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Why is Texas starting an election audit now?

Plus, analyzing redistricting and the races for governor and lieutenant governor.

Editor's note: The video above is from a previous story.

Texas 2020 election audit

On Inside Texas Politics this week, State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Baytown), the chair of the House elections committee, discusses the election audit in four counties announced by the Texas Secretary of State.

He said us he’s not sure what will be revealed with the audits, but he doesn’t expect much and even thinks SOS might have backpedaled from earlier statements that this wouldn’t happen.

He also spoke about the cost and how a full, statewide audit would be far too expensive. Cain said while he’s in favor of audits, he said they must be limited, and a lot of this has already been done by counties, which is required under Texas law already. 

He said he hopes this action, which he supports in limited capacity, will reveal any limitations with the SOS office or audits and perhaps reveal how far audits should go in the future.

Read more from Cain here.

Meanwhile, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins also joined Inside Texas Politics to speak about the audits. His county - along with Harris, Tarrant and Collin counties - is one being targeted by the audit. 

The SOS office said it chose the state's two largest Democratic counties and the two largest Republican counties. But Jenkins said he takes major issue with the audit and blasted the process, saying the elections were secure. 

RELATED: County officials say they've received little info from state for 2020 'election audit' that includes standard checks

He said the audit is simply a ploy by Republicans to play to their base and continue "The Big Lie." He claimed the party is using it expressly for the primary and after that, he said he suspects they’ll say what we knew all along: there was nothing wrong with our elections. 

He also said he doesn’t know who he thinks should run for governor for the Democrats.

Read more from Jenkins here.

Texas redistricting

Republicans announced they’ll run for a redistricted District 10 that covers Fort Worth, even though no maps have been approved - and Republicans claim the process isn’t political.

RELATED: New elementary school and stadiums highlight FWISD bond issue

Plus, how did the state end up with fewer Hispanic and African American districts, when minorities drove the state’s growth over the last decade?

Governor / Lt. Governor race

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is underwater. Of those polled, 51% of Texans said Abbott does not deserve to be re-elected. What does all of it mean?

Also, former Republican and Bush strategist Mathew Dowd announced this past week he is jumping into the Texas lieutenant governor's race. Does Texas know him? Do Dems even like him?

Watch the full episode of Inside Texas Politics below:

   

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