Audience members cheer as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the Texas GOP convention in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON — At the Texas Republican State Convention, Gov. Greg Abbott turned a perceived insult into an advantage.
Blazoned on campaign-style placards and electronic message boards inside the sprawling George R. Brown Convention Center on Friday, delegates and visitors were unable to miss the splashy phrase “Governor Hot Wheels” above his newly launched election-year slogan, “Unity Drives Victory.”
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That “hot wheels” phrase stems from a line in a speech last year by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett that was pilloried by Republicans because it seemed to mock the fact that Abbott has used a wheelchair since he was paralyzed in the mid-1980s, when tree fell on him.
“Despicable” is how Attorney General Ken Paxton described the remark. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called it “shameful.” Crockett later said the line was not intended the way Republicans perceived it.
Intended or not, Abbott is embracing it.
People walk past a sign displaying the “Governor Hot Wheels” nickname embraced by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shown during the Texas GOP convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Increasingly, politicians on both sides are discovering that the fastest way to neutralize a taunt is to adopt it themselves. What once might have been a damaging nickname can now become a fundraising pitch, a campaign slogan or a badge of honor for supporters.
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Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to close Republican primaries in his first in-person appearance at the state party convention in nearly a decade — embracing a call of grassroots activists as he urges the party to unite ahead of a potentially bruising midterm.
Houston Chronicle
Recall that last month after Paxton defeated Cornyn in the Republican Senate runoff, he tested a few lines aimed at his Democratic opponent in the November general election. “Low-T Talarico” and “Talafreako” were among Paxton’s victory-speech favorites.
READ MORE: Greg Abbott calls for major election change in speech at Texas GOP convention
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott is shown at the Texas GOP convention in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
A volunteer hands out a flag displaying the “Governor Hot Wheels” nickname embraced by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shown during the Texas GOP convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
So how did Talarico react? Kind of like Abbott did.
He printed up T-shirts saying “I’m a Talafreako” and offered them for sale on his website, hoping supporters would buy them and wear them proudly. The tactic seemed to work. At a rally in the Austin suburb of Leander shortly after the shirts were announced, supporters lined up at a merchandise kiosk asking about them. Many were disappointed to learn the first shipment had not yet arrived.
Sadly, however, the discourse appears to have remained at the same low level.
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At the GOP convention, Paxton all but acknowledged that the attack had backfired. But instead of shifting tactics to focus on issues, he told delegates that going forward, he’d call his opponent “Talacreepo.”
In addition to owning the “Governor Hot Wheels” moniker, Abbott brought to life the Republican Party’s venerable symbol: The elephant.
But it wasn’t just the cute cartoonish drawings of the largest living land mammals on Earth. Abbott arranged for a real, live elephant to lumber onto the convention hall stage draped in a white cloth carrying the “Unity Drives Victory” slogan.
READ MORE: Ken Paxton says he’s No. 1 target for national Democrats in the 2026 midterms
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An elephant named, Paige, is shown at the Gov. Greg Abbott booth during the Texas GOP convention in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
From the stage, trainers led the 39-year-old elephant, Paige, who lives at the East Texas Elephant Experience in the town of Cut and Shoot, down through the convention floor and into throngs of cheering delegates.
And when Paige approached the risers holding news cameras and the reporters covering the event, she promptly urinated right there in the aisle.
For the record, when elephants do that, they leave a multi-gallon puddle and an aroma that wafts and lingers — something nearby reporters and delegates could not ignore.
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Feel free to supply your own metaphors.
Another staple of political conventions, especially on the Republican side, is the unofficial delegate dress code.
Red, white and blue shirts — and a few dresses — that appeared to have been crafted from the fabric of countless Texas flags were ubiquitous in the corridors, meeting rooms and convention halls. So were top-of-the-line cowboy boots. And clothes adorned with plenty sequins.
In Houston, there was no shortage of conservative-themed merchandise for sale inside the exhibit hall.
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Anyone needing a hat bearing President Donald Trump’s name or a MAGA slogan did not go home empty-handed. Anyone wanting a photo with someone in office, or running for office, did not have to look far. If anyone wondered whether Republicans still support the Second Amendment, that mystery was cleared up quickly by way of bumper stickers, signs, coffee mugs or hip holsters.
Donna Krauss of Plano shops during the Texas GOP convention in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Unlike major-party national conventions, which take place every four years, state conventions happen every two years.
There are no nominating speeches and certainly no gavel-to-gavel coverage, unless you count partisan podcasts. The main business is electing party officers and hammering out a platform that delegates want candidates running for state and federal offices to campaign on. Some candidates eagerly oblige. Others offer only half-hearted lip service.
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This cycle, Texas Republicans went first. Democrats get their turn in a couple of weeks when they meet in Corpus Christi.
The issues and the dress code will likely be different, but the passion and pageantry will no doubt be on full display.