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There are still a few hours left to vote early ahead of Tuesday’s Texas party primaries. We’ll tell you what you need to know before heading to the polls to vote today or Election Day on Tuesday.
We’ll also have closer look at races for two Travis County Commissioner seats and go over what exactly commissioners do.
Also, the federal government is now challenging a court order to repatriate college student Any López Belloza, who was deported after trying to fly to Austin last year.
Huston-Tillotson’s group of jazz musicians with fresh roots on the east side of Austin have already gained national recognition.
And it’s going to get loud at Circuit of the Americas this weekend: NASCAR is in town.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jennifer Stayton [00:00:08] There’s still a few hours left to vote. Early ahead of Tuesday’s Texas Party primaries, what you need to know before heading to the polls to vote today or Tuesday, and a closer look at races for two Travis County Commissioner seats. And what exactly is it that Travis County Commissioners do? And the federal government is now challenging a court order to repatriate a college student deported after trying to fly to Austin last year. More about those stories on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:34] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jennifer Stayton.
Jennifer Stayton [00:00:40] A group of jazz musicians with fresh roots on the east side of Austin has already gained national recognition. And it’s going to get loud at Circuit of the Americas this weekend. NASCAR is in town. That’s all up next on Austin Signal. Stay with us. Hello, this is Austin Signal from KUT News. I’m your host today, Jennifer Stayton. It’s February 27th. Thank you for making us part of your Friday. 2026 is a midterm election year, and here in Texas, it is primary election season. Early voting ends today. Election day is Tuesday. These elections determine who’s on the ballot for this fall’s general election. Turnout in Travis County is the highest it’s been for any primary since 2008. Voter turnout is also up in Hayes and Williamson counties. So what’s drawing people to these party primaries? Well for that, we’ve got a few folks from KUT News. First of all, Ben Philpott is KUT’s managing editor. Hey Ben. Hello. All right. So Ben, first of all we are voting right now in the party primaries. Texas has open primaries. What does that mean?
Ben Philpott [00:01:56] Open to the open primary question. So for those of you who’ve moved here from another state Texas does not have at least at the moment This is something that lawmakers are trying to push now But Texas does Not have party registration when you’re voting in a primary So that means you can decide are you going to vote in the Republican primary or the Democratic primary when you go in? Now if there are runoffs you are tied to Whoever you whatever party you voted with the first time around in the regular primary election So, you voted in the Republican primary for maybe the Ken Paxton-John Cornyn race. If there’s a runoff, you can only vote then in that Republican runoff.
Jennifer Stayton [00:02:32] Right, so Ben, what are some of the races that people will see on the primary ballot?
Ben Philpott [00:02:36] Yeah, the biggest stuff is Senate race in Texas here with John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, the two top candidates on the Republican side, two top candidates of the Democratic side, Jasmine Crockett and James Talerico. But you also have people running for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, all of the U.S. Congressional House races, all of the state house races and then some you know depending on where you live a state Senate race and then all the local county things as well
Jennifer Stayton [00:03:11] All right, so Ben, you mentioned runoffs. If no one gets 50% of the vote, what happens?
Ben Philpott [00:03:16] Yeah, you’re going to have a runoff. You’ve got to get 50% plus one, I believe. 50% plus one vote. That gets you a win. Because we have the domino effect of things like the attorney general deciding to run for Senate, that means that a half dozen people are running for attorney general. That means that another 12 are running in the Republican primary side for the seat. It’s just all over the place. A lot of these races are going to go to And we’re just gonna have to wait and see what happens
Jennifer Stayton [00:03:45] All right, so Ben.
Ben Philpott [00:03:46] Where can people vote? If you live in Hayes County, anywhere that you see a voting, that you a polling location, if you live Travis County, anywhere that see a polling vocation, that’s both early voting and on primary day. Williamson County is different this year. Right now during, well, you know, you got a few hours left to vote wherever you want in Williamson county for early voting. On primary day, you have to go to your assigned precinct. So figure out where that is, look it up, and you have go to that. If you live and work on opposite sides of the county, you cannot go to work and think you’re gonna vote near your work that day.
