I thought Beto had a good chance

[malaise]

I was wrong
What the fuck is wrong with Texas?

[hamsterjill]

1. Too many stupid people here.

Sixth generation Texan here. And I mean that comment.

The majority of the people that I know here who vote Republican do it because they are too fucking stupid to see beyond their Friday paycheck and see that there are bigger problems than which McDonald’s hamburger they’re going to splurge on when they get that paycheck on Friday.

[malaise]

2. Thanks

Bangs head.

[jimfields33]

3. I understand your sentiment, but Texas voted blue governors not that long ago.

Something has changed.

[hamsterjill]

6. 1995???

That was the last year for Ann. And it seems like a helluva long time ago to me.

[MagickMuffin]

9. G E R R Y M A N D E R I N G

That’s all it takes carve a little bit here and a large mass there and wallah, Democrats lose and republicons win.

Plus Texas has a lot of stupid people who vote, unfortunately for the rest of us critically thinking citizens.

[jimfields33]

14. That might explain house races, but not governor or senator

[MagickMuffin]

17. You are correct, but then again, so was I by stating stupid people vote here

That is the only explanation out there at this point.


Thx for the reminder, still early in the morning for me.

[jimfields33]

20. So true. I can't believe that wonderful democratic governor Ann Richards was 1995!

Time flies. Texas has gotten dumber and stupid. What a combo.

[Jskudris55]

10. Early 90s was a LOOOONG time ago

Before GOP culture wars stoked division and hate.

[bdamomma]

55. there's

a lot of people like that scattered around the country, but Texas, Florida and Arizona seem to be focused on. Very strange people out there.

[ananda]

5. He was only two points behind at one point.

I hate to say this, but Abbott's immigrant stunts
and Texas's bigotry won the election, along with
the fact that the Democratic Party as a whole
had no ground game.

Last week I met two women putting out Dem
flyers to all the college students, saying it was
the first time they'd been contacted.

Also, they both had signed up with three different
groups to drive people to the polls (including)
Travis County Democratic hq), and
never heard from any of them.

Now that's a shame too.

[calguy]

7. I never thought he'd win

If he wants to remain in politics, he needs to run for a Texas legislature seat.
He's got local appeal, but as far as state-wide or national appeal, he doesn't have what it takes.
Not that any democrat does in Texas.

[PatSeg]

8. Every election

I hold out hope that Texas will finally turn at least purple. I'm pretty much ready to just give up on them. I cannot imagine how much worse a governor could be than Abbott.

[Polybius]

27. Just wait till 2026 when Dan Patrick becomes Governor

They keep getting worse. Who would have thought that of the last three, Bush would be the best?

[Paladin]

39. If Dan Patrick becomes Governor, Greg Abbott will look good by comparison.

I shit you not.

[PatSeg]

43. That is a good point

They do seem to be getting progressively worse. It is almost like a perverse contest.

[vercetti2021]

47. It's never gonna flip

We need to get off that mindset that it will due to demographic shifts. Latino's are falling for the GOP horseshit and voting for them here and in FLA. Both states are total lost causes and need to be treated as such by the DNC. Focus on Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina and start gaming up some ground in Wisconsin before it becomes a solid red state in the future.

[PatSeg]

50. I wish I could say you are wrong,

but all evidence tends to agree with you.

I lived in Texas almost 50 years ago for a short time. It was really bad then and sadly, it has only gotten progressively worse over time. I thought that perhaps with so many big businesses moving to Texas, that might help bring the state into present day reality. I've known people from the north who moved there because of their jobs, but apparently they aren't enough influence to make a noticeable change.

When I drove out of Texas, I swore I'd never set foot in the state again and I never have. I did meet some great people while I was there, but unfortunately they were in the minority.

[krawhitham]

11. Wonder if he will lose to cruz again in 2024? He helped win a lot of House seats the last time

[GoCubsGo]

12. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out later that there was rampant voter suppression and fraud.

Just like with Florida, where DeathSentence's and Little Marco's margins were larger than expected. Two corrupt peas in a pod.

[jimfields33]

16. Arizona candidate saying same thing.

[GoCubsGo]

21. Considering all but one of the election officials in charge there are Republicans,

it wouldn't surprise me.

[LeftInTX]

29. No...Texas is just plain old red

Beto carried my county at 58%. However, the gerrymandering is so bad, that several district races were lost big time.

However, Texas is one freak'n red place.

People on DU get mad. "Polls are fake, don't believe them", until a positive poll comes out. The positive poll stays up and the not good polls are ignored. A few days ago, I had a post about Texas and I was attacked. My post was based on actual voting totals. I kept going back to people's homes to remind them to vote. They admitted that they had not voted.

[BlackSkimmer]

13. No way was he going to win.

He’ll never live down that comment about guns. Damn shame.

[BradAllison]

19. Glad you got your shot in.

[BlackSkimmer]

22. Lol, no idea what you're on about.

I don’t live in Texas, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

[EX500rider]

59. Yeah that comment was never going to fly in Tx's nt

[EnergizedLib]

15. Honestly

Texans just hate Ted Cruz, and that’s probably why Beto has had more chances after 2018.

