For years, Texas has been the great white whale for Democrats…every two years they vow to turn the state blue, only to come up empty again in November. That pattern has led many Republicans to dismiss polls showing competitive statewide races, or reports that Democrats have an enthusiasm advantage. Notably, recent polls have shown Democrat James Talarico leading in the Senate race, and Gov. Greg Abbott’s lead in the governor’s race down to as little as five points.
On the latest episode of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s podcast, he and Sen. Ted Cruz discussed the current political climate in Texas and why it is dangerous for Republicans to assume they’ll win again this fall. “In 2026, we could lose Texas…it’s a five-alarm fire right now,” said Cruz. “Every Republican, every conservative, and every non-nuts common-sense Texan needs to understand the crazies are coming out in force, they hate Trump, and it is a very challenging environment.”
Indeed, Democrats are pouring millions of dollars into Texas, with Talarico in particular raking in huge amounts of cash from out of state liberals hoping to finally flip Texas. National Republicans do have a massive war chest of their own, as does Gov. Greg Abbott. But so far, they’ve been outspent in the Senate race. That could change soon, with President Trump in Houston this week raising money for Paxton, and the president returning to the state for next month’s midterm GOP convention in Dallas.
Entering the home stretch of the campaign, Patrick and Cruz agreed that the GOP needs to pull out all the stops this year, or risk a devastating defeat. “If Democrats take Texas, you never elect a Republican to the White House ever again because of the electoral votes,” said Patrick. “Everything we’ve worked for, they will try to repeal…they’ll try to repeal school choice, they want a state income tax, they want a capital gains tax, they want boys to play girls’ sports.”
“So it’s got to be policy over personality, and we’re going to have to fight for it,” he continued. “And people need to understand what’s on the line—the future of the country.”