The Beaumont Republican’s foes are trying to paint him as soft on the border, even after last year’s passage of far-reaching laws and record border funding.

Two Texas House members and an immigration lawyer sat down with Matthew Watkins, the Tribune’s managing editor of news and politics, to discuss the current state of Texas’ border and immigration bills that lawmakers are weighing during the special session.

Under a provision of the Texas Constitution, Fanny Jetton will represent her husband’s Houston suburban district during the Legislature’s second special session.

Bills that would give relative caregivers more money have missed key deadlines to make it in front of the full House.

Luther became nationally known at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 when she refused to shut down her Dallas salon in defiance of emergency orders. She was sentenced to a week in jail but was released after only a few days.

Last week, the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national group focused on state legislative races, endorsed Jetton and Berry and announced it would help them as part of a $200,000 investment across five Texas House runoffs. In another Austin-area House seat, Berry and Austin attorney Jennifer Fleck are facing off for their partys nomination to take on Goodwin. Abbott endorsed Jetton in the run-up to the March primary and Miller got behind Morgan, a Richmond insurance agent, four days later. Despite Abbotts involvement, Morgan almost won outright in the three-way primary, getting 49.7% of the vote to 40.7% for Jetton. Should I win this runoff, Im obviously a different person than Rick Miller, Morgan said.