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 : Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: I love talking about the things of God. Because of truth and the biblical worldview, the U.S. constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect the rights that our founders recognize come from God, our creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raised up, each of you. And God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time.

 : This is Jenna Ellis in the morning.

Several House Republicans are uniting against dangerous Islamic ideology spreading nationwide

Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Tuesday, February 10, and there is a group of GOP congressmen who are making headlines for something that I think is incredibly important. So obviously the NewSong York Times disagrees with me. So we know who's on the right side of this. Right. But, according to CBN News, House Republicans are creating the Sharia Free America Caucus. We will not surrender our freedoms. And so several House Republicans are uniting against dangerous Islamic ideology spreading nationwide. Texas Representative Keith Self shared with CBN News why he helped to create the Sharia Free America Caucus. He said that North Texas has, has had about 20 mosques in the last two years. The Congressman draws a direct connection between a growing Muslim population in his home state to a gradual infiltration of Islamic control. And meanwhile, the NewSong York Times, or the failing NewSong York Times, as I believe they're accurately called. their headline says, without a border invasion, the Texas GOP turns to an old enemy, Islam. They claim that this is just rhetoric as a way to energize Republican voters after several elections when the border was the animating force.

Brandon Gill: The vast majority of Americans do not want America Islamized

So let's talk to one of the founding members of the Sharia Free America Caucus, Congressman Grant, Brandon Gill from the great state of Texas. So, Congressman, I, think this is a great thing. And we've seen in other countries the infiltration of Islam, that has taken over their country. And obviously, as a Western nation built on the Judeo Christian worldview, we're not going to let that happen in America. So why is the NewSong York Times saying that, you know, this is just a distraction and doesn't really matter.

 Brandon Gill: Well, thanks for having me on. They're saying that because they know that the American people are with us. And I think the vast majority of Americans, whether you're Republican or Democrat, do not want to see America Islamized. They don't want to see their communities and their hometowns fundamentally transformed. And that's what's happening in certain parts of the. Of North Texas. And that's why we, why we've been pushing this caucus. You know, the American people want to see their communities preserved. They love this country the way it is. and one of the biggest concerns that I hear from constituents, Islam. It is the Islamization of North Texas. And you mentioned Keith Self talking about, the number of mosques that have popped up in just the last two years. I mean, we have Epic City in Plano, which is just outside of my district, where you have, entire Islamic communities that are being formed right here in Texas. I mean, this is a real concern for people. This, is not just, you know, politics. I mean, this is a real concern that I hear every single day, and it's transforming certain areas. I hear from constituents who have lived on rural, ah, ranch land for generations, and they tell me that there is a mosque that's being constructed near their land where they can hear calls to prayer. I mean, this is, These are real concerns.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, even here in, my home state of Florida, there is a concern about the spread of, Islamization and, you know, and Sharia law. And I think that's really, the focus is the spread of Islamic Sharia law because, so many people, I think congressmen confuse, the freedom of worship and the free exercise of religion in this country with a legal system, a religious legal system that is fundamentally incompatible with the US Constitution and American law.

 Brandon Gill: And that's what we hear a lot. I mean, you have parallel legal institutions that are popping up in Texas that are Sharia courts that claim to have jurisdiction over certain parts of, the Islamic community. That's a real constitutional problem for the country. but I think that, at core, this is an immigration issue that the American people are concerned with. You know, you mentioned Sharia law and its incompatibility with the West. You know, there is a reality that, Islam is a political ideology, which is what people are concerned with. They're concerned with political Islam. Islam is a political ideology. It's a very different conception of freedom of speech than we do in the United States. Very different conception of freedom of religion, separation of church and state, or mosque and state. I mean, these are core constitutional principles that undergird our, our entire Western civilization. And we just don't align with political Islam in these matters and many others. And that's what People are concerned with, they're concerned with preserving our constitutional framework and they recognize that there are certain, cultures and ideologies that are incompatible with it. And political Islam is certainly one of them.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And this just makes sense fundamentally to anyone who cares about the American way of life. Preserving the US Constitution, ensuring that there are no parallel legal systems and separate courts and frameworks that govern certain religions. I mean certainly there is a different, jurisdiction between civil government and our law versus for example, I'm a member of my home church here in Florida and you know, we have a church disciplinary process, but that is not separate and distinct in terms of civil law from the civil government and the laws that govern our county, our state and our nation. And so, it seems like the left is trying purposefully to confuse these issues and just say that this is sort of a distraction because we have no other issues going on. And you know, really Islam isn't trying to take over America. Well, as you mentioned, I mean this is a political ideology and this is something we've seen already in other countries, coming in to infiltrate intentionally. So what is the caucus actually doing in terms of legislation to I m mean obviously this is against the US Constitution, but to ensure that there are black, letter protections.

