Daily Dispatch 12/22/25: Surveying The Damage Done As 2026 Approaches, And More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

New Quinnipiac University polling paints a dismal picture for Donald Trump - but also dissatisfaction among Democrats with their own party: https://www.kvue.com/video/news/politics/texas-this-week/new-polling-shows-voters-intentions-ahead-of-2026-midterm-elections-texas-this-week/269-51e19d7c-319b-40df-8408-11c9ffdba478

...Trump's lack of discipline and expertise may be the undoing of his own efforts to establish an American authoritarian regime - but he still has three years to work on it: https://www.vox.com/politics/472346/trump-democracy-2025-haphazard-authoritarian

McClennan County Justice Of The Pease Dianne Hensley, cleared to sue the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct for calling her on denying same sex marriages in her courtroom, is now going after the SCOTUS decision that recognized those marriages in 2015: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/19/texas-judge-same-sex-marriage-supreme-court-obergefell/

Texas' near-complete ban on abortion care has impacted both new OB/GYN trainees, creating a reproductive medicine "brain drain", but has also pressured experienced veterans of the field to either leave Texas or retire early: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/abortion-ban-is-pushing-medical-students-out-of-texas/

Texas' cooperation with Trump's mass deportation efforts have undermined a growing number of criminal cases, as DA's say undocumented witnesses are increasingly reluctant to participate: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/22/texas-district-attorneys-deportation-witnesses-criminal-cases-immigrants/

Polling in the race for the Democratic nomination for Texas Attorney General shows a current virtual tie between Dallas State Senator Nathan Johnson and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/meet-the-democrats-running-for-texas-attorney-general/

See the full list of 2026 races and candidates, courtesy of Lone Star Left, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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