open until 10 p.m. Local Democratic Party headquarters were slammed by calls, according to executive director Madison Dickinson. She said we're having significant problems with the precinct level voting. And she added that, you know, even Republicans were confused by the change and they were calling the Democratic Party for help. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. And in Dallas, a Supreme Court overturned the judge's ruling. Dallas County... couldn't keep track of how many people that they turned away. The Dems were saying it was a significant amount. Hundreds of people from both sides were calling saying that they couldn't vote. They had to separate out votes that were cast before 7 p.m. and after 7 p.m. and we don't know if the people who arrived after 7 p.m. will be part of the final tally. Like, it's a mess. And now the county elections department, they said that they put up signs. They were running ads and sending text messages and mailers to make people to change. Oh, no. And then they're like, we tried to tell y'all. We tried to tell y'all. And then on election day, former poll workers were stationed outside voting locations with tablets to try to help people find the correct place to cast their value. I mean, can you imagine just like the number of people just trying to figure out like, where do I go? And all they got is some tablets. And again, these poor poll workers just like, let me look at my tablet and see where you're supposed to be. making all of this even more confusing is the fact that some of the voting locations also might be specific to your party affiliation. Yeah, it makes me very grateful that in Travis County, we're able to vote from any polling place, even on election day. I mean, I know that they're not all the same. Like, not every early voting place is the same as the election day, but we can still go anywhere, which...

I mean, I can only imagine, yeah, it seems like things are still very much in flux, you know? Right. And I think we'd love to see things figured out more by Wednesday morning when people are hearing this, you know. Hopefully there'll be some results. But I imagine this will take a lot more time. It's kind of a nightmare, honestly. And it feels like. something that could have been avoided. I don't know. I mean, with them giving all that communication, it's like, what do you, I guess people just get so used to going to their spot. Republicans could have left it the way it's been for years. They could have also done that. But we're talking hundreds of people. We're not talking about a couple of people. We're hundreds. I keep saying hundreds of people turned away and sent, you know, miles away. to vote and hopefully make it there by the time you know right so not get dissuaded by that right right right and so you know It's, it's, I think it's, I think the reason that this really irritates me is because, especially the stuff with Travis County, not counting the early, the early vote ballots, because like, our turnout was huge. Like, huge headline from this midterm primary election is the voter turnout. Like, typically turnout for a midterm is low. And we're still counting everything up. But it looks like. Even Ruth, right, Democratic turnout is going to set records, right? It does. I mean, I know we were watching this pretty closely during early voting when we could say, we can say what happened during that two-week period because it's been a few days now. So there's some data. There's some data. We do know that like there were 1.4 million Democrats that voted early across the state. And then. about 1.2 million Republicans. Here in Travis County, we saw voter turnout of 18.6% of registered voters, and that includes the unofficial in-person and mail-in ballot totals. So that's all for early voting. And that was already setting records. That is the most early votes. in any primary election since 2008. And we've had some really big elections since then, like, you know, electing President Barack Obama. There was President Donald Trump's two elections. These elections really turned out a lot of people. And so that all signs are indicating that this is going to be a huge turnout election, at least for Democrats. I did also want to say that it's looking like, you know, numbers are still very much in flux. But I'm looking at. vote hub and their tallies of just the Senate Democratic primary race. And, you know, we're showing like 898,000 for James Talarico, another 790,000 for Jasmine Crockett. Like.