 Brandon Gill: Yeah. And first of all, you're exactly right. I think the American people see what's going on in Europe right now where you've had a mass migration of Islam into Europe and you've got parts of Paris and parts of London, that no longer look like Paris or London. These are areas that, you know, you have areas that are essentially no go zones for Parisians and Londoners because you have Islamic communities that have become almost like self governing enclaves, that do not work with outside civil authorities. And it's becoming unsafe for Parisianers and Londoners and it's transforming these societies and it's creating enormous social problems there. And we just don't want that here. We recognize that this is, again, this is, at core it's an immigration issue. you know, you can think about it this way, is that we didn't have problems with radical Islam in the United States, ah, 100 years ago. That is an issue that was imported into our country via what I believe to be a suicidal immigration system. and that's one of the things that we're, that I think that we should be fixing. Now you brought up the Sharia Free America Caucus. Right now what we're doing is making sure that our fellow Congressmen are aware that this is an issue, that they're aware that here's what's going on in North Texas, here's what's going on, as you mentioned, in parts of Florida and other areas. so that everybody knows that this is something that we've got to deal with. we've got several pieces of legislation, that various members have been pushing. One of them, would simply ban Sharia law in the United States. I think that's about as basic and common sense as it gets. I think we've got some immigration solutions as well. but the first step is to make sure people know that this is an issue.

Jenna Ellis: Absolutely. And so, according to cbn, at least as of the date of this article, the caucus membership has grown to 26, Republican lawmakers, including from 17 states. and that includes, Florida Congressman, Byron Donalds, who has said that Sharia has no place in America. We will not surrender our freedoms. I totally agree with that. And so, what, what kind of pushback, if any, are you seeing from, the gop? I mean, I think that the GOP members as a whole, everybody should be joining this caucus. I mean this, this should not be, this is a no brainer. This would be like a pro America caucus.

 Brandon Gill: You're exactly right. Thankfully we haven't, I have not experienced any pushback from within our own party. I think that Republicans, you know, conservatives want to preserve America. They want to preserve our founding principles and recognize that political Islam is incompatible with those principles. And you cannot have, both in the same country. You got to pick one. so I have not, experienced much pushback at all, from this. We certainly do from the other side of the aisle though. and it's exactly what you would expect. It's that Republicans are racist. That's what they're saying, that Republicans are, discriminatory, that Republicans are picking somebody to demonize, as you alluded to in that NewSong York Times article. but honestly, Jenna, this is something that we hear anytime we take a stand on any issue, we're called racist, sexist, Islamophobic. It, it's kind of meaningless at this point.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, yeah. And it's funny how the left has really nothing else to say. I mean, these are kind of their go to pushbacks that don't actually have teeth. And they're completely ignoring the actual issue, which is the fundamental incompatibility of parallel legal systems in the United States.

Congressman Brandon Gill supports legislation to ban Sharia law on federal and state levels

And so with this legislation, from Congress, there's Also, pushes in various states, including your home state of Texas. and voters will see Proposition 10, which calls for the prohibition of Sharia law in the state. how important is it to have, legislation prohibiting Sharia law, both on the federal level but also the state level?

 Brandon Gill: Yeah, it's crucial here. it's absolutely crucial. This is something that I hear about whenever, in North Texas all the time from constituents, is that they want to make sure that we're preserving our constitutional freedoms. so I think that we need legislation on the federal level, we need it on the state level. We need local politicians as well to wake up and recognize as they're dealing with the zoning walls and other local issues, that this is something that, the American people care about and they care about in these local communities as well. So, I'm absolutely on board with anti Sharia legislation on every level.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And I hope that more states, follow suit and we'll get this in place. I mean, again, it just seems like a no brainer. But you mentioned as well Congressman Brandon Gill, my special guest this morning, and follow him, at repbrandengill. I'd encourage you to do that. He always has great information there about what's going on in Congress. but you mentioned that this also is fundamentally an immigration problem. how, if at all is Congress, kind of using those two issues in tandem to ensure that we don't have this pervasive, anti American, anti Western civilization ideology that infiltrates the US Even more than it already has?

