MRT 6/9/25 (free): Soros-Backed Group to Aim to Turn TX Blue in ’26 // ERCOT: <1% Chance of Rolling Outages // Jones Elected SA Mayor // $190k Paxton Donor Now a Fugitive

MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak 

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MONDAY | 6/9/2025

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• TOP NEWS

“Group Backed by George Soros to Plow Millions into Turning Texas Blue,” Wall Street Journal's Ken Thomas – “Democrats are launching a multimillion-dollar effort, helped by megadonor George Soros, to turn Texas into a political battleground after suffering through decades of electoral losses in the nation’s second-largest state.

Texas Majority PAC, a Soros-funded PAC, will launch a “Blue Texas” initiative Monday along with the Texas Democratic Party and a group of county parties, aiming to organize tens of thousands of volunteers, recruit candidates and boost turnout ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, has devoted millions to turning Texas blue in the past and donated $2.1 million to Texas Majority in 2024 and $1 million in April, records show.

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Texas has been a Republican stronghold for decades, providing the GOP with its largest batch of electoral votes and supporting President Trump in each of the past three presidential elections. The growth in the state’s Hispanic population during the past two decades has raised hopes among Democrats, but those demographic shifts have done little to change the balance of power. Earlier organizing efforts by Democrats, such as through a group called Battleground Texas, have failed to yield significant results.

Democrats haven’t won a statewide election since 1994, and Trump generated his largest margin of victory in Texas last year, defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris by nearly 14 percentage points. Republicans have won every presidential election in Texas since 1980, and the last Democratic U.S. senator to win an election in the state was Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.

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The Blue Texas project will work with state and county parties to recruit candidates and sign up volunteers, starting with a series of organizing rallies in June. Organizers plan to visit more than two dozen cities in July to recruit candidates.

“If a win is on the table in 2026, we don’t want to leave it there by not being organized,” said Katherine Fischer, the deputy executive director of Texas Majority PAC. The PAC has supported a group of city council and school board candidates who won election this year.

Texas Majority, the Texas Democratic Party and the nearly dozen county parties under the Blue Texas alliance collectively spent about $35 million in the 2024 election cycle, and organizers said they expect to exceed that amount through the partnership.

The group hopes a sustained commitment to building volunteers and get-out-the-vote efforts will help in next year’s Senate campaign, where incumbent Sen. John Cornyn faces a Republican primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton." WSJ ($)

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• TOP NEWS

“Amid LA unrest, Austin group organizing solidarity protest at Texas Capitol” AAS ($)

“ERCOT predicts the risk of rolling blackouts in Texas this summer” SAEN ($)

• STATE GOVERNMENT

“Texas secretary of state refers 33 potential noncitizen voters for criminal investigation” Texas Tribune

“Major Paxton Donor is a Federal Fugitive” The Texas Voice

• 2025

“San Antonio’s next mayor is Gina Ortiz Jones, an Air Force veteran who served in the Biden administration” SA Report

“Longtime GOP activist Misty Spears flips D9, giving left-leaning council another conservative voice” SA Report

• 2026

“Senior Trump DOJ official expected to depart, run for Texas AG” Semafor

“Pro-Trump FEC chairman eyes bid for Texas attorney general” Washington Examiner

• BUSINESS NEWS

“‘A long game’: High-speed rail could drive billions to Dallas. Will it happen?” DMN ($)

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

> TX TRIB: "Lawmakers passed bills this session to boost the state power grid but failed to limit renewables" TX TRIB

> SAEN: "Valedictorian goes off-script, defends immigrant rights—mic cut mid-speech" SAEN

> AAS: "Texas lawmakers OK tuition relief for students in high-demand fields" AAS

> HOU CHRON: "It’s the economy, estúpido: New Jersey governor's race tests Democrats' efforts to win back Latinos" HOU CHRON

> SAEN: "After cruising to victory, Gina Ortiz Jones will lead city at critical juncture" SAEN

> KXAN: "Hays County Judge calls for humane immigration practices amid rising detentions" KXAN

> HOU CHRON: "Runoff election results: Sugar Land, Pasadena elect new mayors, councilmembers" HOU CHRON

> KXAN: "Bastrop has a new mayor, Harris wins runoff election" KXAN

> MY RGV: "Valley residents elect new officials in several runoff elections" MY RGV

> TX TRIB: "Texas’ swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion" TX TRIB

> DMN: "Jim Rossman: Planning is the key to buying the right portable power station" DMN

> FWST: "Is Grapevine Lake safe? Community calls for safety measures after jet ski accident" FWST

> FWST: "Is Fort Worth’s housing market cooling off?" FWST

> SA REPORT: "First trial of immigrant accused of trespassing on Texas border military zone ends in acquittal" SA REPORT

> FWST: "One killed in Sunday morning hit-and-run crash, Fort Worth police say" FWST

> DMN: "Live radar: Severe weather threat for D-FW ends but flooding fears remain" DMN

> HOU CHRON: "Inside Houston's first luxury postpartum retreat - one of a few in the U.S." HOU CHRON

> DMN: "Thousands across North Texas without power as storms blow through the region" DMN

> FWST: "Tornado with quarter-sized hail possible in North Texas Sunday – take cover now" FWST

> FWST: "UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch issued for North Texas until early Monday morning" FWST

• EXTRA POINTS

Recent Texas sports scores:
Sat
> MLB: Texas 5, Washington 0
> MLB: Houston 5, Cleveland 3
> MLS: Austin 2, Colorado 0
Sun
> MLB: Texas 4, Washington 2
> MLB: Cleveland 4, Houston 2
> WNBA: Minnesota at Dallas

Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
None.

Tomorrow's Texas sports schedule:
> 6:40pm: MLB: Texas at Minnesota
> 7:10pm: MLB: Chicago (WS) at Houston

TEXAS SOFTBALL: "Texas softball alums celebrate 1st Women's College World Series title" AAS ($)

TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL: "Texas A&M football 2025 quarterback preview: Marcel Reed steps into starting role" AAS ($)

HOUSTON ASTROS: "Nolan Jones scores go-ahead run on throwing error in 7th, Guardians beat Astros 4-2" AP

UTSA BASEBALL: "Brennan’s 3 hits, 2 RBIs help UCLA beat UTSA 7-0 and win super regional, clinch berth in CWS" AP

DALLAS WINGS: “Collier scores 28, McBride hits 6 3-pointers and the Lynx beat the Wings 81-65" AP

DALLAS STARS / DALLAS MAVERICKS: “Improbable twists, turns have Mavs catching Stars as a potential playoff force in Dallas" DMN ($)

HOUSTON TEXANS: “Will C.J. Stroud throw? Will Nick Chubb be there? Key questions facing Texans ahead of minicamp" Hou Chron ($)