Seeing Red: A Texas Politics Podcast

Garrett Fulce
  • 5.0 (22)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Seeing Red: A Texas Politics Podcast is where Texas politics gets the scrutiny it deserves. Hosted by strategist and writer Garrett Fulce, the show features in-depth conversations with lawmakers, activists, and insiders shaping policy in Austin and beyond. Each week, Garrett cuts through the noise with candid interviews and sharp commentary—bringing listeners beyond the talking points to the real mechanics of power in Texas.

  1. 5d ago

    "You Can't Trust ICE," Says Houston's Opinion Editor. Do Voters Buy It?

    Houston Chronicle opinion editor Evan Mintz joins Garrett Fulce to break down the fatal ICE shooting rocking Houston — and why the paper's own editorial board said flatly you can't trust the federal government's story. This is a rare inside look at how a major Texas newsroom decides what to publish when a story turns into a national flashpoint. Evan explains why he leads with "biased for Houston" instead of left vs. right, walks through the shifting federal accounts of the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo shooting, and makes the business case Houston's business community has made for decades on immigration reform. Garrett and Evan also dig into why data centers have become a bizarre partisan football, and Evan makes his 15-year case for building the "Ike Dike." Topics discussed: - Evan Mintz's return to the Houston Chronicle and what "biased for Houston" really means - How the Chronicle's editorial board decides which op-eds to run — left, right, and everywhere between - The Houston ICE shooting: what changed between ICE's first statement and U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz's account - Comparing the ICE shooting to a separate HPD officer-involved shooting the same morning - Why Houston's business community, not progressives, historically led the push for immigration reform - Trump, Tom Homan, Susan Collins, John Whitmire, and Greg Abbott's competing reactions to the ICE vehicle-stop pause - Why political "absolutists" end up driving policy on immigration - Being "biased" for a city vs. being partisan — and why John Whitmire hates the word "politicize" - Data centers as a new, oddly bipartisan flashpoint - Evan's 15-year campaign for the "Ike Dike" coastal barrier Guest: Evan Mintz, Opinion Editor, Houston Chronicle. Contact/social handle: Not stated in transcript — producer to fill in. Chapters: 0:00 Welcome & Episode Preview  0:46 Meet Evan Mintz, Houston Chronicle 8:24 Inside the ICE Shooting Ed Board Debate 16:53 Enforcement's Political Trap for the GOP 21:44 Why Absolutists Drive the Immigration Fight 24:04 Biased for Houston vs. Being Partisan 28:21 Data Centers Become a Partisan Football 31:17 The Ike Dike, Explained Sources: - Houston Public Media — By Michael Adkison, Andrew Schneider — July 15, 2026 — Texas Rangers will investigate ICE shooting in Houston. Here's what that means — https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2026/07/15/557147/ice-shooting-houston-texas-rangers-investigation-request/ - Click2Houston (KPRC) — July 16, 2026 — US Attorney Aaron Reitz speaks publicly for first time on fatal ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado in Houston — https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/07/16/us-attorney-aaron-reitz-speaks-publicly-for-first-time-on-fatal-ice-shooting-of-lorenzo-salgado-in-houston/ - The Texas Tribune — By Eleanor Klibanoff — July 9, 2026 — Aaron Reitz, former Texas AG candidate, picked as U.S. attorney — https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/09/texas-aaron-reitz-us-attorney-southern-district/ - CBS News — July 14, 2026 — ICE halts most vehicle stops after Maine, Texas shootings, sources say — https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-agents-halt-vehicle-stops-after-shootings-maine-texas/ - KHOU 11 — By Jaime E. Galvan — Houston mayor calls for 90-day ICE moratorium after Trump backs traffic stops — https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/deadly-ice-shooting/trump-ice-traffic-stops-policy-pause/285-e8f9fa4b-ea64-4f54-9694-356ccb53fdd6 - Click2Houston (KPRC) — July 15, 2026 — Gov. Greg Abbott confirms Texas Rangers investigation into ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/07/15/gov-greg-abbott-confirms-texas-rangers-investigation-into-ice-shooting-of-lorenzo-salgado-araujo/ - Office of the Texas Governor — July 17, 2026 — Governor Abbott Appoints Howden As Texas Secretary Of State — https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-appoints-howden-as-texas-secretary-of-state - FOX 26 Houston — Officer-involved shooting in Highland Village, suspect taken to hospital — https://www.fox26houston.com/news/highland-village-shooting-officer-involved-shooting-reported-westheimer-road Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  2. Jul 14