 Brandon Gill: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, whenever I think about immigration, there are two core immigration principles that the United States has had historically and that we've sort of moved away from, in the past few decades. One of them is that if somebody immigrates into the United States, you can't be a public burden. In other words, you can't come in here and get on welfare. I think that's something that most people agree with. But the second one is one of cultural compatibility. It's that whenever we allow somebody to immigrate into the country, one we should determine who comes into our country. It's not, nobody in any other country has a right to move into the United States. That's something that we get to choose as a sovereign country, a sovereign society. And one of the bases that we should use is that your belief system, your culture is compatible with our own. You know, I think that there's a, we ought to recognize a basic truth that not all cultures are Equal, they're not all equally good, not all belief systems are equally good, and they're not all equally compatible with our own governing framework. So I think that, you know, whenever you talk about immigration, that's how we should be determining who comes into the country and who we don't allow to come into the country. I've got legislation that would for instance ban immigration from Somalia, which I introduced last week, both on the basis of the public burden doctrine and I think cultural compatibility. there are other legislate pieces of legislation which I have co sponsored or supported that my colleagues have introduced that I think use a, you know, if not explicitly, it's similar framework and that's what we need to get back to in immigration policy. And at core it's just recognizing that we're a sovereign people and we get to determine who comes into our country and we should do it on the basis of who benefits us and not anything else.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I could not agree more.

Last question for Congressman Brandon Gill about the Sharia Free America Caucus

Congressman Brandingale, and last question for you before, we have to head to a, ah, break. I don't know if you've seen this thread by Jill Savage, who's kind of just an independent, a person on social media, talking about Corrie Mills, who's a representative of course from Florida, my home state. and she alleges that the Sharia Free America Caucus has a fox in the hen house. she says that she's spoken with eight different people who Corrie Mills himself told that he converted to Islam and has a marriage certificate that says that one of the unindicted co conspirators of the 1993 World Trade center bombing actually was the officiant of his wedding. I mean this thread kind of goes on to talk about, you know, some of those ties. Are you concerned about Mills in particular or about the overall allegation that maybe there are some, who would join this caucus who are attempting to undermine its premise?

 Brandon Gill: I have not seen that threat. I'm unaware of those specific allegations. so it's difficult to comment on. What I know is that in the Sharia Free Caucus we're going to continue our agenda of very clearly, and with clarity, calling out political Islam, both as an immigration issue and as a cultural issue within the United States. And that mission is going to continue.

Jenna Ellis: Great. Well I hope that everyone who joins this is equally on that same agenda and that this succeeds. And I really commend you and Representative Keith Self and Chip Roy and you know some really great, members of Congress who are pushing this to the fore in spite of what the failing NewSong York Times says. so thank you so much for, drawing attention to this issue, but pushing legislation as well because it is a, ah, significant issue in the United States. So, Congressman Brandon Gill, thanks so much for your time again. You can follow him at repbrandengill. And we will be right back with more.

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Jenna Ellis: Democrats are pushing voter ID legislation that could undermine democracy

Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. And another piece of legislation that is on its way through Congress and hopefully will prevail is the SAVE act, which is simply just ensuring that we have election integrity. And voter ID is the main issue. And it seems very obvious that we should know who is voting in our elections and that they are actually qualified to vote in elections. I mean, think about all of the places that you have to use your ID and show a government form of identification in order to, do certain activities, buy certain products. And yet somehow the ridiculous Democratic left is suggesting that it's racist. Another big thing, according to, Jamie Raskin, is that it's sexist, to, and somehow against the 19th amendment, because women can't, figure out how to get IDs if we have name changes, you know, last names in marriage and things like that, which is really just so insulting. It's like you really think that women aren't competent to actually go out and get an id. And, you know, we can figure out how to get on planes to go on honeymoons, but we can't figure out how to get an idiot, in order to go to the ballot box. I mean, it's just absurd and it's ridiculous. And the main reason I think that the Democrats are so against voter ID is because they know that people who shouldn't be voting in elections are, and those people are voting Democrat. Now, if those people were voting Republican, Democrats would be the first ones to say, we have to have voter id, it's unconstitutional not to. And this is a threat to democracy and all of their rhetoric, because for them, it's not about principle. It's not about common sense. It's not actually about America. It's about preserving their own power and their preferred outcomes.