It's a lot of people. So I think there was some excitement for sure, drawing people to the polls this year, surprisingly, for midterm. Democrats, too, I think, like, it's been, they've been coming out in record numbers statewide. And I feel like from what I've been reading, other political analysts are saying, you know, Democrats are feeling pretty hopeful right now in the race that they're. thinking that this might this really might be the year you guys oh lord i'm not fault for it not i will say i you know Nicole and i did not early vote because we you know I think just forgot and ran out of time. We only talk about it every other day on the podcast. Yeah, I don't know what happened. I looked up and it was Saturday and I was like, oh, Jesus. But so we actually voted on Election Day. We got there at like 11 a.m. 11.30. And the line was huge, huge, huge line. And nobody was leaving. You know how sometimes people come in and they see the line and they turn right back around. That was not happening. Even as we were leaving, the line was still very, very long. And that just doesn't, I just don't see that at my location often. I just don't see that. I don't see those kind of lines like that. And so it was really exciting. It was exciting to see so many. And just like. all kinds of people, different people there to vote and staying in that line. People showed up with books like they were just in it to win it ready, just ready to take to sit forever long it took. I love that. And I think that's, yeah, that kind of speaks to people really wanting to do this this time. To be there. Yeah. I'm excited about this turnout and I'm, and, you know, I'm not going to be lured. to be an hopeful. Well, because it doesn't really, it doesn't, it's like not really apples to apples, right? Saying that there's a big turnout for this primary election, it doesn't mean that that many people will even vote in the midterm, you know? It just means they were, people were jazzed about picking somebody, the candidate that's going to represent Democrats in all these races. And that's not. You know, I don't think that's something to be taken lightly, but it is, it is how much can you draw out of that? Like, are these same people going to be that energized in November? We have no idea, you know? Yeah. Historically, though, I think primary voters are usually like the most involved in politics, the ones that are really following every single Twitter thread. And like, so yeah, the general, the base, the base. So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens in November. I'm excited. I think people are fired up. I think, I mean, this midterm election could not have happened at a more...

like crazy time. Like this is a time that I'm seeing way more political. I'm hearing more political conversations. I'm hearing more people really get into the meat of stuff. And so it's, I mean, it's a crazy, not to sound ridiculous, but it's excited. It's an exciting time in politics right now. Oh, Nikki, you don't sound ridiculous to us right here. I think that's what got people like go into the polls. I do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you have to think about like what happened in this lead up to create this massive turnout, right? Like people have been watching ice activities in Minnesota. And I think that like really. jazz voters up. There's also, you know, now, of course, we're at war with Iran, which is another motivator, I think, for people. Both Republicans and Democrats, a lot of people, I mean, I've heard Republicans say, like, this is not America first sort of mentality. So what are we doing? You know, I've heard that too. And then, you know, I also think about like. In Texas, you know, what the races we were watching, obviously the big one, the Senate race on the Democratic side, you know, James Talarico right before early voting started or maybe the very first day was that whole situation with the Stephen Colbert report. Right. Where he. Oh, yeah. That's right. He was going to come on. And then the FCC, you know, basically. gave them this warning or, you know, indicated to CBS that it might not be safe or legal for them to have just, just James Halerico on and not Jasmine Crockett. And so, um, yeah, so that, that, you know, interview went up online anyway on YouTube and went viral for sure. I also wonder if the, the shooting in Austin on West 6th Street. motivated people for different reasons. Also, you know, it has to be, we did see some politicization of that event. And I just can't help but be curious. Yeah. Maybe. Maybe.