Jennifer Stayton [00:04:24] All right, Ben, where can people find more information about the candidates, what’s on the ballot, and how to vote?
Ben Philpott [00:04:29] Well, obviously, go to KUT.org. We’ve got county guides for Hayes County, Travis County, Williamson County. We also have a What’s On My Ballot little app within those web posts, and you’ll be able to see exactly what you might be voting for.
Jennifer Stayton [00:04:45] And of course, primary night, we’ll have election coverage starting at 7 on KUT. KUT’s managing editor, Ben Philpott, thanks so much, Ben. Thank you. Now a decent chunk of Democratic Party primary voters will be electing a pair of candidates to take seats on the Travis County Commissioner’s Court. No Republicans are running in those races, so whoever wins now will likely win this fall. With more on these candidates, here’s KUTs Katie McAfee, our Travis County reporter. Hey, Katie.
Katy McAfee [00:05:12] Hey Jennifer.
Jennifer Stayton [00:05:13] Alright, so first of all, what did Travis County Commissioners do and how long is their term?
Katy McAfee [00:05:19] Great question. The commissioner’s court sets the county’s tax rate and manages spending of right now a roughly $2.2 billion budget. The county’s biggest land item expense is the jail, but they also fund roads and parks and healthcare services, housing and other services. Terms are four years and there are no term limits.
Jennifer Stayton [00:05:41] All right, so Katie, let’s start with Bree St. Four. There’s no incumbent because Margaret Gomez is retiring after three decades in office. So tell us about the four candidates in this race.
Katy McAfee [00:05:50] Yeah, so first on the ballot is Susana Ledesma-Woody, a little bit about her. This is her third time running for this position, and she’s been on the Dell Valley ISD School Board since 2011. Next we have Ophelia Maldondo Zapata. She used to be on the Austin ISD school board, and she calls herself a community organizer. She’s been in leadership roles in a bunch of different nonprofit and religious organizations. Then there’s George Morales. He was the Travis County Constable in precinct four for over a decade since 2016. And last on the ballot is Gavino Fernandez Jr. He’s an activist and he served on the Travis county commissioner precinct for staff for one term back in the nineties.
Jennifer Stayton [00:06:34] So Katie, you spoke with all four candidates. Do they share some goals for what they would do if they get the job?
Katy McAfee [00:06:39] Yeah, so they all grew up in precinct 4, so they’re all really familiar with the issues that this area faces. Ledezma Woody and Morales have both campaigned on building more and better infrastructure in East Austin, fixing roads, finishing construction projects that have dragged on forever. Ledezima Woody specifically has talked about building equitable infrastructure, getting running water and reliable electricity to folks who still don’t have that. And I think they all share a common goal of keeping the district affordable. Or at least ensuring it doesn’t become.
Jennifer Stayton [00:07:12] Unaffordable. So Katie, now in precinct 2, Commissioner Brigid Shea is running to keep the seat that she’s had for more than a decade now. Who are the candidates who want that job?
Katy McAfee [00:07:22] Yes. So there are three non-incumbent candidates. First on the ballot is Rick Astry-Canada. He has over a decade of experience in government consulting and he has a PhD in public affairs. Then we have Armanda Marzullo. She’s been a civil rights attorney for 16 years. And lastly, we have Reese Ricci Armstrong. He is a senior at McCallum High School and he is a student organizer.
Jennifer Stayton [00:07:47] And Katie, tell us what are some of the priorities of these candidates, both the incumbents and the incumbent and the challengers.