Congressman Marlon Stutzman supports requiring photo ID for voting

So let's welcome in Congressman Marlon Stutzman from the great state of Indiana. And, Congressman, you are, I believe, a co sponsor of this bill. And, you know, thank you for, your work on pushing this through.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman: Hey, good morning, Jenna. Great to be with you. And, yeah, you know what? one of the most basic fundamental principles that we believe in this country is, the right to vote. And the opportunity to vote, is something that we all hold very dear. And when we know, you know, just intuitively that something isn't always right, it's like, okay, what's going on here? Why? You know, look at the 2020 election. I mean, there was a lot of things going on that we just can't quite put our finger on. We know something is wrong. And, we had this debate, back in Indiana when I was in the state legislature, of showing a photo ID showing that, you know, you are who you say you are and that you're only going to have one ballot and one vote. and so we, we require photo ID in our great state in Indiana, but here we see other states across the country that want to keep it very lenient, in states like California, states like, Michigan, where my good friend Pastor Lorenzo Sewell pastors, a church in Detroit. And he's in the middle of this fight, because, all of a sudden, you know, his congregants went to go vote, and they're like, well, you've already voted. And he's there like, no, we haven't. we're here to vote. And they said, no, you voted already. So somebody took their ballot, somebody took their, their information and voted for them. And so that means that they're, cheating and voting for the people that they want to have, be the winner rather than actually letting the people choose. And so this is such an important principle that people show who they are, that they are a citizen, and, having a photo ID to show they are who they say they are. And this is something that, you know, people have to show an ID to get a library card or to buy a pack of cigarettes or to buy alcohol or whatever. I mean, you name it. There's a lot of things that we all have to do, just to show an id. And so we think that showing An ID is a very important part of the process to be sure that our elections are safe and secure.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And it's just so common sense. And yet, you know, the Democrats have said that it's racist, it's sexist, it's against the Constitution, it's making it, you know, more difficult for people to vote, and that it'll prevent, people from voting. And, you know, my response to that is, well, people who shouldn't be voting in elections if they're not qualified, if it prevents them from voting, that's actually the purpose of the law, you know, and that's okay. That's exactly what you want. And so, you know, so a lot of their rhetoric and their pushback just doesn't even make sense. but where is this legislation currently in Congress? And, you know, will we actually see this passed? Because I think this could be a really signature piece of, legislation heading into the midterms.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman: Yeah, it's really coming to a head. So there's. There's actually two bills. There's the Save act, which actually requires you to prove your citizenship when you register to vote, and then there's the Save America act, which, requires a photo id. And so they are both moving, the Save act is already, through the House and is sitting over in the Senate.

 : Senate.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman: And so to put more pressure on the Senate to move both of these bills, we're passing the Save America act this week out of the House. And it'll probably be. Well, you know what, it's interesting, Jana, because I don't know if this is, there's some polling that's going around, on cnn, of all places, that shows both of these issues. Photo ID and you have to be a citizen to vote is very popular amongst Americans. And it is a. It's over 50% popular with the Democrats, with. With, so called, you know, when they do the polling and they ask, you know, are you Republican or Democrat? The Democrats are saying overwhelmingly that they support this position. So it's going to be interesting how the Democrats vote on this. Now, we know, you know, the party bosses know that they don't want this to pass because then it makes it harder for them to cheat, at the ballot box. But, you know, we did this in Indiana back in 2005 or 2006, and they did the same thing to us then. They called us racist, they called us prejudice. We're making it harder to vote. People that, you know, can't vote or that want to vote, we're Making. Giving them hurdles. So what we did, even on the days of the election, if you didn't have a photo ID that, you could go to the bmv. And so states could do this. States could actually keep their Bureau of Motor Vehicles or Department of Motor Vehicles open the day of the election. That way, if people are. Don't happen to have an id, which most people do, but, trying to take any excuse away saying you could even go down, grab your id, come back and still vote the same day, just to be sure that everyone has the right to vote.

Stutzman: Senate should go back to talking filibuster versus zombie filibuster

So this is really going to be in the Senate's hand. And I know we've talked about the filibuster before, where we're explaining it now as the talking filibuster versus the zombie filibuster. in the Senate, where the zombie filibuster, no one has to talk, they just, they just call it in. And so we really want the Senate to go back to the talking filibuster and get rid of the zombie filibuster.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And this seems like, as we talked about, at the end of last year with the government shutdown, it seems like the Democrats are just wielding this kind of archaic, rule in the Senate to try to stop the majority, and clearly what the majority of Americans want in terms of the Trump mandate and important legislation like this. So I hope that it will, go through the Senate and, the GOP there won't just use that as kind of a. Well, you know, we tried and not really actually use every tool available. but one of the other pieces of this as well is, the emphasis on mail in ballots. Obviously that was a big deal, ah, in the 2020 election. and, you know, a lot of states that use that, and so there's been some, I think, lack of clarification on whether this legislation would actually prevent mail in ballots if they would have rules around that. So what's, what's actually in the legislation for that?

