{"id":43918,"date":"2026-02-18T14:18:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=43918"},"modified":"2026-02-18T14:18:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:18:56","slug":"the-2026-senate-campaign-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/18\/the-2026-senate-campaign-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2026 Senate Campaign: Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Who Needs An Intro?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Since the last <del>broken<\/del> <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">breaking report<\/a>, this has happened:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>WaPo<\/strong><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/02\/16\/kentucky-senate-mcconnell-trump-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reports<\/a> on how the three <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/#Kentucky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kentucky<\/a> <em><strong>GOP<\/strong><\/em> candidates aren&#8217;t giving former Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) any respect. While McConnell&#8217;s not generally popular, his connections and allies are taking offense at the attacks generated by these three candidates who all have connections to McConnell. One of them is most likely the next Senator from Kentucky, but they may find themselves representing a discontented State searching for alternatives. Or a Democratic candidate with more <em>gravitas<\/em>, such as Booker or McGrath, might upset them, especially if Trump&#8217;s reputation continues to decay due to discoveries in the <strong>Epstein Files<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>As I&#8217;m sure everyone expected, <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/#Texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas<\/a> AG Ken Paxton&#8217;s (R-TX) yearning to be a Senator from Texas is upsetting many conservatives, even as Senator Cornyn&#8217;s relative lack of extremism displeases extremists. <a href=\"https:\/\/ewerickson.substack.com\/p\/will-texas-commit-suicide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Erick Erickson<\/a>:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>Some of these Texas supporters of Paxton have reasoned they\u2019d rather the Democrats take the Senate than keep John Cornyn. They will not be reasoned with. They wrap themselves in the language of Christianity and promote a serial adulterer of ill repute and then convince themselves the country is going to hell in a hand basket.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Welcome to the epistemic bubble of the right. The left has one, too. The Texas primary is scheduled for March 3rd, but early voting has already begun.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/#Texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas<\/a> is a big State with lots of news, and I saw this one the night it occurred: An interview with Democratic candidate for the Senate James Talarico by Stephen Colbert for the <em><strong>The Late Show<\/strong><\/em> was banned by &#8220;CBS lawyers&#8221; (read: David Ellison?) because of FCC shit. Word on the street is that Talarico is worrisome as <a href=\"https:\/\/heathercoxrichardson.substack.com\/p\/february-17-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he&#8217;s studying to be a minister and rejects the evangelical arguments for voting Republican<\/a>. If you want details such as the actual announcement\/denouncement by Colbert, a transcript, or a link to the actual interview, follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2026\/2\/16\/2369085\/-TX-Sen-Watch-Stephen-Colbert-Call-Out-CBS-For-Pulling-His-Interview-With-James-Talarico-D?pm_campaign=trending&amp;pm_source=sidebar&amp;pm_medium=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this link<\/a> to a poopdogcomedy post on <em><strong>Daily Kos.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>This <em><strong>MS NOW<\/strong><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/colbert-accuses-cbs-of-blocking-on-air-interview-with-texas-democrat-james-talarico\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">piece<\/a> includes a clarification from the CBS News lawyers. <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/206688\/fcc-stephen-colbert-interview-censorship-backfires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This <em><strong>TNR<\/strong><\/em> piece<\/a> says,<em> It has gotten 8.3 million views as of this writing<\/em>. The show typically has 2.3 million viewers. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ms.now\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/their-plan-backfired-colberts-james-talarico-interview-generates-large-online-audience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this <em><strong>MS NOW<\/strong><\/em> piece<\/a> helpfully summarizes this entire drama. This leaves interpretation wide open: Is this a simple case of the current chief of <em><strong>Paramount<\/strong><\/em>, which owns <em><strong>CBS<\/strong><\/em>, which in turn owns <em><strong>The Late Show<\/strong><\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2025\/12\/09\/a-peek-is-coming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">David Ellison<\/a>, clumsily trying to silence a dangerous Democratic contender for the Senate seat held by Senator Cornyn, and instead amplifying his candidacy? Losing evangelical voters would doom the current lot of Republican grifters, that&#8217;s for certain, and that&#8217;s one way to enhance your <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/15\/word-of-the-day-1096\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">failson<\/a> credentials, Mr Ellison. But the result was predictable. Is Ellison, or whoever&#8217;s the hand in his puppet, taking a shot at Senator Cornyn, who, see above point, is disliked by the &#8220;compromise is evil&#8221; extremists? Perhaps Talarico is seen as easier to beat than his Democratic competitors, Rep Jasmine Crockett and Ahmad Hassan. Or is it something deeper yet?<\/li>\n<li>Oh, and President Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/2023569495034589596\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">endorses<\/a> all three top <em><strong>GOP<\/strong><\/em> candidates for the Senate seat in Texas. The terror of being wrong, eh?<\/li>\n<li>Readers of the <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first installment<\/a> of this coverage may recall this note in the initial coverage of <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/#Texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas<\/a>:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI told [lawmakers] straight up: South Texas will never be red again,\u201d said Mario Guerrero, the CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, a Trump voter who traveled to Washington last week.<em>\u00a0[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/02\/14\/south-texas-will-never-be-red-again-builders-warn-gop-over-trumps-immigration-raids-00781374\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Politico<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I mention this because I&#8217;ve run across something similar involving <a href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/16\/the-2026-senate-campaign-the-burned\/#Florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Florida<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/heathercoxrichardson.substack.com\/p\/february-17-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">From<\/a> Professor Richardson, as I don&#8217;t currently have a <em><strong>Wall Street Journal<\/strong><\/em> subscription:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In May 2023 the Florida legislature passed a law requiring employers with 25 or more employees to confirm that their workers are in the U.S. legally. The new law prompted foreign farmworkers and construction workers to leave the state. Now, the Wall Street Journal reported in a February 6 editorial, employers \u201care struggling to find workers they can employ legally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The newspaper continued: \u201cThere\u2019s little evidence that undocumented migrants are taking jobs from Americans. The reality is that employers can\u2019t find enough Americans willing to work in the fields or hang drywall, even at attractive wages. Farm hands in Florida who work year-round earn roughly $47,000, which is more than what some young college graduates earn.\u201d \u201cThe lesson for President Trump is that businesses can\u2019t grow if government takes away their workers,\u201d the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board concluded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As predicted for many years. This sounds like alienation of voters&#8217; affections, if the Democrats can link the inability to build housing and harvest food to the anti-immigrant efforts of the Republicans. That might make Senator Moody (R) a vulnerable target.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Read All About It<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The news seems a bit time-sensitive, so here&#8217;s what has hit my windshield so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who Needs An Intro? Since the last broken breaking report, this has happened: WaPo reports on how the three Kentucky GOP candidates aren&#8217;t giving former Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) any respect. While McConnell&#8217;s not generally popular, his connections and allies are taking offense at the attacks generated by these \u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/02\/18\/the-2026-senate-campaign-updates\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43918"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43934,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43918\/revisions\/43934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}