Katy McAfee [00:07:53] Yeah, you know, affordable housing was a big topic that came up for every candidate, including Brigid Shea. Marzula specifically said she would prioritize building affordable housing within city limits or at least closer to where more city services like public transit exists. Other than that, people’s top priorities are kind of all over the place. Estre Canada said he wants to prioritize access to affordable healthcare. Brigid Shay told me she wants to continue working on clean energy initiatives that she’s been working on in office. Marzullo says she wants to use her experience with the legal system to protect folks from ICE right now. And a priority for Armstrong is making ambulance rides free.
Jennifer Stayton [00:08:33] All right, KUT’s Katie McAfee, our Travis County reporter, will have a link to her voter guide in today’s podcast show notes. Katie, thank you so much.
Katy McAfee [00:08:43] Thanks for having me on, Jennifer.
Jennifer Stayton [00:08:56] The Trump administration’s immigration policy has been front and center in this midterm election year, and there’s been a development in an immigration case involving someone with ties to Austin. For the latest on this, here’s KUT’s government accountability reporter, Andrew Weber. Thanks for coming in, Andrew.
Andrew Weber [00:09:15] Thanks, man. Thank you for having me, Jim.
Jennifer Stayton [00:09:16] Andrew, so this case is about Ani Lopez Belloza. First of all, Andrew, remind us who she is and what happened to her last year.
Andrew Weber [00:09:23] Yes ma’am, Ani Lopez-Pellosa was born in Honduras, but she came to the U.S. When she was eight years old and she was raised in Austin. And she currently is a student at Babson College up in Boston. She’s studying business up there. And over, well, right before Thanksgiving last year, she was trying to board a flight from Boston to Austin because she wanted to come see her folks. And she was sort of pulled aside. By immigration authorities and she was detained and deported. And where was she deported to? She was deported back to Honduras. Right, Andrew, so then what happened in her case? Well, she was sort of connected with an attorney and that attorney basically, you know, filed a sort of writ of habeas corpus, which is legal speak, but basically said that she wasn’t given due process. She wasn’t allowed to appear before a judge, before an immigration judge. Before she was deported back to Honduras. And ultimately, a federal judge up in Massachusetts agreed with her attorney, said, okay, the feds needed to sort of rectify this and explain, at least at the very least explain, why they deported her when they did. So the Trump-
Jennifer Stayton [00:10:38] administration admitted that she was wrongly deported and the government was supposed to lay out a plan to bring her back to the U.S. And the deadline for that was supposed to be today. What happened?
Andrew Weber [00:10:49] Yeah, that’s basically the feds were given two weeks to bring her back or at least provide a plan to bring her back. And yesterday they filed a motion to basically throw the case out. They said that this judge in Massachusetts didn’t have a right to even preside over the case and that, you know, if they were going to bring her back, they were going to immediately deport her anyway. I just got off of a call. It was a press call. With Ani Lopez Beosas’ attorney. He said that, and I haven’t checked with ICE on this, but he said that his client, Ani, was offered a flight back today. It was supposed to leave at 1 p.m. And that she would have essentially come to Texas and then would have been immediately deported back to Honduras. Her attorney, Todd Pomerlo, said, the government’s basically trying to skirt this court order. And bring her back and also block her ability to get a temporary visa. Because while this was playing out in court, he applied for that.
Todd Pomerleau [00:11:51] All they have to do is let her in and leave her alone. She has a green card application pending, and yet they want to continue to torment her. They want to fly her back here to engage in a charade to then separate her from her loved ones again.
Jennifer Stayton [00:12:02] All right, so Andrew, what justification has a federal government given for this change that we’re hearing about today?
Andrew Weber [00:12:09] They said that she was here unlawfully. She wasn’t aware of that, neither was her mother. She was under the impression that she was a dreamer, she was, you know, here under DACA. And as far as what comes next in the case, that’s not immediately clear either. Pomerlo, her attorney, said that he’s gonna fight this, he’s prepared to take it to the Supreme Court if he wants to. But, you now, this, Ani Lopez Belloza is, she said she was angry, that she just wants to go back to school, to Babson College, and, you I hope. She just wants all of this to sort of be done and at least have some resolution.