Rep. Marlin Stutzman: Yeah, there's not. we were actually just talking about this last night, after our votes. And that is something. We are trying to figure out how to address it. But a lot of members, especially conservatives, believe in federalism and that the states need to manage the elections. but what we're seeing is that states like California, Illinois, Minnesota, NewSong York, I mean, name the liberal state and they, you know, California is probably the worst. I was just talking to a friend and he said that he had four ballots mailed to his house from the clerk's office. And he said I could have voted on every one of them and sent them all in. So I think, you know, we have got to address mail in ballots. It's not in these two particular bills yet. If they, could be amended, I know that I would support it. because we don't have, we have absentee ballot voting in Indiana where you have to request a ballot because you're not going to be in town on election Day. Or we also have early voting, where people can go into the courthouse or to the voting center, show their ID and vote in person that way. So I think that, you know, there's, there's ways to do this. But the Democrat Party does not want to prohibit mail in ballots because that is their kind of their ticket to getting around all of this and winning with large margins. Because they, they then go chase those ballots, ballots and they find out where people are and they ask them to fill it out. They'll stand right there. They'll even fill it out for them sometimes. but, we don't have that addressed in the SAVE act or the Save America Act. We're just addressing citizenship and photo id. But those are still very serious conversations that we're ah, having to try to address the fraud that goes with mail in ballots.

Jenna Ellis: And I think that's a really important clarification. And I appreciate that, Congressman, Stutzman, because, you know, there's, I think there is a lot of confusion over this. And you're absolutely right to point to federalism and you know, the Constitution that only gives Congress, you know, some limited authority. But really it's up to the state legislatures in terms of how they, conduct their elections. And however things like, you know, photo ID and some of those things aren't in conflict with, the Constitution. But of course, you know, the left is trying to confuse those issues. so this is really important and for people who are very concerned about election integrity, very concerned about, you know, some of these basics that really needed to be addressed well before the 2020 election. you know, I'm glad to see that it finally is being addressed here and hopefully, that will pass through the Senate, as you mentioned, both of those pieces of legislation.

You introduced a bill prioritizing housing affordability as President Trump has advocated

but before I let you go here too, I wanted to ask you about another piece of legislation, that you are championing about. Single family homes belong to single families, not institutions. And that homes that are meant for families should be purchased by families. Ah, you introduced a bill prioritizing housing affordability as President Trump has laid out in his recent statement, ah, of administration policy. So tell us more about this.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman: Yeah, you know, the, the other, part of our American dream is, you know, first of all we have the opportunity to vote and then second of all, the opportunity to own our own home. that's just part of the American dream. And I remember growing up, you know, hearing my parents talking about buying their own farm. You know, they wanted to buy a farm and then have their own home to raise their family. and you know, that's something that I feel, we all feel is so important. We've, that's become harder over the past five years because of interest rates. The cost of housing has gone up. Inflation was driven up through the Biden administration. And so we're now, this has been something really important to President Trump, to myself, which I'm just a big believer in saving money for the future, you know, building up equity in your home. And so I have a bill, we just actually passed a bill out of the Financial Services Committee that it passed on the floor last night. And it's called the 20, first century housing act. And it's, it's really just the government finds their way into even building homes to make it more difficult through the permitting process, through environmental studies. And so you have HUD and USDA that oftentimes conflict with each other for permitting through the environmental permits that need to be done for building. And we've heard from a lot of home builders saying it's so frustrating we can't just get an answer. And when we do get an answer, the other agency says no, we need it to comply this way. So, so we're forcing these agencies in Washington. again, it's kind of ironic going back to federalism, but here Washington has its fingers in even our local communities, when it comes to building homes. And so this makes it much simpler and streamlined and it gets the answers that the home builders are looking for so they can move ahead. Because when you're delayed a month or two months, you know, that's, that's time is money. And when people are wanting to move ahead and build, that's important.