Here we are, and we're still kind of waiting. We're going to get into what we know about who won and who lost, right? Like the James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett race right now is putting James Talarico ahead, but Dallas still hasn't been counted, so we don't know what's going to happen there either. And a little update from the future here. The Associated Press called the race for James Talarico at 1.37 a.m. Texas time. So. Like I said, John Cornyn and Pax Center going into a runoff. Neither of them got more than 50%. But it's been getting a little spicy. But John Cornyn has been getting a little spicy. And John Cornyn called Ken Paxton, quote, a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate. He promises runoff voters will learn more about Ken Paxton's indefensible personal behavior and failures in office. He says that Judgment Day is coming for Ken Paxton. And I don't know about y'all. But nothing tickles me more than two old white politicians fighting. I love it. I don't know why. I don't know why. I love it when the two little old men get into it. I love it. Like a flawed, self-centered shame. That is some... Tell us how you feel. Tell us how you really feel. That is a... You know, they do not like each other these two men. They don't like each other. And, you know, it's just going to get worse or better. If you're a Democrat watching this, you might think, okay, great, let's see, watch these two men waste all this money fighting each other. Oh, yeah. Before they even get to. November. The other one. Yeah. Yeah, I do think the runoff election is actually going to be really interesting to watch because Wesley Hunt, who was the third in this primary election today, he got about like 200,000 votes. So it'll be interesting. Where do those voters go? Are they going to go for Ken Paxton? Are they going to go for John Cornyn? Who knows if like, I mean, they're all waiting for. or they had been waiting for President Donald Trump to make an endorsement in that case because they were in that race because that would have been huge for them. Totally. If they had one of them had had that edge, you know, because they're both kind of like, I'm the bigger MAGA candidate, you know? Well, here, like, according to the New York's time, this is the most expensive Senate primary race on record. Wow. Right. Like a total of $125 million spent. And we just- For primary. That's crazy. For primary. Like, it is.

So, okay, John Cornyn and his allies have outspent Ken Paxton by roughly $69 million to $4 million on advertising. And I have a quote here that a campaign finance reporter with New York Times says that John Cornyn advancing to the runoff is simultaneously both a credit to and an end. of the 70 million plus spent on his behalf. Had that money not been spent by GOP donors to boost him, he might not have made it to a runoff. And yet the fact that so much money was spent and he still couldn't avoid the runoff entirely shows his weakness in the Republican Party. Yeah. Yikes. I mean, he has a point. He has a point. Like, he's having to really, like, put his money where his mouth is, literally. Literally. Just to get, just to get a runoff. Just to get a runoff. But then the other thing with the runoff. is that, you know, all the negative, what is it called, all the opposition research, you know, where they try to dig up as much as they can on the other candidate and like put that all out there. By the time we get to the midterm, you know, the actual November race, like all the bad stuff about John Cornyn and Ken Paxton will have been dragged out by the other person. Yeah. So Democrats can also just kind of like wait for that. It's almost like if you're like in a tournament or something and you beat everybody in the first round. And so then you get the bye week or whatever, you know. And now they just get to rest and let the other team like. Duke it out. fizzle itself out. Just like tire themselves out yelling at each other. And kind of along the same lines, I mean, speaking of money, James Talarico outspent Representative Jasmine Crockett by about $24.5 million to her $5 million on ads. Wow. And so that's quite a difference as well. That's quite a difference. And, you know, who knows if it's going to pay off. But the trend here, the trend here is that people are like spending money. Though I do think James, yeah, I think James Talarico really had to spend money because I think we had Blaise Gany on and he said, you know, his name is not as recognizable as Jasmine Crockett, who's, you know, a United States representative for Texas. So it kind of makes sense that he would have to outspend her to get his name kind of, don't forget about me. I know you know her, but hello, Dallas, this is my name, you know. That's true. But he also doesn't take PAC money, right?

