UT Palestine protests, voting issues and flips: This Week in Texas Politics

AUSTIN, Texas - This Week in Texas Politics was filled with protest and some big voting issues.

FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of political analysts discuss the week's headlines.

RUDY KOSKI: Let's get the headlines from our panel, and we'll begin first with Brad Johnson from the Texan News. Brad, what's your headline?  

BRAD JOHNSON: Clashing on campus.  

RUDY KOSKI: Brian Smith with St. Edwards University. Brian, what's your headline?  

BRIAN SMITH: Early voting is underway for the May 4 elections that no one seems to know about.  

RUDY KOSKI: And business analyst Annie Spilman with Mainstreet Relations. Annie, what's your headline?  

ANNIE SPILMAN: Business group sued to stop Federal Trade Commission from banning non-compete clauses.

RELATED: Abbott promises school vouchers will come to Texas soon

RUDY KOSKI: The Texas GOP looks like they're circling the wagons this week, announcing that they will look into ways to close off future Republican primary elections. Brad, this is more fallout. It seems like from the big primary election involving House Speaker Dade Phelan and the claim that Democrats crossed over and kind of influenced that race, although we now know that really isn't the case. Right?

BRAD JOHNSON: Well, it's certainly part of that, though this debate over closing primaries has been going on far longer than that. The Texas GOP took an initial step to do that back at the '22 convention. You mentioned the Speaker's race and how much there was some Democratic crossover, but it's even more interesting when you break it down further. There were a lot of those who actually were more heavily Republican and voted in more GOP primaries than Democratic.  

UT PALESTINE PROTEST COVERAGE

• What are UT Austin's 'institutional rules' around free speech and assembly?
• UT Austin Palestine rally: Criminal charges dropped against some protestors
• University of Texas Palestine protest leads to almost 60 arrests
• UT Austin Palestine rally: University releases statement, announces curfew

RUDY KOSKI: The college pro-Palestinian protest on the East and West Coast finally made it into Texas this week, first in Houston, at Rice University, then at UT and UTSA. These events, I think, could bring about some type of response when state lawmakers return.

ANNIE SPILMAN: Well, I'll tell you, I saw one legislator took to Twitter and said, if any Texas university allows what happened at Columbia to happen here, the Texas Legislature needs to call for new leadership and cut any funding we can. My office will be monitoring today's events. So I'll say, you know, the Texas Legislature meets every other year for one reason, and that's to pass a budget for the state for the next two years, including the budget for higher ed systems. The legislature holds the purse strings and has control, and universities know it. So I'll say the chancellors will need to capitulate with whatever might be proposed next session.

RELATED: TikTok faces federal ban after President Biden signs bill into law

RUDY KOSKI: A TikTok divest or be banned Bill was signed by the President this week. Two Texas senators split their vote, Cornyn voting yes, Cruz voting no. You know, that split was really not about TikTok so much, but more about the military aid being attached to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. And, still, we have nothing for the border. Brian, dysfunction seems to be the rule of everything.  

BRIAN SMITH: We do get things done when there's big money attached to it, and everybody can claim a bit of that pie, but it is the status quo. Until we find out what happens in the fall election for Cruz. He's up for reelection. So his vote is very much in line with conservative Republicans who aren't in the mood to compromise. Cornyn, he's got a little more latitude, but right now, dysfunction is going to be what we see, at least until we get that new President in January.

RUDY KOSKI: A key vote happened this week. Kind of almost flew under the radar regarding voting. The Supreme Court rejected an effort to expand mail-In voting. Brad, you wrote about this. The plaintiffs were arguing that going to a universal mail-in approach could actually help turnout.  

BRAD JOHNSON: Yeah, that's part of it. The legal argument they made was that the 26th Amendment requires universal mail-in balloting. That's the one that extended the right to vote to those aged 18. Overall, though, this was an attempt to revive a 2020 lawsuit, and ultimately the Supreme Court rejected it.

RUDY KOSKI: The outgoing Harris County District Attorney made an eye-catching decision and somewhat of a parting shot that took place on Thursday, Democrat Kim Ogg announcing she won't let her successor, another Democrat, take over a corruption case involving former employees of the county judge, a Democrat.  She's handing it over to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Bryan talking about a political hanging curveball there, right?  

BRIAN SMITH: Oh, yeah. Ogg's laws and primaries. So there's not a lot of love between her and the members of her party. She actually called them enemies in her concession speech. And, you know, we say revenge is best served cold. Turning it over to Paxton. She's turning it, frozen.

MORE TEXAS POLITICS NEWS

• Abbott promises school vouchers will come to Texas soon
• Texas Rep. John Carter's office vandalized with 'Free Gaza,' red liquid
• Texas’ diversity, equity and inclusion ban has led to more than 100 job cuts at state universities
• Don't Mess With Our Kids protests held at state Capitol

RUDY KOSKI: Another case of political whiplash happened Wednesday involving Gov. Greg Abbott. He endorsed Congressman Tony Gonzalez, a fellow Republican who was forced into a runoff after being called a RINO by some extremists on the right. But the governor continues to attack other Republicans who didn't vote for school vouchers. Guys, is this a case that voters are just going to blow this off? Or will they notice this one? Annie?  

ANNIE SPILMAN: The Texas GOP censured Gonzalez in 2023, and have used party resources to help his opponent along the way and in this primary runoff. So Abbott putting his support behind him to save him is a bold move.  

BRIAN SMITH: If Abbott's going to be tough on the border, he needs an ally there at the federal level.

RUDY KOSKI: All right, let's end it there and wrap up the week with just one word from our panel. And we'll start first with Brian. What's your word?

BRIAN SMITH: Protest.  

ANNIE SPILMAN: Well, in honor of this weekend's emergency supplies sales tax holiday, Exemption.  

BRAD JOHNSON: Frenzied.  

RUDY KOSKI: And that is This Week in Texas Politics.