KSEV Mornings · October 20, 2026 · Hour 1
Day 1 early voting numbers, Steve Toth on getting Republicans to the polls, the Mob Guys family tree and whether America needs more than two parties.
Tuesday’s first hour opened on Day 1 of early voting in the Ken Paxton vs. James Talarico Senate race. Craig Coglianese and Wayne Dolcefino went through what the first numbers out of Harris County might mean, heard from Steve Toth, the Republican nominee in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District, and asked listeners whether the country would be better off with more than two parties. Caller Bill had thoughts on a Talarico ad, and Wayne had thoughts on just about everyone.
What Day 1 of early voting might be saying
Wayne said the first day “didn’t work out so bad for Republicans.” A friend who does political consulting sent him the Harris County numbers around 10:30 Monday night as a quiz. “I’m going, dude, I’m tired. I don’t really need a quiz,” Wayne said. What he saw: very low turnout in some reliably African American precincts and “some really good numbers in some of the west side boxes.” He was careful about it. “It’s one day. Does it mean anything? I don’t know.” He wondered whether Jasmine Crockett would have energized Black voters more than Talarico does, and said Republicans may be turning out because they are hearing the warning about Democrats who run as moderates. “They’re all Reagan reincarnated,” he said.
Talarico’s ads and the property tax claim
Wayne noticed a Talarico commercial saying he worked with Republicans to cut property taxes. “Sometimes when you don’t hear an attack, you sort of wonder if it’s because that’s true,” he said, admitting he hadn’t woken up at three in the morning to study the votes. Craig said that wasn’t happening on his end either, then pointed out that his job title says co-host. “It doesn’t say producer.” Wayne decided he is one anyway.
Have voters already made up their minds?
Craig asked whether people can still be reached this late. Wayne thinks most have decided, and the open question is whether the “couch Republicans” who backed John Cornyn come home. “I just don’t get a lot of people that tell me, gosh, I really love Ken Paxton,” he said, even though Paxton has been “a very effective attorney general.” The problem, in Wayne’s view, is charisma. “He doesn’t have the charisma that I have.” He compared the Talarico crowds to Beto O’Rourke’s run against Ted Cruz and Kamala Harris’s rallies: huge crowds, and then on Election Day “people come home.”
Wayne jokes about the turnout
The record Harris County turnout had Wayne joking that he was nervous (“There’s too many stupid people out there”), and Craig talked him “off the ledge”: so few people vote that anyone who shows up can outvote the “sheep.” Craig still wants everyone to use the right they have.
Why they’re the Mob Guys
Craig said the Mob Guys name is really a reflection on “all the terrible actual mobsters who are in politics.” Both hosts ran through the family roster of Anthonys, Vinnys and an Uncle Dominic, and swapped stories about mysterious guests at family funerals, including rumored envelopes that may or may not have been handed over. “Grandma said it didn’t happen,” went the family line. Then came the movies: Wayne loves The Godfather and liked The Sopranos, though not the therapy scenes. “I enjoyed the killing,” he said. A couple of listeners once wrote in that the name was offensive to Italians. Craig noted they weren’t Italian.
A hat giveaway
Wayne got two of his Dolcefino Media hats in the mail and offered the spare, a large, to a listener. Craig’s one condition: the winner has to say “Mob Guys” isn’t offensive. Wayne’s view on being called names: “If they don’t talk about you, you don’t matter.”
Nothing is free
Wayne asked how someone like New York Attorney General Letitia James gets elected. Craig said the formula is simple: “I promise I’ll give you more free stuff and I’ll get the bad guy, whoever you think the bad guy is.” Once they’re in office, he said, things get more expensive and they go after the wrong guy. Wayne’s summary: “Nothing’s free, baby.”
Question of the day: do we need more than two parties?
About 45% of Americans don’t belong to either team, Craig said, and after watching how Israel’s coalitions have to reach 61 seats in the Knesset, he asked whether America needs more parties. Wayne imagined a conservative party, a “country club” Republican party, the Democrats and a socialist party. Craig said a third party, or any system that forces a real conversation, could fix the problem of races everyone assumes are already over. Wayne added that party bosses too often pick who gets to run. “Sorry, Don Corleone has decided that you got to put Sonny in this seat.” Neither host is a “wait your turn” guy, though Craig suspects the generations see that differently.
Caller Bill on the data center ad
Bill called about a Talarico ad shot next to a data center that complains about half a billion dollars in tax breaks. “He has nothing to do with that,” Bill said. “That is the legislature.” Wayne said that with local news mostly gone, nobody is left to fact-check it, and he would love to see a TV station do a real one. Craig asked Bill whether the two should still debate. Bill thinks they should. Wayne thinks it’s too late, because Talarico would say Paxton only wants one now because he’s desperate. “People are already voting,” Craig said.
Steve Toth: “Don’t take your foot off the gas”
Steve Toth said Democratic turnout was high too, but numbers from strong Republican precincts were “very, very encouraging.” “If Republicans match Democrat turnout, we win, we win bigly,” he said. His ask: even if you’ve voted, make sure your neighbors, friends and family have, and use the Abbott app to check. Asked what wins out in the end, Toth pointed to the unrest in Europe as a preview of what America would look like under socialist or Islamist control. He said Democrats treat politics like a religion and tithe to their candidates, while Republicans run businesses and raise families “and then we think about politics for basically three weeks every couple of years.” He also told the story of his opponent walking up to him in the early voting line Monday and asking about a debate. “I said, how about right here, right now?” Toth said. Before signing off he said that if Republicans keep turning out, Paxton wins by five.
Hear Craig and Wayne live weekdays from 7–9 AM Central on AM 700 KSEV, The Voice of Texas. Visit the KSEV Mornings show page for live-listening controls and more episodes.
