Two Races That Could Reshape Politics: Texas Senate and California’s Jungle Primary.
The Bill Press Pod
BP Pods
4.7 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Bill Press examines two races that could shift U.S. politics: Texas’s U.S. Senate contest and California’s open governor’s race. In Texas, reporter Maria Recio of The Austin American-Statesman, explains how state Rep. James Talarico beat Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary, citing his earlier start, stronger ground game, appeal to Latino voters, moderate and faith-based profile, and high Democratic turnout; the GOP nominee will be decided in a May 26 runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and AG Ken Paxton, with Trump’s endorsement still uncertain and Paxton seen as more damaged by scandals. They discuss issues likely shaping 2026, including affordability, immigration enforcement conditions, and war. In California, Politico’s Melanie Mason details the top-two “jungle primary,” warning Democrats that eight candidates could split votes enough to allow two Republicans to advance; current frontrunners include Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell, and wealthy spender Tom Steyer, amid few major endorsements.
You can follow Melanie Mason’s work at Politico.com/newsletters/californiaplaybook
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, good friends. Welcome back to the Bill Press pods. Good to see you again. Of course, |
| 0:12.3 | Trump's war in Iran is the big story of the day, and it's hard not to talk about it, but there's also |
| 0:19.6 | important political news to talk about, and that's where |
| 0:22.5 | we focus today on two important races that could dramatically change America's political landscape. |
| 0:29.3 | The first is Texas, where a Democratic newcomer named James Talariko has captured the nation's |
| 0:35.1 | attention and is now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate |
| 0:38.7 | against longtime establishment Republican Senator John Cornyn or MAGA Attorney General Ken |
| 0:46.3 | Paxton, depending on who wins the GOP runoff on May 26th. |
| 0:51.5 | The second is California, where eight Democrats and two Republicans are running for governor |
| 0:57.6 | to replace Gavin Newsom, who's termed out and already unofficially running for president. |
| 1:04.4 | And where some are worried that in this jungle primary on June 2nd, with so many Democrats splitting the Democratic vote, two Republicans |
| 1:14.5 | and no Democrat could end up leading the November ballot. So we'll talk California with Melanie |
| 1:22.0 | Mason, California Bureau Chief for Politico based in Los Angeles. But first, let's take a good look at Texas with |
| 1:29.0 | Maria Ressio, who covers politics from Washington for the Austin American statesman and the |
| 1:35.1 | Fort Worth Report. Maria Ressio, thank you for joining us today on the Bill Press pod. |
| 1:39.7 | Good to have you back on the podcast. Oh, thank you for having me. It's always fun. |
| 1:43.8 | Texas suddenly, right? |
| 1:45.5 | All the eyes are on Texas, especially after this exciting primary last week. Let's start with |
| 1:52.1 | the Democratic primary. James Tolariko, 52.4 to a Jasmine Crock at 46.2. What was the telling factor in that primary? You got a sitting member |
| 2:04.1 | of Congress versus a member of the Texas House, but it turned out the other way around. |
| 2:10.2 | Well, I have to say that I always felt that Jasmine started at a disadvantage because she started |
| 2:16.6 | so late. |
... |
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