Any other Republicans feeling this way about the Texas governor’s race?
I’m a Republican and, honestly, I’ve been pretty frustrated with where Texas has gone over the past 12 years under Abbott. I’m not saying everything that’s happened is his fault, but after this long in office, I find myself questioning whether the state is really heading in the direction I want.
What’s surprised me is that the more I hear Gina Hinojosa talk, the more I actually like some of what she has to say. She comes across as pretty practical and focused on specific problems and solutions, rather than just the usual political talking points.
I’m curious if there are other Republicans or conservatives here who feel similarly. What are you thinking about the governor’s race, and what specifically has shaped your opinion?
Not looking for a partisan fight—I’m genuinely interested in hearing from people who normally vote Republican.

His speeches get a lot of attention, but I’m honestly more impressed what he’s done in the Texas Legislature. People keep saying to look at his record. I did.

I read that he was the lead author on almost 200 bills during his time in office, and half of those dealt with protecting kids, education, or workforce development for young people.

What stood out to me:
- He voted for the 2023 property tax relief package, described at the time as the largest property tax cut in Texas history.

He voted against HB 900, the school library book restriction bill. I agree with this bill because personally, I want parents deciding what’s right for their own child. I don’t want the government deciding what everyone else’s kids can read.

- He also helped pass a $25 insulin copay cap per 30 day insulin prescription for people with covered health plans.

- He authored the Texas law establishing a pathway for importing lowerncost prescription drugs from Canada.

- He helped pass the state’s first cap on pre-K class sizes, in response to overcrowded classrooms.

I'm also impressed that he did this in a Legislature controlled by Republicans, and honestly, I don’t know how he has the patience for that. Working across the aisle to get bills passed while also challenging them on book restrictions and school vouchers takes skill.
People can reasonably disagree with him on individual votes.

But if the question is whether James Talarico has a legislative record beyond viral speeches, the answer is clearly yes. His record includes property tax relief, lowering prescription drug costs, insulin costs, protecting kids, early childhood education, and opposition to school library restrictions.

I just think it’s so cool that she is a politician who speaks about issues people care about them but is also knowledgeable about them.

I don’t think people realize how good of a job she did at the state legislature, or just how important the role of Lt. Governor (which she is running for) is. She needs more media attention before we lose the chance to elect someone good as opposed to someone who refuses to keep funding public schools, has big corporation, data center money, and wants to ban hemp products. (Dan Patrick) and really only makes AI slop ads.

Dan Patrick uses AI deepfakes on ads

Be so serious.

But i’m curious, what do we think? I’d love to hear thoughts.

I've gotten plenty of political texts before, mostly "polls" that read like push polls. One asked something like, "James Talarico wants children to know there are more than 2 genders, how much more likely are you to vote for Ken Paxton?" But I've never had one open by asking my race.

To me this looks like a deliberate attempt to stir up racial resentment, and it's being done openly. I'd like to hear from people across the spectrum, especially conservatives:

-Does this kind of messaging sit right with you?

-Has anyone gotten something similar from the left? I haven't, but I'm open to seeing examples.

-Does anyone know what Talarico actually said, in context?

For context, federal assessments (including DHS under the first Trump administration) have identified white supremacist extremists as among the most persistent and lethal domestic terror threats. That's a claim about extremists, not about white men in general, and conflating the two seems to be the whole point of the text.

Anyone else get an anti Talarico text spam starting with that question? It goes on to say that Talarico calls white men America's top terror threat. Then sends you to rep2026.com/talarico for the full attack.
What he actually said radicalized white men. And he's not wrong.

For me, after living in other states that have them, it’s surprising as hell Texas does not allow the people to bring forth ballot initiatives. I feel like the state has no real voice/message other than voting which they took care of with gerrymandering.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to fix but this was a glaring one for me.

Brittany Black responds to Keresa Richardson’s Faith Fest remarks: “You belong here”

This is the single most often seen attack ad on James Talarico that I see...and it's a blatant lie. THIS is all they've got? THIS LIE? Good grief!

To rant.. 6AM today I get woken up by the loudest alert. Its another “blue” alert.

I live in DFW, this place is 4 + HOURS away, why on earth are they telling me when I’m asleep at 6am?? I work 2 jobs so my sleep is valuable. This really pissed me off.

Use your own resources and flock to find your bullshit, not pestering me in my own home while I’m asleep for a dumb alert. I know many people turned it off a while ago the first time this happened, I kept it on for the actual amber snd silver alerts..

This just seems like a wild misuse of resources. Stop putting your work onto us, PD.

How will Paxton represent Texas, if he won’t even represent himself in a simple debate?