which is also incredible that he's been able to raise that much money. So to outspend without using PAC money, that's like, I mean, that's his principle. Yeah. So we can say pretty definitively that, you know, it's not really a surprise, but Mr. James Talarico cleaned up pretty well here in Travis County. James Talarico has about 75% of the vote with Jasmine getting about 20. 24%. And again, that's not fully all precincts voting, all, all numbers in yet. But we're at most, most of them at least reporting at this point. For Travis County. Yeah. Okay. So it's looking like James Talarico is getting the majority of the vote in Travis County. And we're thinking even when the vote is counted, they'll likely be challenged. Especially with all the stuff. I mean, listen, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow? Because with all of the stuff with Dallas, you know, Jazz McCrackett is already saying that people have been disenfranchised. It doesn't surprise me the James Talarico won Austin because people know him here, but I am really, I'm really interested to see overall what happens, especially given. all of the confusion. Yeah. Specifically in Dallas. And because of all that, we know this is going to take longer to, even if there is a winner declared or, you know, projected or whatever, it's going to, there's still going to be challenges. Yeah. And speaking of other winners, so we know specifically now that Gina Hinojosa will be the official Democratic. pick for governor to go against Governor Greg Abbott, who of course is the official Republican winner. He won? Oh, my gosh. Even if I really was like, what? Listen. What an actor. Everybody's still awake here. Don't even get me started. Don't even get me started on the amount of wishing and intentions and manifestations I have tried to use to get this man at office. Nothing has worked. And if I'm seeing this right, it's... It looks like Vicki Goodwin, his one for the lieutenant governor race, to run for Democratic lieutenant governor. Yes. Sarah Eckhart for Comptroller. Yeah. And so in Vicki, Vicki Goodwin and Sarah Eckhart and Gina Hinojosa, they all have served at the state capital representing Austin. It's interesting that Democrats are sort of stacking the slate. And it seems like a lot of Austin names are making it onto that slate to run in November. You know, there has to be somebody in those spots.

If there's going to be an election, you never know. I mean, we always say that turning Texas blue or even purple is such a far-fetched idea, but you don't know what's going to happen. And so if there are candidates in those positions, why not, you know? Right. And a lot of them, we've got some three Austin women. There were also races in Travis County for several state representative seats. And a lot of them, there was only. one person running for each race. Some of them were not contested. And Bridget Shea for Travis County Commissioner Precinct 2. Yeah. She's been on the commissioner's court since 2014. So she won re-election. There's also Precinct 4 that is up. And though that race is really close. It looks like I mean. There are, I don't know, a couple hundred votes between Susanna Ledesma Woody and George Morales, the third. And those are the two frontrunners for the Democratic County Commissioner for Precinct 4. So it could be a runoff in that race as well if neither of them get over 50%. As a reminder, runoffs will be May 26th. So this is not over. You will have to go back to the polls again. You get to do it again. You get to do it all over again. But, you know, this is the first step in a long road. Like, Texas is kind of in a really, really important position right now. And so, like, all eyes are on us. Remember, like, all of our house districts got screwed up because of the redistricting and the walkouts last year. And Trump took all, he wanted more Republican seats. So he just essentially orchestrated a coup. Yeah, like, yeah, like they withdrew the maps. Trump wanted, he wanted more seats, more Republican seats for this midterm that's in November. It's all connected. And James Talarico was part of the Democratic delegation from the Texas House that walked out. And. Rose to fame. Yeah, one of the places or one of the times when he really started getting some notoriety. Yep. So. Yep. Well, so thanks for tuning in. Please make sure you check out our newsletter because Kelsey will definitely absolutely have some more up-to-date stuff. And then check out our social media, too, because we'll probably put some stuff on there, too. Good job getting out there and voting and having that crazy turnout. And I cannot wait. Yeah, yeah. I can't wait to see what happens over the next couple of days. I'm excited about it. Eva, Alyssa. Thanks for being on with me at 11 p.m. This has been great. Sleep well. I hope everyone sleeps well tonight. Yeah. Wednesday night or are you mean tonight tonight tonight? Tonight. We're recording at Tuesday. We already told them. They already know. All right. All right. The fourth wall has been broken. T.TYL. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

