HELPING WORKING PEOPLE.
>> IT IS NOT JUST A STATE OF
THE UNION NIGHTS AMID THE START
OF AN HISTORIC WAR IN EUROPE,
TONIGHT IS ALSO THE OFFICIAL
START OF THE 2022 MIDTERM
ELECTIONS IN TEXAS --
THEY WENT TO CAST THEIR VOTES,
THOSE RACES WILL DETERMINE WHO
THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN
CANDIDATES WILL BE THIS
NOVEMBER.
FOR THE LATEST ON THOSE RACES,
I WANT TO TURN TO MSNBC'S STEVE
KORNACKI, OVER AT THE BIG
BOARD.
STEVE, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN
TEXAS?
>> I CAN TELL YOU, SOME OF THE
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO JOE
BIDEN WAS ADDRESSING TONIGHT
WHILE HE WAS GIVING THAT SPEECH
FOUND THEMSELVES, FIND
THEMSELVES CURRENTLY, AND
POLITICAL CRISES BACK IN THEIR
HOME DISTRICTS.
LET'S START IN THE 20TH
DISTRICT OF TEXAS, THIS IS
SOUTH TEXAS, THIS IS THE
DISTRICT HERE SPENDING IS SAN
ANTONIO DOWN TO SON --
TO LAREDO.
THE INCUMBENT, WHERE HENRY
CUELLAR, HE'S BEEN THERE FROM
US 20 YEARS, HE'S ONE OF THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS AND
CONGRESS.
HE'S A HAWK ON THE BOARD, HE'S
ANTIABORTION.
HE REPRESENTS SOME PORTIONS
HERE, SOME OF THESE COUNTIES
HERE GOT A LOT OF ATTENTION
AFTER THE 2020 ELECTION WHERE
THEY SWUNG 20, 30, 40 POINTS
AWAY FROM THE DEMOCRATS IN THE
BIDEN TRUMP RACE.
HERE IS HENRY CUELLAR, TRAILING
JUSTICE IS NARROWS, SHE COMES
IN WITH ONION DOES --
NATIONAL PROGRESSIVE --
SHE CHALLENGED FOR THE SEA TWO
YEARS AGO, CAME WITHIN FOUR
POINTS.
CUELLAR HAS FOUND HIMSELF --
THERE WAS AN FBI RAID OF HIS
OFFICE, HIS HOME, WITHIN THE
LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
THERE'S AN INVESTIGATION THAT
HE SAYS WILL CLEAR HIM, BUT IT
HAS CLOUDED THIS CAMPAIGN.
RIGHT NOW, CISNEROS IS LEADING
IN THE VOTE COUNT.
TWO THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
HOWEVER.
ONE BIG KEY TO THIS COUNTY,
START COUNTY RIGHT ON THE
BORDER, WE DON'T HAVE RESULTS
IN YET AN HOUR TABULATIONS.
WE ARE EXPECTING CUELLAR TO DO
VERY WELL.
THEY'RE SO A BIG BUNCH OF
CUELLAR VOTES NOT YET ROOT
FIELD IN THE TOTAL.
THE SAME DAY, THE RATE A --
THIS IS THE BASE OF HENRY
CUELLAR.
YOU SEE THERE'S A LOT OF VOTES
STILL TO BE COUNTED IN THIS
COUNTY HERE.
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY I THINK FOR
ACQUIRE TO PICK UP A LOT OF
VOTES.
ANOTHER AREA THAT IS LEFT,
THERE'S A PORTION OF BEAR
COUNTY, THAT'S WHERE SOME
UNTURNED NEW IS.
YOU CAN SEE A HUGE DIFFERENCE
IN NUMBERS THERE.
BUT CISNEROS DOES HAVE A POCKET
OF VOTES LEFT.
BUT IF YOU ADD IT UP, HERE'S
THE THING THAT APPEARS MOST
LIKELY RIGHT NOW, NEITHER ONE
OF THESE CANDIDATES POTENTIALLY
COULD END UP AT 50%.
IN TEXAS, IF YOU DON'T HIT 50%
TONIGHT, IT WILL TRIGGER
RUNOFF.
THERE IS A THIRD CANDIDATE HERE
GETTING ABOUT 5% OF THE VOTES.
SO THE POSSIBILITY LOOMS WHEN
YOU LOOK AT THE AREAS THAT ARE
LEFT WHERE CUELLAR CAN PICK UP
SOME BIG VOTES THERE, WHO IS
THAT NUMBER, BRING THIS IS
NARROW NUMBER DOWN, CISNEROS --
YOU SEE THE POTENTIAL TO SETTLE
IT IN BEAR COUNTY.
IF THERE AREN'T ENOUGH VOTES IN
BEAR COUNTY TO BOTH STATE TO
50%, YOU THERE COULD BE A
SCENARIO WHERE THESE TWO
CANDIDATES ARE HEADED TO A
RUNOFF.
THE RUNOFF WILL BE HEAD MAY
24TH, IT WOULD BE JUST THE TWO
OF THEM.
THIS WILL BE A PREVIEW.
THAT WOULD BE A RACE THAT WOULD
GET A LOT OF NATIONAL
ATTENTION.
ONE OF THE MOST CONSERVATIVE
DEMOCRATS ARE GONNA FIND IN THE
HOUSE AGAINST A PROGRESSIVE
CHALLENGER WHO NEARLY BEAT HIM
TWO YEARS AGO.
A REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS
WHO FOUND HIMSELF I THINK
SWEATING DURING THAT SPEECH A
LITTLE BIT, THIS IS NORTH TEXAS,
AND THE INCUMBENT AREAS TAYLOR.
THE KEY IS, THIS DOESN'T LOOK
THAT CLOSE, HE'S AT 50 1:26, AT
THE RUNOFF NUMBERS SKI.
