Cecilia Castellano is the Democratic nominee in the race for Texas House District 80. The current office holder, Democrat Tracy King, is retiring. Former Uvalde Mayor Don Mclaughlin is the Republican in the race. TPR's "The Source" has invited McLaughlin to come on air and we are working on setting a date.
Castellano was in the news in August when Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office raided her home and the homes of several other South Texas Democrats. The raid appears to be the result of a “vote harvesting” investigation. Over the weekend a federal judge ruled that Paxton didn’t have the authority to conduct “vote harvesting” investigations because that portion of the SB1 omnibus voter security law was unconstitutional. The ruling explained the law was vague, overly broad and violated the freedom of speech of the people who are assisting others to vote.
Castellano and the leadership of LULAC have called for a federal investigation into the raids.
Texas House District 80 is a rural South Texas district, which connects Pleasanton, Pearsall, and Uvalde with parts of Laredo. It is following the trend of other Latino-dominated districts and has tracked to the right in recent years. Former President Donald Trump carried the district by four points in 2020.
Yet, this remains one of the few competitive House district races in Texas. The outcome of the election could determine whether Gov. Greg Abbott gets another vote for his school voucher plan, which would use public dollars to pay for tuition at private school.
Castellano is running against school vouchers and is calling for Abbott to fully fund public education in Texas.
Guest:
Cecilia Castellano is the Democratic nominee in the race for Texas House District 80.
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org.
*This interview will be recorded on Tuesdsay, October 1, 2024.