Any Lopez [00:12:41] I’m asking to be treated like a human with rights and whose life matters and to be allowed to care building the life I have worked so hard for in the United States.
Jennifer Stayton [00:12:52] So this was on a Lopez Belloza speaking just a little bit earlier this morning on the call. Did she have anything else to say?
Andrew Weber [00:12:57] She didn’t really say a whole bunch else. She just, you know, wants to come back. She knows that there’s a lot of eyes on this case. There were, you now, New York Times reporters on PBC, PBS NewsHour. A lot of folks are going to be paying attention to this as it goes forward, but right now there’s no clear, real answers.
Jennifer Stayton [00:13:13] I know you’ll be following it. KUT’s Accountability Reporter, Andrew Weber, with an update on the case of Ani Lopez Belloza. Andrew, thank you. Yes, ma’am. Thank you, Jen. And coming up, the Houston Tillotson University Jazz Orchestra is barely four years old, but they are already helping define the next era of jazz in Austin and across the country. With their high-energy performances rooted in traditional jazz and driven by groove, swing and expressive improvisation, we’re going to hear about them just ahead on Austin Signal. Stay tuned. This is Austin Signal, welcome back. February is almost over, just one day left. So we are capping off our series of Black History Month music profiles from our sister station, KUTX. Today, host Miles Blockson tells us about a group of jazz players with fresh roots on the East side of Austin who have already gained national recognition.
Dr. Jeremy George [00:14:19] Listen, we came all the way from Texas. You deserve a big round of applause.
Miles Bloxson [00:14:24] February is Black History Month and all month long we’ll be highlighting black artists, innovators, and places that helped shape the Austin music scene. The Euston Tillerson Jazz Orchestra formed in 2022 as Eustin Tillerson University’s premier student jazz ensemble. Led by Dr. Jeremy George, Director of Jazz Studies, the orchestra delivers high energy performances rooted in traditional jazz, driven by groove, swing, and expressive improvisation.
Dr. Jeremy George [00:14:59] It is early, but it’s not too early to swing, right? Yes, sir. Before we get started, I want to say first thing what song we’re doing. We’re doing Dig by Miles Davis. And secondly, it is orchestrated by our professor of trumpet, Sparky Lee Thomas. Woo! Thank you. Please enjoy Dig by miles Davis.
Miles Bloxson [00:15:25] The ensemble was founded at Austin’s oldest institution of higher learning, and the city’s only historically black university. Established in 1875, Houston-Tillerson was created through the merger of Samuel Houston College and Tillerson College, two schools founded after the Civil War to educate formerly enslaved people, supported by the United Methodist Church and the American Missionary Association. The university became a cornerstone of black higher education in central Texas. Serving generations of students through segregation and beyond. While the university carries 150 years of history and legacy, the HT Jazz Orchestra is still young and already building a national resume. The group has performed multiple times at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and earned top placements in jazz competitions. In 2025, out of more than a hundred historically black colleges and universities nationwide, Houston Tillerson was one of 12 selected for a residency in Norfolk with Wynton Marsalis. In 2026, the orchestra took the national stage at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, placing third in the National Collegiate Jazz Championship and walking away with more than 10 individual and sectional awards, placing them among the top collegiate jazz ensembles in the nation. Rooted in 150 years of black excellence, empowered by the next generation of musicians, the Houston Telison Jazz Orchestra is helping define the next era of jazz in Austin. And across the nation. To learn more about the Euston Tillerson Jazz Orchestra, visit KUTX.org. You’re listening to Austin Signal. I’m Miles Bloxson.
