{"id":142848,"date":"2026-01-29T17:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/142848\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T17:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:23:12","slug":"newspaper-publisher-challenges-gop-to-do-better-for-rural-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/142848\/","title":{"rendered":"Newspaper publisher challenges GOP to do better for rural Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy<\/a>, and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story contains explicit language.<\/p>\n

LUBBOCK \u2014 Thirty years ago, Suzanne Bellsnyder was a budding young Republican working in Austin, far from her home in the Texas Panhandle. She was on a mission to push Republicans \u2014 the likes of John Cornyn<\/a> and Greg Abbott<\/a> \u2014 into power.<\/p>\n

Now, she\u2019s returned to the Panhandle and is a known hellraiser for the same Republicans she helped elect. Her new mission is simple: advocate for better lives and treatment of rural Texans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want our resources, but they don\u2019t care about our people,\u201d said Bellsnyder, who now publishes two rural newspapers and writes a regular newsletter about rural issues on Substack. \u201cIt\u2019s up to us to step up and ask for equal resources now.\u201d <\/p>\n

For Bellsnyder, it\u2019s personal. The Panhandle is her heritage, and she\u2019s willing to fight for the region and other rural areas. <\/p>\n

Bellsnyder\u2019s advocacy \u2014 which harkens to a bygone era of sentry newspaper publishers defending their communities \u2014 couldn\u2019t have come at a more crucial time for rural Texas. The small, quiet communities throughout the state face several existential threats, including population declines, a dearth of resources in a rapidly urbanizing world, and an unshakeable feeling that state and federal leaders take their votes for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing from people who live and work in rural Texas is so important,\u201d said Kelty Garbee, executive director of Texas Rural Funders, an organization that works to improve the lives of rural Texans. \u201cWhen rural people aren\u2019t at the table, decisions are made about them instead of with them.\u201d <\/p>\n

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In the heat of these battles, Bellsnyder has become one of the loudest voices for the far-flung areas of Texas. As the Texas Legislature debated school vouchers last year \u2014 something public school advocates said would harm rural communities \u2014 Bellsnyder was a consistent voice on social media. Some days she informed people about how it could be the end of public education, and other days she argued with prominent Republicans, including Abbott. She never hesitated to say Austin-based Republicans didn\u2019t know a thing about rural Texas. <\/p>\n

\u201cAbbott has adopted East Coast Bullshit. This is not the Texas Way,\u201d Bellnsyder posted on X<\/a>, referring to the governor\u2019s push for private school vouchers. <\/p>\n

Abbott shot back<\/a>, suggesting Bellysnyder focus on \u201creporting the facts.\u201d <\/p>\n

Abbott\u2019s office did not respond to a request to comment on the governor\u2019s interactions with Bellsynyder. <\/p>\n

Bellsnyder hasn\u2019t felt any direct consequences from speaking out against Abbott \u2014 yet. Even if she did, it wouldn\u2019t stop her. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re being criticized by someone who used to believe in you, then maybe you\u2019ve changed,\u201d Bellsnyder said of Abbott. <\/p>\n

\"\"Bellsnyder speaks with Hansford County Commissioner Robert Whitaker on Dec. 15, 2025, during a tour of the area at Palo Duro Lake shortly after a prescribed burn in the area. Phoebe Terry for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

But many of her takes get her labeled as a RINO, or a Republican in Name Only, by other online conservatives. Bellsnyder insists she isn\u2019t. She calls herself a Republican loyalist, baffled by how powerful conservatives have no interest in understanding her stance. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s considered to be an apostasy,\u201d said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. \u201cIt\u2019s expected that there\u2019s dissent in these parties, you just don\u2019t always hear about it because it tends to be a liability for people who want to work in politics.\u201d <\/p>\n

Staying quiet while rural communities get the short end of the stick is not an option. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating to watch us sit and feel like we don\u2019t have a voice anymore, like we\u2019re just supposed to do what our elected officials say is best,\u201d Bellsnyder said, adding that Abbott\u2019s never been to her county. \u201cSo how can he say I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m talking about?\u201d <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Rural Texas is more than a talking point for Bellsnyder. Her family has lived in Hansford County, about 95 miles northwest of Amarillo on the Texas-Oklahoma border, for 100 years. She admits she sometimes wonders why she left Austin, which feels like the right spot for a self-proclaimed political junkie. <\/p>\n