DOES HE FINISH ABOVE 50%, DOES
HE AVOID THE RUNOFF.
WHY WOULD BEN TAYLOR AN
INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN HERE, BE
SO CLOSE TO FALLING INTO A
RUNOFF HERE?
VAN TAYLOR VOTED FOR THE
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION TO
INVESTIGATE JANUARY SIX, THE
EVENTS OF JANUARY SIX.
HE HAS FOUND HIMSELF TAKING
INCREDIBLE HEAT FROM SEVERAL
PRIMARY OPPONENTS FROM
CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS WHO HAVE
BASICALLY SAID, THIS IS ABOUT
TAKING A REPUBLICAN WHO ISN'T
SUFFICIENT TO LOYAL TO DONALD
TRUMP OUT.
TRUMP AND SELF HAS NOT ENDORSED
TAYLOR.
THE POLITICAL DANGER FOR TAYLOR
'S, YOU CAN STILL SEE WE ARE
AVOIDING MORE VOTES, IF TAYLOR
SUBS TO FLOAT 50% HERE AND GETS
INTO A RUNOFF --
RUN OFF THE TRIGGER, THAT COULD
WHET THE APPETITE AND TRUMP AND
ONE OF THESE MORE NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN FIGURES TO TAKE A
SHOT AT HIM AND A ONE-ON-ONE
RUNOFF SITUATION.
IT MIGHT SIGNALS A MOMENT OF
WEAKNESS IF HE FALLS UNDER 50%.
A COUPLE OF REPUBLICANS WE ARE
KEEPING AN EYE ON IN TEXAS
TONIGHT.
TO SEE IF THEY HAVE GOTTEN A
LITTLE CROSSWISE AHEAD OF THE
MOVEMENT.
TAYLOR IS PAYING THE IS PRIZED
FOR THE VOTES.
WE'RE GONNA SEE IF HE CAN STAY
OUT OF 50% BECAUSE A RUNOFF
COULD GET DICEY.
FROM >> STEVE, CAN I JUST ASK
YOU, THERE WAS SO MUCH
ATTENTION HEADING INTO THIS
WITH A NEW CHANGE VOTING ROLES
IN TEXAS, DO WE KNOW ENOUGH YET
ABOUT THE WAY THE VOTES ARE
COMING IN TO KNOW IF WE ARE
HAVING ABNORMALLY LOW TURNOUT
OR HAVING TURNOUT NUMBERS AT
ALL THAT ARE SIGNIFICANT IN A
DIFFERENT THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE
BEEN ANOTHER PRIMARY?
>> IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO TELL AND
PRIMARY BECAUSE IT'S SORT OF
UNEQUAL BETWEEN THE TWO
PARTIES.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE --
IT'S NOT LIKE A PRESIDENTIAL
YEAR WHERE WE HAVE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION ON BOTH SIDES.
EVEN IN THE --
LET ME SHOW YOU THIS, THE RACES
THAT SHOULD DRAW OUT TO VOTERS
AND BIG NUMBERS HERE,, AGAIN ON
THE REPUBLICAN SIDE, GREG
ABBOTT GOT SOME CHALLENGES.
NOT MUCH OF A RAISE.
HE RUNS RENOMINATION.
O'ROURKE GET SOME OPPONENTS.
O'ROURKE VERSUS ABBOTT, THAT
RACE IS NOW SET FOR NOVEMBER.
BUT HE DIDN'T HAVE BIG RACES
THAT WERE AT THE TOP OF THE
TICKET DRAWING OUT VOTERS KIND
OF STATEWIDE FREE.
THIS FUN FACT, I'LL SHOW YOU ON
THE REPUBLICAN SIDE, THIS IS
THE MARQUEE STATEWIDE RACE.
IT'S UNRESOLVED AT THE MOMENT.
KEN PAXTON, THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL PATH TEXAS, HE REMEMBER,
HE WAS THE ONE WHO TRIED TO PUT
THAT FIRST LAWSUIT TOGETHER
AFTER THE 2020 ELECTION
BASICALLY TRYING TO OVERTHROW,
OVERTURN, THE 2020 ELECTION.
KEN PAXTON, ALSO HE'S BEEN
UNDER INDICTMENT FOR YEARS, AN
INDICTMENT MOVING OVER HIS HEAD,
THERE'S BEEN AN INVESTIGATION
OVER HIS OFFICE.
HE'S GOTTEN THREE CHALLENGERS,
ONE BUSH AND --
PAXTON IS GOING TO FINISH FIRST
HERE IN ADVANCE TO THE RUNOFF,
BUT WE ARE PROJECTING THAT HE
WILL NOT RUN THE 50% NUMBER.
THE SUSPENSE RIGHT NOW, WHERE
THERE SEEMS TO BE HERE BETWEEN
BUSH AND BOOZMAN WHO FINISHES
SECOND, WHO WILL OPPOSE PAXTON
IN THAT RUNOFF?
INTERESTINGLY, IF BUSH RIGHT,
NOW YOU SEE HE IS AHEAD BY 40
50,000 VOTES FOR THAT SECOND
SPOT, IF BUSH DOESN'T END UP IN
SECOND, DO YOU KNOW WHERE
BUSHES WEAKEST PLACE IN THE
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY IN TEXAS'S
BEEN TONIGHT?
WHAT A STORY THIS HAS --
BEEN ITS BRINGS IT ALL AROUND.
HOUSTON!
HARRIS COUNTY.
IT'S WHERE I BEGAN FOR THE BUSH
FAMILY IN TEXAS, HIS
GRANDFATHER GEORGE H. W. BUSH
LAUNCHED HIS CAREER AND BUILT
THE MODERN REPUBLICAN PARTY AND