    He Built a Honey Empire. Now He Wants to Rebrand Texas Ag — Interview with Nate Sheets

    e built the #1 honey brand in America — then knocked off a three-term, Trump-endorsed incumbent without ever holding office. Nate Sheets, the Republican nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, joins Garrett to break down the fight over data centers eating up rural Texas land, and why Texas farmers are going broke. Garrett and Nate go deep on the data center wars — dueling newspaper op-eds, who should pay for water and power infrastructure, and whether counties should get zoning power over these projects. Plus: Nate's path from the Navy to 12 years in Christian ministry to running Nature Nate's Honey, and a preview of what's coming later in the show — the Paxton-Talarico Senate race, the fallout from the Houston ICE shooting, Camp Mystic's bankruptcy filing, and the looming deadline for Texas school choice families. *Topics discussed:* How Nate Sheets built Nature Nate's into the top-selling honey brand in America His path from the Navy to 12 years in Christian ministry to the CEO's chair Beating three-term, Trump-endorsed incumbent Sid Miller without ever holding office The conversation with Rick Santorum that convinced him to run for Ag Commissioner Dueling Houston Chronicle op-eds on data centers — Garrett's take vs. his opponent's Why Texas farms are going under, and how that's fueling the rural land rush for data centers The GoTexan program and other tools Sheets says he'd use to help farmers and ranchers Google's $40 billion bet on Stamford, Texas, and what it means for rural communities Preview: the Paxton-Talarico Senate race, the Houston ICE shooting, Camp Mystic's bankruptcy, and the school choice (TEFA) deadline *Guest:* Nate Sheets, Republican nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner; founder of Nature Nate's Honey, where he served as CEO until November 2024. (Social handle not stated in transcript — producer to fill in.) *Sources:* The Texas Tribune — By Kate McGee and Jess Huff — March 4, 2026 — [Nate Sheets defeats Sid Miller in Texas ag commissioner race](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/...) Houston Chronicle — [Opinion: Clayton Tucker, the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner, calls on Texas to put a moratorium on building new data centers](  / 1436698931807574  ) The Texas Tribune — November 14, 2025 — [Google data centers totaling $40 billion coming to Texas](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/...) The Texas Tribune — July 8, 2026 — [Houston mayor questions city's authority to probe ICE shooting amid calls for independent investigation](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/...) CBS Texas — [Camp Mystic files for bankruptcy nearly a year after deadly Texas floods](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/ca...) The Texas Tribune — By Kayla Guo — July 8, 2026 — [Talarico more than triples Paxton's Q2 haul in Texas Senate race](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/...) Community Impact — [More than 100K students have been awarded Texas Education Freedom Accounts. Here are the next steps.](https://communityimpact.com/austin/ce...) Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  3. Jul 7

    Texas Curriculum Wars: Bible, Islam and the SBOE

    Texas schools made international news after the State Board of Education approved a statewide literary works list that includes Bible passages. So what actually happened? This week, Garrett Fulce sits down with Brandon Hall, State Board of Education member for District 11, to talk through the SBOE’s new literary canon, why the Bible made the list, how the fight over Islam showed up in the social studies TEKS debate and what the board actually controls. They also get into the Revolutionary War almost getting stripped from the draft standards, local school board authority, convention strategy, campaign bracketing, Dan Patrick’s new podcast and the fight over closed primaries in Texas. Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  4. Jul 1