However, Spearman is home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think God has given me experiences and exposed me to things that I needed to know, then brought me back here,\u201d Bellsnyder said. \u201cSo I could be a credible voice, both for the people living in rural Texas and for people making policies about rural Texas.\u201d <\/p>\n

After 12 years of working at the Capitol, Bellsnyder moved back to the Panhandle in 2014. Her dad was in poor health, and she wanted to raise her daughter close to family. She says she retired from politics, but ultimately found herself working in economic development and, before long, was the city manager. <\/p>\n

Then an opportunity came that would give Bellsnyder a new career, one that she calls accidental, as a journalist. The Reporter-Statesman<\/a>, the Hansford County newspaper, was going to shut down in 2022. It would have added to the growing number of news deserts across the U.S. \u2014 225 counties do not have a local newspaper<\/a>. The problem is especially prevalent in rural Texas, where 21 counties go without a newspaper<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Bellsnyder ended up taking it. Eventually, she acquired her second newspaper in a nearby county, the Sherman County Gazette<\/a>, in 2024. <\/p>\n

She did this as the Canadian Record<\/a>, a storied newspaper in nearby Hemphill County, closed<\/a>. Bellsnyder felt it was important to keep the communities informed on what local governments were doing, and said newspapers write the history books for their communities. <\/p>\n

Bellsnyder jokes that she\u2019s trying to build a rural Texas media empire. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut maybe that\u2019s the goal,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"\"Bellsynder fields calls from the Spearman superintendent and a Hansford County commissioner at her desk on Dec. 15, 2025. Phoebe Terry for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

A journalism novice, Bellysnyder has turned to others in the region for guidance when she feels in over her head, including The Record\u2019s publisher Laurie Ezzell Brown and Tara Huff, the publisher for Fritch\u2019s Eagle Press. Bellsnyder isn\u2019t making money from her newspaper ventures yet. She\u2019s breaking even, which she says she expected when she took them on. <\/p>\n

While her newspapers are focused on facts and record-keeping, her Substack, the Texas Rural Reporter<\/a>, is where opinions fly. She has around 3,000 followers on her Substack, which might seem small to some. But it\u2019s quality over quantity, Bellysnyder said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m putting the message in the right ears, the people who have the ability to make some of the changes or at least understand the perspective,\u201d Bellsnyder said. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what she says is missing from policy decisions now. Bellsnyder said Texas policies are not favorable to rural communities. There\u2019s a disconnect between elected officials and rural Texas, along with the deteriorating conditions that plague them, Bellsnyder said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wish Gov. Abbott would not fly across the state and actually drive,\u201d Bellsnyder said. \u201cI hope these other candidates that are running for office are driving through the towns and on these roads the same way I am, because I think they would have a completely different view of what Texas is struggling with.\u201d <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

For so many years, Bellsnyder considered herself retired from politics. Then she saw a shift in Austin. The idea that billionaires control everything in politics is largely seen as a Democrat talking point, but Bellsnyder buys the argument. She describes it as an \u201cus versus them\u201d dynamic \u2014 the people versus the big checkbooks.<\/p>\n

Bellsnyder believes Republican leaders are now more interested in listening to the demands of their billionaire donors than voters. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t run a Texas House race for less than a million dollars,\u201d Bellsnyder said. \u201cSomething is messed up about that system because it takes people out of the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

The private school voucher debate proved her point, she said.<\/p>\n

Abbott, who is running for reelection, has one of the largest campaign war chests in the history of Texas. One reason is Jeff Yass, a GOP megadonor from Pennsylvania who championed private school voucher programs. He alone gave Abbott a $6 million donation<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n

A voucher program quickly became Abbott\u2019s top priority. He called four special legislative sessions<\/a> in 2023 to pass a voucher bill. He was blocked each time by a coalition of rural Republican lawmakers who wouldn\u2019t vote for it. <\/p>\n

Abbott and other supporters of private school vouchers argued that the program empowers families to select the best education option for their children. They also argued the program would inspire public schools to compete for students and lead to better performance. <\/p>\n

