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S15 EP184: Hour 2 - Why Ken Paxton May Cost Republicans the Senate

Episode length: 37m

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Erick Erickson sounds the alarm on the 2026 Senate map as Republican donors scramble to defend Nebraska, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina, and blames the Ken Paxton scandals in Texas for draining money from Mike Rogers in Michigan and handing James Talarico a path to the Senate. Georgia governor candidate Rick Jackson joins by phone to take on Keisha Lance Bottoms, with plans on affordability, data centers, mental health beds, and a Mississippi style push on third grade reading. Erick also plays Democratic candidates promising to abolish ICE, Vivek Ramaswamy's Ohio rally pitch against Sherrod Brown, and a pro-Trump Ohio voter, with Shane Gillis and the SNL monologue outrage teed up next.

  • Senate panic: Republican outside groups spending in Nebraska for Pete Ricketts, plus Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina, and why Erick thinks the GOP internal polling must be bad
  • Ken Paxton scandal in Texas: the Wall Street Journal report on Dubai, the Trump endorsement, James Talarico, and why Erick says saving the Senate matters more than saving Texas
  • Democrats who "abolish ICE": Angie Nixon in Florida, Maxwell Frost, and a Hassan Piker interview, plus impeachment talk if Democrats win the House
  • Rick Jackson interview: Georgia governor race against Keisha Lance Bottoms, affordability, data center rules for local counties, 500 new mental health beds, and reading by third grade
  • Vivek Ramaswamy in Youngstown against Sherrod Brown in the Ohio governor's race, an Ohio voter on Iran, and the Shane Gillis SNL monologue backlash preview
Host:
Erick Erickson