San Antonio native Joaquin Castro pushes back against immigration detention centers in South Texas, while pushing the national Democratic party forward.

The race for Texas’ powerful second-in-command role pits a third-term GOP kingmaker against a state lawmaker who is riding the political tailwind felt by Democrats up and down the ballot.

The comment is a break with a faction of Democrats, including ones in Texas, who have called for overhauling or abolishing ICE. As recently as February, Talarico had said he wanted to “tear down this secret police force.”

The Laredo Democrat’s 28th District was one of five seats Republicans redrew last summer to flip to GOP control. But the new map has proven less ironclad than the party hoped.

Researchers recently traced the birthplace of the world’s dominant cotton species to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Their sleuthing also uncovered a treasure trove of genetic diversity in wild populations, which could eventually make the crop more resilient.