Jenna Bennett: President Trump mentioned addressing affordability issues ahead of midterm elections

Now the other piece that I'm so glad President Trump mentioned just recently I was hearing this from some of my constituents and one in particular, my sister in law, she just does not like the idea of institutional investors buying single family homes. And when she mentioned it, I was like, you know what you're exactly right. And, this has become a big issue. Why are institutional investors buying single family homes? And it really boxes families out of being able to buy a home. So President Trump, has talked about it on social media and is asking for some sort of prohibition, on institutional investors. we're going to get that figured out and define how that actually works. But they can't step in front of a family that's trying to buy a home and say, and snatch it up for, an investment asset rather than letting the single family buy the home. and, you know, they can drive the prices up, things like that. So we're going to address this, this week, in a bill that we're going to drop. I know that Senator Moreno in the Senate is also working on a bill, and that's really just to make sure that single family housing is for families first.

Jenna Ellis: And this, again, it just seems so common sense. And, is, is great in terms of the overall affordability question that you, know that term has been largely pushed by the Democrats, especially heading into the midterms. But I think that what, the overall issue is in terms of especially, the younger generation looking for, the ability to actually pursue the American dream in terms of having a, home, livable wages, you know, all of those types of things. this is just one piece of that, where do you think the rest of, the pieces may be? Or maybe just, you know, one or two, bigger ones in terms of addressing the whole question of affordability as, you know, kind of the conversation has defined it.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman: Yeah. So this is, you know, something that I know we hear from constituents a lot, whether it's their credit card debt, you know, high interest rates on credit card debt. I support President Trump's effort to just put a cap on interest rates on credit cards at 10% for a year. I mean, to me it's just very simple, Jenna. You know, we have the federal government. The federal government always causes the problem, whether it's on the open border and immigration. And now President Trump is trying to fix it and we're deporting these criminals, the illegals. And then the Democrats say, oh, you guys are a bunch of racists. You guys are, you know, against the American dream. You're, they're doing the same thing here, by saying, well, we, we drove the prices up through inflation, through government spending. And now President Trump is trying to fix the economy and bring prices back in, in line to what, we all can afford. But, but I Saw this even, over the past several years in some of our family businesses where in a restaurant we had people that, you know, were coming in and usually putting it on a credit card all of a sudden stopped and they were putting it in, just paying their bill with cash. And so you look at the credit card debt in our country and it's, it is as high as it's ever been. Interest is being paid in the billions of dollars on that. I think we just need to give people a break on these high interest rates. And that's what President Trump has continually talked about saying that, the people are paying more on interest than they are on the principal. So anything we can do to give the American people a break to catch up and catch their breath after this high inflationary period under, President Biden, I think is a smart thing to do. Whether it's food prices, getting food prices down, we're doing that. Energy prices, gas, you know, gas at the pump has come down. We still have tough, some bills coming out right now with a heavy hard winter with utility bills that we still need to address the energy supply in the country to be sure that all of us have affordable, energy and utilities. So this is something that was created over this big government era under President Obama and President Biden and Republicans, have now been able to address it. And I think it's going to be a major part of the election conversation once we get to election, season this summer.

Congressman Marlon Stutzman addresses important issues on Truth Matters

Jenna Ellis: All right, well, really important issues and I really appreciate, your time addressing all of these and hopefully, you know, in the midst of the Democrats trying to confuse a lot of these issues and you know, put emphasis on videos on truth, social and other, you know, headlines that tend to dominate. It's encouraging to hear that real work is being done in Congress on election integrity, on affordability, on the Sharia Free America Caucus. so Congressman Marlon Stutzman really appreciate your time and you can follow him again on X, on, Facebook, on Instagram, on all the social media @repstutsman. He also posts great things about what's going on in Congress. You can get a lot of information there, so I'd encourage you to follow him. And we will be right back with more. We're m living in a time when truth is under attack. Lies are easy to tell, easy to spread and easy to believe. But truth, truth is costly. And nowhere is the cost greater than for mothers in crisis. When a woman is told abortion is her only option, silence and lies surround her. But when she walks into a PreBorn Network clinic, she's met with compassion, support, and the truth about the growing life inside her. That moment of truth happens through a free ultrasound, and it's a game changer. When a mother sees her baby and hears that heartbeat, it literally doubles the chance she will choose life. PreBorn Network clinics are on the front lines, meeting women in their darkest hour, loving them, helping them choose life, and sharing the truth. Friend, this is not the time to be silent. It is the time for courage, for truth, and for life. Just $28 provides one ultrasound and the opportunity for a mother to see her baby. To help her choose truth and choose life. Please donate today. Call £250 and say baby. That's £250, baby. Or give online@preborn.com forward/afr. That's preborn.com forward/afR.