And listener, don't go anywhere. In just a second, we've got a segment sponsored by the Water Lantern Festival featuring Citicast Content Director Andrea Selenzy talking with Tess Rouser, the festival's marketing manager. Hey, Citicast Content Director, Andrea Salenzie here. There are some things we do outside that I look forward to all year long, picking apples in the fall, winter light shows, food festivals on a really hot summer night. And I'm here to suggest a new tradition you're going to have to experience for yourself. Releasing a glowing lantern into the water at sunset right in the middle of your beautiful city, surrounded by hundreds of your neighbors doing the exact same thing. That's what I'm talking about today with Tess Rouser, the marketing manager for the Water Lantern Festival. Hey, Tess. Hi, Andrea. How are you? I'm so excited for folks to picture what this festival really looks like. So the Water Lantern Festival happens in cities all over the country. If you're hearing this, it's coming to your city soon. So for someone who's never been, what does it actually like to be there? The Water Lantern Festival isn't your typical festival. Yes, when you arrive, there are food trucks and local vendors. There's family activities, games going on, a scavenger hunt. It's very lively, fun, upbeat music going on. But the event definitely turns inward and more reflective as the night goes on. It really like pivot and the music changes and the whole vibe changes. So it's almost the best of both worlds. Guests are encouraged to... right on their lanterns and everyone gathers by the water at sunset to release their lanterns. That's definitely the peak of the event. Watching hundreds or even sometimes thousands of lanterns on the water is incredibly peaceful and emotional. People often tell us that it's a moment that stays with them long after the night ends. So everyone who attends gets to personalize their own lantern before releasing it in the water. What have you seen people write or draw on their lanterns? Yes. So each ticket comes with a lantern that comes with everything you'll need for the evening. Your markers, the biodegradable paper that you can write on or design. And that's one of the most important parts of the event. People write, gosh, all kinds of things. Messages of love or hope or remembrance or gratitude or sometimes people are setting intentions or goals for what they want to do that year. More of a personal story for me. I lost my nephew three years ago. And there was a lantern festival near me on his angelversary two years after. And it was the most incredible and meaningful experience that I was able to have with my family, where we came and remembered him and honored him and shared stories about him and released it onto the water in a glowing, just moment of remembrance. But honestly, we see so many things. We see lots of proposals. There's nothing like seeing someone down on one knee proposing in front of just thousands of lanterns on the water. So it's fun because every lantern tells a personal story. But when they're released together, it becomes a meaningful and powerful shared moment. So it's shared grief or shared celebration. It's kind of all of it.

It is. It's all of it. You'll see names. You'll see dates, hearts, drawings, but even sometimes just a single word that holds a lot of meaning. So when you look out of the crowd at one of these festivals, what do you see? Is this families, couples? Who's the attendee? It's really a diverse crowd, which is something we absolutely love. You'll see the families with kids, couples, friends groups, lots of girls' nights with their charcutory boards and blankets and pillows that they've... brought to set up camp for the night. There isn't one type of attendee, and that's something we absolutely love. So definitely brings together people from all walks of life. Can you give me the scale of Water Lantern Festival? Like, how long has this been going on? How many cities have you been to? How many people have released a lantern into the water? Yes, we actually just surpassed our two million. lanterns being released into the water. So the largest lantern festival of its kind. We've been in business for nine years. So it started as just a small community gathering has expanded and grown to over 175 different cities, you know, nationwide and now worldwide expanding into Australia, Canada, the UK, Mexico here in a few weeks. So it's really fun to be able to bring this experience of love and hope and connection to the world. Is there anything else someone should know before they get their ticket? Any tips for attending? I encourage people to come with an open heart and to give themselves time to enjoy the experience from start to finish. It's not meant to be a fast-paced event. It's meant to slow you down and create space for that reflection and connection. So it's always a good idea to come early so you can still hit the food trucks, the music, the vendors, the booths, the scavenger hunt. but then still have time to sit and personalize your lantern and just take everything in and turn more inward. Tess, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me, Andrea. If you want to find a Water Lantern Festival near you and grab tickets, just head to WaterlanternFestable.com. You can search for your city there and it's a good idea to get your tickets in advance since many events do sell out. And for the latest updates, you can follow them on social media at Water Lantern Festival. Thanks for listening.

That's all for today here on CityCast Austin. If you enjoyed the show, absolutely tell your friends. Rate our show, leave us a review, and of course subscribe to our CityCast Austin Newsletter. And if you really love us and you love the fact that you got to listen to us bringing you the latest on this election, support us, become a neighbor. Go to membership.cadcass.fm. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more news from around the city. Bye y'all.