Jennifer Stayton [00:17:51] For the fifth year in a row NASCAR returns to Circuit of the Americas this weekend And it wouldn’t be NASCAR without a lot of sponsors. All right, so here we go Let’s see if I can get it the Cup Series Duramax Texas Grand Prix powered by Relledyne will be run on Sunday KUT’s Juan Diego Garcia is out at Cota this afternoon. Hey Juan Hey Jen Sounds like it’s already getting loud out there, so I know the big event will be at the end of the weekend But what’s happening in the lead-up to Sunday?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:18:24] Quite a bit, there’s actually two other racing series that are supporting the race on Sunday at Circuit of the Americas. What you’re hearing right now is the IMSA Sports Car Challenge cars going around in a practice session. That’s one of the series that’s gonna be supporting the main cup series. You’ll also see the cars from the feeder series for NASCAR, the O’Reilly Auto Parts series. They’ll be racing tomorrow. And I’m actually watching the cars go by right in front of me as they get scrutineered to make sure nobody’s cheating.
Jennifer Stayton [00:18:58] So Juan, I’m a little bit of a NASCAR novice. Most of what I know comes from, you know, the Will Ferrell movie, Talladega Nights. But I do know most of the time, all the drivers have to do is turn left. But now this is a road course, of course, out at COTA for Formula One. So is there something they have to do differently for this race?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:19:18] Yes actually, they have to turn right. NASCAR goes to a few road courses throughout the year and some drivers actually specialize in those specific types of circuits. Circuit of the Americas is one of those road courses and you’ll be seeing them sort of peppered throughout the calendar, breaking up some stretches of really big ovals, really small ovals. There’s quite a bit of a variety of tracks they actually go to throughout the years.
Jennifer Stayton [00:19:45] All right, so Juan, for non-race fans, what are some of the stories that we should know about for this weekend’s action?
Juan Diego Garcia [00:19:53] I think the most exciting thing across the year is going to be the return of what’s called the chase. NASCAR has been experimenting since about 2013 with various different playoff formats to try to crown a champion. This year they’re going back to an older system. For the first 26 races, drivers will accumulate points and the final 10 races will be the chase for the cup. The top 16 drivers in the point standings all have a chance to win the title. The higher you place the higher the higher you start and it’s a 10 race sprint to the title.
Jennifer Stayton [00:20:26] And Juan, can you tell us about some of the drivers that are that are out there for this weekend’s action? Some of the folks we should
Juan Diego Garcia [00:20:32] know about? Absolutely. I think the biggest name to keep an eye on is Tyler Reddick. He started the year with two straight wins and no one has ever won three straight to start a year. And he has some good form here at Circuit of the Americas. He won the race in 2023 and last year he was on pole position and finished in third place. So there’s every chance Tyler Redick could be walking out of here making history.
Jennifer Stayton [00:21:00] On the question I’ve been dying to ask. So when you go to the website and look at the sort of introductory video for this weekend’s action, part of the video is dancing storm troopers, you know, from Star Wars. Have you seen the dancing stormtroopers yet? You know, Jen, I.
Juan Diego Garcia [00:21:13] Have not this is a little bit news to me and now I’m a little disappointed that I have not seen them I’m gonna go hunting for some stormtroopers here in a bit okay
Jennifer Stayton [00:21:22] Well, it’s early. It’s just Friday afternoon, so maybe you’ll still see them sometime over the weekend. So all of this is building up to the Texas Grand Prix. It starts Sunday afternoon at 2.30. KUT’s Juan Diego Garcia out at Circuit of the Americas this afternoon. Wanda, thanks so much. Have a great time. Thanks, Jen. Always a pleasure. And that is it for today on Austin Signal. We’ll have more about the stories and conversations we shared with you today in the podcast show notes. And you can find more from us anytime at kut.org slash signal couple reminders about some of the stories you heard today early voting does end tonight for party primary elections. Election day is this coming Tuesday. You can find voter guides and all kinds of information about the election. At kut.org and be sure to join us for live election night coverage primary night Tuesday night starting at seven right here on KUT. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director on Austin Signal. Jerry Quijano has been producing Austin Signal this week. I’m your host Jennifer Stayton and thanks so much for being with us today and I hope you have a great weekend.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