Tony Ortiz: Will Texas elect a Democratic senator in 2026

 : welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. And so, you know, a lot of questions, heading into the midterms and there are a lot of important issues and whom we elect in 2026 is going to, shape the battleground, for the coming years, especially in the Senate. And you know, we've been talking about the, emphasis on some of these issues in Texas specifically. And one of the questions is will Texas elect a Democratic senator? And, this has not happened in, years. And so, according to the, Post Next article, the last time a Democrat won a Senate race in Texas, James Talarico, who is running for Democrat senator from Texas, was not even born yet. He's 36 years old. And this, you'll recall if you listen to this program frequently, we were talking about, his utterly absurd, perversion of scripture in terms of suggesting, that the Bible allows for abortion in the context of the angel asking Mary for consent, quote, unquote. I mean, there are so many different clips where he purports to be a Christian, yet clearly is not expressing the theology of the Bible, very clearly a Democrat, and yet, has gained kind of a lot of ground in Texas. So what exactly is going on? Well, let's welcome in Tony Ortiz, who is the editor and founder of Current Revolt. could Texas Tony see a Democrat senator?

Tony Ortiz: The good news is no. the bad news is the idea and this, this kind of push and narrative by the left that a, it's really close. And we could see Democrat senator that does carry a lot of the down ballot, I think in Texas. So the candidates, that are down ballot of the Senate race do benefit from the narrative that a Democrat could possibly win Senate and M. Yeah.

Jenna Ellis: And that makes sense. And this is why you know, turnout is always incredibly important. And just simply getting out the vote, especially in red states that you know, could dominate regardless, is so important. But you know, I find it interesting that people like James Talarico, you know, Zoran Mandani and you know, some of these other young sort of firebrand Democrats slash communists in Mandami's case, are gaining so much popularity mainly through a lot of their online media appearances and their social media presence. Do you think that translates to reality and voters?

Tony Ortiz: It doesn't. And as you mentioned he's incredibly young. James Talarico is 36 years old. if you kind of only existed online, maybe on X or social media, you would think that Talarico either already won or was close to winning the Republic or the Democrat primary. But a recent poll by Houston Hobby, shows that Talarico is trailing jasmine crockett, 47 to 39. So talarico coming in at 39. So he's not, he's not very close at all. But he gets a lot of media attention because of his appearance on Joe Rogan podcasts and other other such shows. And again like you mentioned, he's a young guy, he's kind of energized and things like that. And so there is a leftist media narrative to get his name out there and kind of energize the Democratic base.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And you know, and I find that so interesting because I think there's a similar phenomenon even on the Republican side. you know, here in my home state of Florida with our governor's race, I've had James, ah, Fish back on, you know, several times. Obviously I'll have all of the candidates on and he's in a similar position where he has like this really big online social media presence. but it's not really translating necessarily to reality. But I think that there is a, a lesson that we can learn from what young voters want and where they want to see the conversations go. Because you know, podcasts, radio programs like this one, you know, and long form discussions are important to younger voters. And it seems like maybe some of the old way of politicking is not reaching some of the younger voters. So what can we learn maybe overall from what is working and then what translates, you know, maybe to the polls? Because eventually, you know, Gen Z is going to be the, the largest voting bloc. so should politicians and candidates maybe incorporate some of that into their overall strategy?

Tony Ortiz: Yeah, you're 100% correct. Younger voters, they consume content much different than older voters. However, older voters, like you mentioned, they dominate the voting sphere right now. younger voters don't really make up that, that huge of a number, although that is changing. And so candidates who need to focus more on how to reach them where they are. Right, which is like TikTok, Instagram, gone to the days of the young people in Facebook. Even X isn't wholly consumed by younger, more casual voters. They're on their TikTok swiping, they're on the YouTube shorts or they're on their Instagram. but again, as of right now, that popularity doesn't translate to real life. For example, in the Attorney General race here in Texas, you know, the very online social media popular candidate, is Eryn Reitz. But that hasn't translated to real life. When you do polling, he gets around 2 to 3%. So, you can kind of see how, you know, you have to be careful as a candidate, really investing too much in kind of young social media outreach versus, what's actually going to get you past the finish line.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And you know, it's really fascinating because m. It seems like a lot of the social media though does drive a lot of the headlines. And so we're seeing so many more headlines about, for example, James Talarico and he's kind of become even a national name. I mean I've heard of him outside of just the Texas race. And I haven't, you know, I haven't heard of some of the other candidates in other states only because of his national media appearances. And then these clips that go viral that I think in some ways are just intended to stoke the fire. I mean, similarly to James Fishback where you know, a lot of his media strategy, it seems like he's, you know, running his campaign just from his cell phone. and a lot of these, these media appearances and these clips that are posted though do drive actual media. like you know, Washington Post, Politico and some of those. So there's some kind of translation into at least name id. And so for Talarico in particular, where do you see Texans actually viewing him? Because he, he casts himself as this faith, based Christian. And yet clearly what he's saying and what he's expressing as his quote unquote, faith is not actually Christianity. And so there's I think some Very false framing there. But, it's still at least having the effect of a nationwide conversation over some of these issues.