    The Data Center Panic Is Missing the Point

    This week on Seeing Red, Garrett Fulce talks with Doug Kelly, CEO of the American Edge Project, about what data centers actually are, why they matter in the U.S.-China AI race, what communities get out of them and why the panic over power and water may be aimed at the wrong target. Doug makes the case that data centers are not the villain — they are infrastructure. AI exposed the weakness in America’s grid. Now the question is whether Texas builds for the next boom or lets somebody else do it. Later in the episode, Garrett breaks down the State Board of Education’s debate over Bible references in Texas curriculum and reflects on the one-year anniversary of the Camp Mystic floods — what Texas learned, what it still has not fixed and why disaster preparedness cannot be a press-release exercise. Subscribe for weekly Texas politics, policy and campaign analysis. Follow Garrett: X: @gwfulce Substack: seeingredpod.substack.com Guest: Doug Kelly, CEO of the American Edge Project American Edge Project: americanedgeproject.org X: @dougkelly American Edge on X: @americanedge Chapters: 0:00 Why data centers matter in the U.S.-China AI race 5:47 Jobs, tax revenue and local benefits 13:28 Energy, water and the Texas grid 20:18 AI, automation and the future of work 26:15 SBOE, Bible references and Texas curriculum 34:10 Camp Mystic floods and disaster preparedness Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  5. Jun 17

    What Republicans Are Missing About 2026 (w/ Konni Burton)

    Texas Republicans left Houston with a new party chair, new priorities and a familiar challenge: can the party stay united long enough to win in November? In this episode of Seeing Red, Garrett Fulce breaks down the Republican Party of Texas convention before sitting down with former State Senator and The Texan founder Konni Burton. Garrett's Op-ed: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/data-center-texas-execeptionalism-garrett-fulce-22298369.php They discuss: • Dorinda Randall's election as Texas GOP Chair • The calls for party unity from Abbott, Patrick and Burrows • Why 2018 still haunts Republicans • Coalition shifts among suburban voters, Latinos and union households • The future of conservative media • Why Konni launched The Texan • The growing problem of activist journalism • Texas' opportunity to become America's data center capital Whether you're a grassroots activist, political junkie or simply trying to understand where Texas politics is headed, this conversation provides a candid look at the challenges facing both parties. Subscribe for weekly Texas political analysis, interviews and commentary. 00:00 Texas GOP convention recap 01:45 Dorinda Randall elected chair 02:15 Burrows boos and party unity 04:20 Why Republicans are worried 05:26 Konni Burton joins the show 06:19 Lessons from the 2018 election 08:43 How Beto changed Texas politics 11:27 Why down-ballot races matter 13:26 The danger for Republicans in 2026 17:07 Matt Talarico and candidate quality 19:24 Coalition shifts in both parties 23:05 Why data centers matter 30:34 Konni Burton's political journey 37:00 Founding The Texan 44:16 Journalism versus activism 53:09 The future of media in Texas Connect With Our Guest Konni Burton The Texan: https://thetexan.news X: https://x.com/KonniBurton The Texan on X: https://x.com/TheTexanNews Subscribe YouTube: https://youtube.com/@SeeingRedPodcast Substack: https://seeingredpod.substack.com X: https://x.com/GWFulce Email: hosts@seeingredpodcast.com Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  6. Jun 9

    What Actually Matters at the Texas GOP Convention (2026)

    Texas Republicans are gathering in Houston for the Republican Party of Texas Convention—and while most coverage focuses on speeches and personalities, the real action happens in the committees. This week, Garrett Fulce sits down with Texas Voice publisher Mark McCaig to break down how the party platform is built, how legislative priorities are selected, why those priorities matter to lawmakers, and what delegates can expect as convention business gets underway. Garrett and Mark also discuss the race for party chair, the role of the Texas Secretary of State, the debate over open versus closed primaries, and how convention decisions can shape the political fights heading into the next legislative session. 00:00 Welcome to Houston & Convention Week 05:41 RPT Chair Race 10:10 How the Party Platform Works 19:36 Secretary of State & Election Administration 28:47 Legislative Priorities Explained 35:44 Convention Culture & Networking 41:12 School Closures & Demographic Change 49:58 Convention Prep & Final Thoughts Topics include: • How the Texas GOP platform is created • Why legislative priorities matter • The race for the Republican Party Chair • Secretary of State speculation • Open vs. closed primaries • Election integrity debates • School closures and demographic shifts in Texas • What delegates should expect in Houston Follow Mark McCaig and Texas Voice: Texas Voice: https://Thetexasvoice.com X: https://x.com/TheTXVoice Follow Seeing Red: Substack: https://seeingredpodcast.substack.com X: https://x.com/GWFulce Subscribe for weekly conversations on Texas politics, elections, campaigns, public policy and the people shaping the future of the Lone Star State. Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  7. Jun 4

