The Texas primary is the first election of the 2022 midterms

The Texas primary is the first election of the 2022 midterms

Transcript¹

It's primary day in Texas. Voters there will decide who to nominate for governor, attorney general and a host of other offices.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Today is primary day in Texas. It's the first state to hold midterm elections this year. Voters there decide who to nominate for governor, attorney general and a host of other offices. KERA's Bret Jaspers joins us now from Dallas. Bret, so lay out these races for us. Which is the most contested?

BRET JASPERS, BYLINE³: Well, that would be the race for attorney general because incumbent⁴ Ken⁵ Paxton is in a real fight to save his job. People may know Paxton from the many lawsuits⁶ he's filed against the Biden administration and his efforts to keep President Trump⁷ in office. So he's had a really loud voice in the conservative movement.

MARTINEZ: And yet Paxton is in trouble in a primary despite doing what the Republican base wants. So explain that part.

JASPERS: Well, he's been fighting off state felony charges for years - and then more recent accusations⁸ from whistleblowers that he abused his office to help a campaign donor⁹. The FBI is reportedly investigating that, so three well-known politicians are challenging him, including George P. Bush, who's Jeb Bush's son and the Texas land commissioner¹⁰. Here's Bush on an ABC affiliate¹¹ in East Texas last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GEORGE P BUSH: And Ken Paxton, if he's our nominee¹², will lose to the Democrats¹⁴. And the Democrats will have their first statewide office in close to 30 years. The risk is too large. Under election code, we can't switch horses after the nomination¹⁵ process. We got to make that change now.

MARTINEZ: All right. So how is Paxton fending¹⁶ off his primary challengers?

JASPERS: Paxton continues to make news pursuing very right-wing policies. Last week, he issued a nonbinding legal opinion saying that gender-affirming health care measures for trans kids was child abuse. Advocates for trans youth called it a shocking example of a powerful official punching down on a vulnerable group. But if Paxton doesn't get more than half of the vote, he'll head to a runoff with the second-highest vote getter.

MARTINEZ: All right. What about the top job in Texas? Governor Greg Abbott - he has multiple primary challengers, too, so could he face a runoff?

JASPERS: Possibly. The governor did anger right-wing activists¹⁷ with his lockdown and mask orders early on in the pandemic. That drew some better-known politicians into his primary. But Abbott has worked hard to appeal to the base of the party. He's also raised an enormous amount of money and has been polling above where he needs to to avoid a runoff. And so on the Democratic side, former U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke is considered the frontrunner to take on Abbott in November. Many people will recognize O'Rourke's name from when he challenged Ted² Cruz for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and then briefly¹⁸ ran for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. And both candidates, Abbott and O'Rourke, have been campaigning like their matchup in November is inevitable¹⁹.

MARTINEZ: Now, what about primaries on the Democratic side?

JASPERS: There is a primary in South Texas for a congressional seat. That's a repeat from 2020. Moderate Democrat¹³ Henry Cuellar has represented the district since 2005. But in January, the FBI raided his home and office. Details are still sparse²⁰ as to why this raid happened, but his progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, is running ads about the raids. She's also raised a lot of money and has high-profile folks coming to campaign for her, like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. So this could be a Texas version of the old guard Dems getting toppled by a young progressive. But not only is this important as an interparty battle. The district is also one of two in South Texas that Republicans are hoping to flip²¹ in 2022.

MARTINEZ: What about the rest of the congressional seats. Does it look like November will be very competitive?

JASPERS: So Texas, like the rest of the country, redistricted this year. And, you know, politicians on both sides of the aisle²², Democrats and Republicans, both got relatively²³ stronger seats after that redistricting effort. So there are a couple of interesting primaries this year, but it seems like November will be less interesting than it was in 2020, less competitive.

MARTINEZ: And one more thing, Bret - the state's new election law. I wonder if it's had any effect that we can tell. It was such a bitter fight over its - passed last year. I remember Texas Democrats fleeing the state for over a month.

JASPERS: Right. This is the first election under that new voting law, and we've seen some problems, especially around mail-in ballots²⁵. Thousands of mail in ballot²⁴ applications or ballots themselves have been flagged for rejection²⁶, mostly due to new ID requirements. The issue became so problematic that officials in the Houston area asked the Biden administration to intervene and stop it, alleging²⁷ voter suppression.

MARTINEZ: That's KERA's Bret Jaspers in Dallas, Texas. Bret, thanks a lot.

JASPERS: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

5 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

6 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

9 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

10 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

11 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

16 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

19 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

20 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

21 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

22 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

23 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

24 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

25 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

27 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。