Political Power in Texas: Tuesday’s Show (January 19, 2016)

For more than 20 years now, Republicans have held every statewide elected office in Texas. How did the Lone Star State come to be so dominated by the GOP? And what would it take for Democrats to break that grip? We explore these questions from two very different perspectives on today’s Houston Matters.

First, we speak with Mary Beth Rogers. She ran Democrat Ann Richards’ successful 1990 campaign for Governor and later served as Gov. Richards’ chief of staff. Rogers is the author of a new book called Turning Texas Blue: What It Will Take to Break the GOP Grip on America’s Reddest State.

Then we hear from former Texas Republican Party Executive Director Dr. Wayne Thorburn, who shares his thoughts on how the GOP has managed to keep such a stranglehold on statewide offices in Texas. He explores it in his book Red State: An Insider's Story of How the GOP Came to Dominate Texas Politics. (Our conversation with Wayne Thorburn was originally broadcast on Oct. 13, 2014).

Also this hour: Each year, elementary students in Houston and Dallas are invited to give speeches in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratory Competitions. This year, the kids were tasked with giving speeches as if the late Dr. King were running for president today. We hear excerpts from the competition's top three winners.

Plus: We present another of our occasional chats with area chefs.Today, Houston Matters producer Edel Howlin heads to Bellaire to talk with chef Justin Turner, the owner and operator of Bernie’s Burger Bus.

Houston Matters offers a free daily, downloadable podcast here, on iTunes, Stitcher and various other podcasting apps.