    Texas Republicans Are Walking Into a General Election Buzzsaw

    The 2026 election cycle is already taking shape. In this episode of Seeing Red, Garrett Fulce examines new warnings emerging from Republican strategists about vulnerable legislative districts, turnout challenges, and the impact of the Paxton-Cornyn Senate race on down-ballot Republicans. Later, Mark McCaig joins the show to explain the Republican Party of Texas convention, delegate selection, party leadership elections, the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC), legislative priorities, and how grassroots activists influence the future direction of the Texas GOP. Topics include: • Texas House battleground districts • Republican turnout challenges • General election strategy • The Republican Party of Texas convention • SREC and party governance • Delegate selection • Legislative priorities • Grassroots organizing • Door-knocking and voter outreach Subscribe to Seeing Red for weekly analysis of Texas politics, elections, campaigns, and public policy. 00:00 Texas Senate Race & Down-Ballot Fallout 01:12 Why R+12 Districts Are Suddenly Vulnerable 03:05 Texas House Seats Republicans Could Lose 05:35 Why Paxton Changes Every Race on the Ballot 07:55 Winning Primaries vs. Winning General Elections 10:38 What Is the Republican Party of Texas Convention? 12:40 How Delegates Actually Get Chosen 16:20 The Race for Texas GOP Chairman 18:25 What Does the State Party Chair Actually Do? 20:59 Should Republicans Close Their Primaries? 22:21 Credentials, Rules & Convention Fights 25:36 Can Republicans Stay Unified in 2026? 30:29 How Campaigns Identify Persuadable Voters 32:56 What Is the SREC? 40:44 Inside an SREC Meeting 43:43 How the Texas GOP Has Changed 51:18 Republicans Need a New Message 53:39 The Most Effective Door-Knocking Strategy 1:01:53 What's Next for Seeing Red? Guest Information Mark McCaig Publisher, The Texas Voice Former State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) member Attorney and longtime Texas political activist Follow Mark X/Twitter: @MarkMcCaig // @TheTXVoice Website: TheTexasVoice.com Mark McCaig is the publisher of The Texas Voice, a Texas political news and analysis outlet focused on state government, elections, and conservative politics. A former member of the State Republican Executive Committee, McCaig brings years of experience in party politics and grassroots organizing to discussions about the Republican Party of Texas and the broader Texas political landscape. Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

  8. May 28

    Paxton, Trump, and GOP Strategy To Keep Texas RED

    In this episode of Seeing Red in Texas Politics, Garrett Fulce delves into the recent political dynamics in Texas, exploring the outcomes of the Senate race where Ken Paxton emerged as a notable figure against John Cornyn. Fulce provides a thorough analysis of Paxton's political journey, including the implications of his past controversies and how they might influence his credibility going forward. The discussion extends to analyze the factors that will shape the upcoming elections, focusing on voter behavior and strategic moves by the Republican Party. As Paxton navigates a landscape littered with past grievances, Fulce breaks down the electoral mechanisms at play, offering a roadmap for what the party needs to retain voter allegiance. Timestamp Summary 0:00 Ken Paxton's Political Journey and Republican Implications 1:57 Republican Strategies to Win Over Disenchanted Voters 5:39 Paxton and Talarico's Political Race Dynamics and Challenges 9:45 The Challenges of Campaigning in Competitive Texas Regions 11:46 Revamping Show Format for Enhanced Engagement and Quality Find us at seeingredpodcast.substack.com for full episodes. Follow us on all socials at @theseeingredpod and online at our website Seeing Red Podcast. x.com/gwfulce

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Seeing Red: A Texas Politics Podcast is where Texas politics gets the scrutiny it deserves. Hosted by strategist and writer Garrett Fulce, the show features in-depth conversations with lawmakers, activists, and insiders shaping policy in Austin and beyond. Each week, Garrett cuts through the noise with candid interviews and sharp commentary—bringing listeners beyond the talking points to the real mechanics of power in Texas.

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