 : Yeah.

Tony Ortiz: And Talarico, you know, is probably, at least to like the moderate or less leaning. Or actually I would say the less leaning, especially independents. Talarico is probably, for them an ideal pick. they view them as not having a lot of the scandals that maybe the Republican nominees might have and maybe something fresh, new and young. But again, it doesn't translate. And if you're a Democrat, you want something maybe a little more of a fireball brand with a little more far left views. And that's. That's Jasmine Crockett. So, Talarico is facing that issue where Crockett's throwing swings at him out there and she's viewed as the more experienced, more more. More firebrand of a candidate. And to a lot of the far left Democrats, Talarico seems boring. And you know, in a party that runs off of DEI and promotes, you know, those sorts of policies, Talarico is a white man, and so then he's got that also working against him in his party.

Jenna Ellis: Isn't that odd when, when your own, your own lack of diversity works against you? According to the radical left.

Tony Ortiz says President Trump may endorse Ken Paxton in Texas Senate race

But you know, overall then in in the state of Texas, I mean, so the Democrat nominee, probably would be. Will be Jasmine Crockett, I'm assuming. So then when we get to the general election, you know, I mean she, she was elected to the House, but obviously the Senate is a totally different ball game. what do you expect from the general, election, assuming that Crockett is a nominee? And then who are we anticipating on the Republican side currently?

Tony Ortiz: provided. Provided, you know, Jasmine Crockett is the nominee for the Democrats, the Republican will walk into the wind, without a problem. the. Texas is still a red state that overwhelmingly votes, for a Republican governor as well. So, a Republican will take that very, very easily. as far as who's going to be nominated for the Republicans, that's kind of up in the air a little bit between, current Senator incumbent John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton vowing for fighting for a seat. those two are still really head to head. But again, it's becoming more and more. If you were to reference this Houston Hobby Poll that just came out yesterday, Ken, Paxton's at 38 and John Cornyn's at 31, with Wesley Hans coming in at 17. President, Donald Trump has signaled that he's considering, or at least he's signaling an endorsement in this race. But that's yet to be seen as well.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And that, how do you think that may affect things? Turning Point USA Action, just endorsed Paxton. you know, for what that's worth, I'm not sure. honestly that that carries, you know, a ton of weight. But at the same time, that signals the identification of the most MAGA candidate in the race. And so it'd be interesting to see if Trump ended up endorsing against Paxton. how, how may that affect the race, depending on, where Trump's endorsement may go.

 : Yeah.

Tony Ortiz: If President Trump would endorse, for example, Ken Paxton, they would just further nail in the coffin he would get this race. if he were to come out for John Cornyn instead. I think that that would, I think they would slightly confuse some, especially some of the online voters who are very much pro Paxton. Attorney General Paxton has gained a huge loyal base that it kind of seemingly says that no matter what he does, they're going to vote for him no matter what, no matter what scandals or what anything has happened. and so I think a Trump endorsement for his, for John Cornyn, would confuse voters. Whether or not it would take them over the finish line. It could possibly be that way. we just had an SD9 race where, you know, you had a Republican lose in a plus 17 Republican district and it swung almost completely the opposite way. And so I, you know, we're seeing that maybe President Trump is considering this loss in his endorsements and maybe considering endorsing the safer candidate, which may be John Cornyn in this situation.

Jenna Ellis: That it's going to be wild. So Tony Ortiz really appreciated and we're going to keep our eye on Texas as well as the other red states and of course the blue states. always elections matter. You, need to know who's running. You need to know of your ballot before you get there. Follow Tony Ortiz at current Revolt and you can always reach me and my team. Jenna.afr.net PreBorn's whole mission is to rescue babies from abortion and lead their families to Christ. Last year, PreBorn's network of clinics saw 8,900 mothers come to Christ. Please join us in this life saving mission. To donate, go to preborn.com afr.

Jenna Ellis discusses election integrity, immigration, religious freedom, Texas politics, housing affordability, and cultural debates shaping America’s political future.