[LeftInTX]

30. Ted Cruz is a shitty campaigner who only plays to his base

Abbott has better commercials. His commercials gloss over and try to play to the middle. "Greg Abbott has overcome adversity", "I call him Tio Greg"

Cruz is not afraid to admit what he does. Cruz would do something like show his bacon gun shooting in a commercial.

[BradAllison]

18. Too many people insist "any day now"

They'll have to go on their own.

[Mariana]

23. What the fuck is wrong with Texas?

Religion, mostly.

[Initech]

24. Fox News!

That channel has an iron grip on that state. Time to loosen it!

[Mariana]

25. And the churches.

Don't forget the churches.

[Initech]

32. Churches, AM radio, Fox - it's all a big circle jerk.

[Celerity]

26. I never did, TX is red and is not turning blue anytime very soon

[Catherine Vincent]

33. Same here

[Yavin4]

28. To win statewide in TX, Dems need to go young and Latino.

They need a candidate that can swing the Latino vote and excite young people. Preferably an unknown or little known candidate.

[Sympthsical]

31. He's more popular online than in real life

Which should've been apparent before he became the nominee this cycle, but maybe now that reality will be firmer for people.

He needs some wilderness time to do things other than perennially running for office.

And we need to think about running someone who can actually maybe win in that state.

[onetexan]

34. same problems with WTF is happening in GA with nearly 50% of the electorate voting for Walker

the US has a sickness of ignorance among many of its citizens unfortunately.

[Samrob]

35. I thought so too. I really like him. He is a decent guy. TX doesn't deserve him. nt

[gldstwmn]

36. 12 million eligible voters in Texas didn't vote.

[blogslug]

38. Yep

That right there is a major part of the problem.

[gldstwmn]

42. That's it right there. When we vote, we win. If a failing power grid, school shootings and

Christo fascism won't get people off the couch in TX I don't know what will.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

37. He lost in 2018, a Democratic wave year, to a super-unlikable Ted Cruz.

I really didn't think he'd do better this year, which was worse overall for Dems.

[sarcasmo]

40. Texas and Florida are lost causes.

[dsp3000]

41. "Hell yeah we're taking your guns"

Does not play well in most places, let alone Texas

[budkin]

44. I live here and we're in the same boat as Florida

There is massive voter suppression. It's extremely difficult for the poor to vote here, especially after the double whammy of ultra partisan gerrymandering and scores of new voting restrictions implemented in the last legislative session. It's a nightmare.

[JCMach1]

48. My elderly mom voted absentee for this very reason from her old state

It is extremely hard to even just get an ID, or DL for TX.

You cannot vote without that TX ID with correct address.

[Galraedia]

45. I never thought Beto had a chance in Texas.

Texas, like Florida, is heavily rigged with republican voter suppression and years of conservative indoctrination.

[iemanja]

46. It's Texas

That's what's wrong with it. Beto was never going to win. That should have been clear from the last time he ran. It's not that he isn't a great candidate. It's that he lives in Texas.

[JCMach1]

49. Note, we have a Rep. AG under active FBI investigation and we still

Could not beat even him...

That's TX in a nutshell.

[bdamomma]

51. Beto

will make another comeback, I read that he could be too progressive for some voters. Crap,I wish he beat Abbott. Abbott has too much dark money coming in, just my opinion.

[ananda]

52. Texas has no Democratic ground game.

We are a very large state, and our Democratic
Party is very weak on campaigning these days.

Beto's organization and town halls were very
good, but community organizing on the ground
was virtually nonexistent.

[Paladin]

56. The Texas Democratic Party needs major re-working.

Just as soon as possible. Lots more Democrats should be currently winning elections, based on the strength of the party in the big cities.

Beto's a good guy, but I figured he was toast, with the poorly thought-out comments on guns. And once Abbott got desperate a few days before the election and started running that "Poor me! I'm stuck in a wheelchair! Gimme your vote!" campaign ad, it was lights out.

[forthemiddle]

53. Beto would be great in another State

But a statewide election in Texas is a no go.
The same thing could be said about Pete Buttigieg. He, unfortunately, would never win statewide in Indiana (where I live). He may be the best possible pick, but he won’t ever get statewide support.

[eissa]

54. Thank the California migrants

For all their hatred of California, Texas conservatives should be kissing the feet of those Californians who have moved there. The vast majority are republicans who cashed out and moved for ideological reasons. I know 4-5 who left "Commiefornia" and relocated there, ensuring Texas remains red for the foreseeable future.

[boston bean]

57. Nope. He was never going to win.

[Mr.Bill]

58. I'm sure I know less than many here about Texas politics,

but I think Beto committed Texas political suicide when he said during the 2020 Presidential primary debates, "Yes, we are coming for your guns" (or something like that). Not that I wouldn't like to see that happen, but a huge mistake in a state like Texas.