Will someone in Texas please explain to me

[Aviation Pro]

How a fucking, vile, pestilent piece of dried dog shit like Paxton is leading in the polls over a decent man, who is Texas through and through?

[hurl]

1. I'm sure there's more to it but

Racism and fundamentalist Christian dogma are huge factors. Then there was also hate radio from decades ago that successfully toxified our Democratic brand in rural areas by painting us as baby-killing communists who want to turn everyone gay. Since then, our candidates hardly matter... The D by the name is the problem. It's all about what team you're on.

I'm hoping our urban and suburban areas population shift will help us overcome that, but Texas has disappointed me my entire voting lifetime here.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. white evangelicals

[LeftInTX]

7. Exactly!

[Melon]

3. Paxton is only ahead by one point

Talarico needs to stay out of two key areas here….god and guns. There are plenty of believers in both parties down here and it’s a losing area to wade into ( proof Beto).

[Skittles]

5. the greedy old pig party has lots of money to spend on propaganda

and that works really well on bigots

[Blue_Roses]

18. Bingo!

Perfectly said!

[ITAL]

6. It's the reason I wanted Cornyn as the GOP nominee

Cornyn is bad, for sure...but he isn't Paxton. Just because Talarico might have a better shot against Paxton, doesn't mean it's a sure thing at all in a state like TX and I'd rather have a Cornyn than a Paxton in the Senate any day.

[LisaL]

9. That wasn't up to us.

NT

[ITAL]

11. No kidding

I'm talking about the general feeling around here at the time...which was folks were by and large rooting for Paxton because he'd be "easier to defeat."

[LisaL]

8. Well, it's Texas.

It's been red for many years.

[ananda]

10. The cities are blue, but all the outlying areas...

are still fighting the Civil War.

[blogslug]

12. Not much of a lead

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/23/texas-us-senate-poll-ken-paxton-james-talarico-ut-austin/

Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are neck and neck in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

Paxton led Talarico 43% to 42%, with a 3.5-point margin of error, the survey found, largely aligning with other recent polls, which have reported a competitive race since the general election nominees were solidified last month. The result puts Paxton on a promising trajectory, coming after he trailed Talarico by 8 percentage points in the same pollster’s April survey.

The latest poll queried 1,200 self-reported registered voters from June 5 to 12, around three weeks after the race was set when Paxton, the hardline conservative attorney general, bested U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican runoff election...

Look, I'm a Democrat in Texas. I've had my heart broken so many times it doesn't hurt anymore. We get no help from the national party. We're on our own. I'm donating to James Talarico and others on the Democratic ticket. I'm going to vote for them in November. A 1 point difference/3.5-point margin looks pretty damned good to me.

[surfered]

13. Here's a possible explanation. Jasmine Crockett lost the primary against Talarico

Maybe she has hard feelings. Could be a problem. Talarico has appeal to independents and some true Christian Republicans, but this is Texas. He needs all Democrats

https://www.newsweek.com/jasmine-crockett-unsure-shell-support-talarico-campaign-12097308

[Seeking Serenity]

15. If the Black vote stays home....

[Aviation Pro]

17. If that's the case

She’s lost all credibility in my eyes.

[Tree Lady]

14. Let's see why did people vote for Trump

The rapist? Because they held their nose and stayed with the party or they loved him.

In Texas it will be because they hate democrats.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

16. Texas rose from the ashes of Aztecs. Maybe Cortez needs to come back and finish the job.