Yass kicked in another $4 million<\/a> to boost the governor\u2019s mission to oust the Republicans who opposed the program. Abbott was successful in replacing most of those members. <\/p>\n

After some negotiating during the 2025 legislative session, the bill finally passed<\/a> on an 86-61 vote. The Legislature also passed a separate bill that increases funding for public schools<\/a> by nearly $8.5 billion. Abbott signed the bills into law, calling it a victory for families.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bellsnyder speaks with Hansford County Commissioner Robert Whitaker during a tour at Palo Duro Lake. Phoebe Terry for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

Bellsnyder consistently argued against the program on social media throughout the session. She says the few rural lawmakers left in the Legislature had to vote for the bill, whether they wanted to or not. There\u2019s nothing conservative about the bill, she said, as it creates a new program that uses one-time money. She called it a violation of conservative fiscal policies. <\/p>\n

She likened it to SNAP benefits, saying Republicans don\u2019t want to give food stamps, but they do want to give \u201ceducation stamps\u201d that don\u2019t go to the people who need them. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know the difference between marketing an issue and the realities of an issue, and vouchers are one that the Republican Party sold out and bought into the marketing of,\u201d Bellsnyder said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t really think about the impact it would have on its most loyal communities, which is red, rural Texas.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rural lawmakers secured some safeguards for rural communities in the final bill, Bellsnyder said. They didn\u2019t win the war, but she said they were able to protect rural Texas the best they could. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what the legislative process is all about, right? It\u2019s messy and ugly, and it is what it is,\u201d Bellsnyder said. <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The voucher battle may be a loss for Bellsnyder, but her mission to protect rural Texas is far from over. Bellsnyder is expanding her efforts to include a self-guided tour of rural Texas and building a new coalition of newspaper publishers in small towns.<\/p>\n

This month alone, she has written about how rural roads are failing<\/a> and being ignored by lawmakers, and how data center developers are treating rural Texas like the next land rush<\/a>. She breathes rural Texas, but wants to know more. She started a Dirt Road Tour where she travels across the state to small town after small town. <\/p>\n

Rottinghaus, the political science professor, said Bellsnyder does a public service by talking about rural policies in a way that makes people in big, urban areas understand more. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s useful to understand those things that otherwise, you\u2019d have to learn about in a poll or go and visit,\u201d Rottinghaus said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great way for these sort of voices to be heard beyond the places where they exist.\u201d <\/p>\n

Last year, Bellsnyder started the Grama Institute of Texas. The name comes from grama grass, a resilient prairie grass native to West Texas. If it burns, it\u2019s able to grow back quickly. Bellsnyder said it represents who the people in the High Plains are. <\/p>\n

The organization focuses on being a resource for rural Texas through rural media content, building a network of rural newspaper editors, and doing community engagement. It would also build a policy agenda for rural communities throughout the state. She calls the idea \u201cdirt democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Bellsnyder at her office on Dec. 15, 2025. Phoebe Terry for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

And, as elected officials shift priorities, the need for a policy agenda specifically for rural Texas becomes clearer. Garbee, with Texas Rural Funders, said the organization believes rural and urban are interconnected, and that a strong state requires both communities to be healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes our decisions about policies or funding or programs don\u2019t acknowledge this, which creates winners and losers,\u201d Garbee said. \u201cSo we do think it\u2019s important to keep rural perspectives and experiences included in the conversation.\u201d <\/p>\n

The goal for the institute, which Bellsnyder calls \u201cGRIT\u201d for short, is to get rural Texas more informed and engaged about what is happening. The board is composed of people she met through her Substack.<\/p>\n

\u201cRural Texans are an endangered species in Austin,\u201d Bellsnyder said. \u201cWe have to fortify ourselves against what potentially could come our way. We\u2019re not going to have legislators with the power to protect rural Texas in the way we have in the past.\u201d <\/p>\n

Disclosure: The Texas Rural Funders and the University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[392,2649,51280,7913,59961,27,29,28,6473],"class_list":["post-142848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-greg-abbott","tag-panhandle","tag-photo-build","tag-photography","tag-spearman","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-well-a-homepage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}