The battle for Texas: Can Democrats win it back from Trump?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The midterm elections are underway in the Republican stronghold of Texas. Early voting has begun in the primaries and Democrats are hopeful they could win a Texas senate seat for the first time in over 30 years.
The election will have national consequences - Texas is one of America’s political power centres and Republicans from here have dominated the national agenda from immigration, to the courts, to reshaping electoral districts. Taking back Texas could help Democrats take back the House, the Senate, and check Trump’s executive power in a way they have so far been unable to do in his second term. It could also realign the presidential election in 2028.
Justin and Anthony, who grew up in Texas and knows its politics well, unpack the primaries, which are fast becoming the most expensive in modern US history. On the Republican side, there is meltdown and infighting, as Senator John Cornyn faces a serious challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton. The US president, who is campaigning in Texas, has not yet endorsed one candidate. On the Democrat side, two of its biggest stars are fighting for the nomination. Jasmine Crockett, well known for her fiery public battles with the Trump administration and James Talarico, who is tipped as a future Democrat presidential candidate. We look at what their realistic chances are, and what it tells us about the future of the party.
Presenter: Justin Webb, Radio 4, and Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent Producer: Purvee Pattni, Grace Reeve, Sophie van Brugen and Kris Jalowiecki Sound engineer: Rohan Madison Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | There hasn't been a Democratic Party senator from Texas for more than 30 years. |
| 0:09.8 | There hasn't been a presidential win for a Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter's time. |
| 0:15.3 | Is that about to change? |
| 0:17.8 | On both sides of the aisle, the Democrats and the Republicans, they are choosing their |
| 0:21.7 | candidates for the vital Senate race coming up in November. We're going to look at Texas, why it matters, |
| 0:29.1 | why it could have implications for the whole of the midterms. Welcome to AmeriCast. |
| 0:36.0 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
| 0:39.1 | You hear that sound? |
| 0:40.2 | Oh, I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. |
| 0:44.0 | Nicholas Maduro, he heft around, and he found out. |
| 0:47.3 | This is a big cover-up, and this administration is engaged in it. |
| 0:50.7 | This guy has trumped arrangement syndrome. |
| 0:52.5 | I have four words for you. Turn the volume up. |
| 1:02.5 | Hello is Justin at the worldwide headquarters of AmeriCast in London, England. And it's Anthony in the |
| 1:07.5 | American headquarters of AmeriC at the BBC Bureau in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:11.5 | And if there were a Texan taking part, they would say that theirs was the best headquarters, |
| 1:15.8 | the biggest headquarters, because that's just the way Texas is, eh? |
| 1:19.3 | Absolutely. I grew up in the state. It is my home. Always will be. And as I say, |
| 1:24.5 | everything's bigger in Texas, including the electoral campaigns. |
| 1:36.4 | Yeah. But in recent times, statewide, not for Democrats. Yeah, it is rough and tumble. Always is. |
| 1:43.7 | And it is a state, as you mentioned, that has been dominated by Republicans for several decades now. |
| 1:47.3 | It's been a long time since a Democrat has won statewide. |
... |
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