A decade of Democrats making inroads in turning Texas blue just went out the window in one day. Republicans reasserted their dominance over the Lone Star State in this year's election, sweeping statewide races by double digits and adding to their majorities in the Legislature. "Texas is definitely getting more red, and election night showed that," says Luke Macias, political consultant and commentator. "We got more red than we were in 2016, 2018, or 2020."
Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton all won by wide margins despite Democrats mounting strong campaign efforts against all three. "Beto O'Rourke spent $75 million, and he performed about two percent better than Lupe Valdez, who ran against Abbott four years ago and spent $300,000," says Macias.
These results also validate the conservative agenda put forth in Texas last year, which included passing the heartbeat abortion ban, constitutional carry, and new voter integrity laws. "I agree, and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick made similar comments recently, saying that the bold, conservative policies the Legislature forced through last session were actually rewarded at the ballot box," says Macias.
Even the liberal oasis of Austin is drying up, with liberals now fleeing back to blue states, claiming Republicans are taking over. "Our nation seems to be moving in the direction of some blue states are becoming bluer, and some red states are becoming redder, and that's good for Texas," Macias tells KTRH.
In order for Texas to keep getting redder, Macias believes we should follow the lead of Florida. "We are clearly in a very unique position, to be able to take what has been a five or six-point advantage for Republicans, and take it to what Florida did, which was a 15-point increase," he says. "We are in position to do that with Republican control at every level, and we absolutely should."