Last Weekend’s Republican Down-Ballot Fail— In Deep Red Areas, Like, For Example, Texas

Texas Isn't Turning Blue, But...

Senator John Cornyn— reason to be worried

Actually, Democrats also rocked the house in Nebraska’s off-cycle elections and in the Cincinnati mayor’s first round election:

• Aftab Pureval (D)- 18,505 (83%)

• Cory “JD Vance’s brother” Bowman (R)- 2,894 (13%)

• Brian Frank (R)- 1,022 (5%)

But it was in Texas that Democrats shocked political observers in their off-cycle local elections, as the GOP suffered humiliating losses with Democrats sweeping school board elections across the state. Voters were clearly rejecting Trump’s party and their extreme agenda. For example, in Katy, in the Houston metro, there was a huge upset as School Board candidate James Cross defeated incumbent  Board President Victor Perez, an aggressive right wing lunatic. “Cross has served as a public school teacher and campus administrator for 30 years, and he worked in Katy ISD for the past 22 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. Perez, an outspoken conservative, has led the charge for banning books since taking office. He was also instrumental in instituting a policy that critics say requires students who identify as transgender to be ‘outed’ to their parents.”

Michelle Davis reported that MAGA-aligned candidates across Texas had a miserable Election Day as voters  “decisively rejected far-right candidates, particularly in school board and city council races. From Tarrant County to Collin County, and from San Antonio to Dallas, communities chose leaders who prioritize public education, inclusivity, and pragmatic governance over culture wars and partisan agendas. This widespread shift signals a growing resistance to extremist politics at the local level.”

The message from voters was pretty clear: “we’re done with your culture wars, your book bans and your crusade against public schools. Voters chose community over chaos, educators over agitators, and progress over extremism. The local elections weren’t just a series of wins but a sweep. MAGA-backed candidates got absolutely trounced across the state. This was the result of deep organizing, years of work by local Democrats, and voters who are fed up with the far-right hijacking of school boards and city councils to push their agenda.”

The Republican Party poured money, endorsements, and out-of-state personalities into these Tarrant County races, and they got wiped. Every single candidate backed by Patriot Mobile, the far-right Christian nationalist group trying to take over school boards, lost. That’s losses in Mansfield ISD, Keller ISD, and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. A clean sweep.

The Tarrant County GOP went 0-for-11 in the county’s three largest cities: Fort Worth, Arlington, and Mansfield. Let that sink in. They didn’t just lose a few races. They got shut out entirely. In Mansfield, Republican Rep. David Cook’s backyard, where Allen West himself came out to rally the troops, the GOP lost all five races they backed.

Meanwhile, Democrats made real gains on the Fort Worth City Council. One of the biggest victories was Debrah Peoples’s victory in her race. A longtime activist and former Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair, Peoples gave progressive voters a reason to celebrate in a city that’s often overlooked on the statewide map.

… The mayor’s race is heading to a runoff in San Antonio, but  the momentum is clearly with Gina Ortiz Jones…leading the pack by over 11,000 votes. That’s not a small gap. Rolando Pablos came in second with 17%, and unless something wild happens, it’s hard to see the MAGA crowd catching up to Gina’s lead.

But it’s not just the mayor’s race that’s worth watching. San Antonio’s City Council is shaping up to be the most progressive it’s been in years. Several strong progressive candidates made it into runoff spots or outright won their seats, and you can feel the shift in the air, people are organizing, voting, and demanding a city government that reflects the communities it serves.

… Dallas County had a solid night, not a wave, but a strong hold. Most of the city council races leaned liberal, with incumbents and challengers who support public infrastructure, housing, and responsive local government holding their ground. It wasn’t the clean sweep we saw in Tarrant or Collin, but it was steady, and that matters.

… Let’s take a minute to appreciate what just happened in Collin County, a place long written off as deep red, where Democrats were supposed to lose politely and keep quiet about it. Not this year. Up and down the ballot, Democrats broke through in a big way, flipping seats and shaking up school boards in cities that the GOP used to treat as safe territory. To be clear, Democrats in Collin County have been busting their humps for years and this year, it’s paying off.

In McKinney, Melissa, Murphy, Plano, and Richardson, Democrats won municipal races that would’ve been considered pipe dreams not that long ago. We’re talking city councils, school boards, and mayoral races. Richardson elected Amir Omar as mayor, and the new city council lineup includes Jennifer Justice, Dan Barrios, Joe Corcoran, and Arefin Shamsul, each one bringing a different kind of leadership than the good ol’ boy politics we’re used to seeing out there.

School board races also saw major victories. Allen ISD, Plano ISD, Frisco ISD, McKinney ISD, and Community ISD now have pro-public education candidates who ran on truth, inclusion, and putting kids first. These weren’t quiet wins, either. These were hard-fought, people-powered campaigns, many beating back MAGA-backed opponents with slick mailers and deep pockets.

The broader impact? Collin County is no longer a Republican stronghold. It’s a battleground. And Democrats are winning. [It’s worth noting that Trump won Collin County in 2016 with 55.2% in 2020 with 51.3% and last year with 54.0%.]

The wins didn’t stop in the big metros. Change is happening all across Texas, and last night proved it.

…Over in Beaumont, LaDonna Sherwood made history with her victory in Ward III. Her win represents a mandate. People are hungry for change, and they’re choosing candidates who reflect their communities and their values.

And in Rowlett? They just elected a new Democratic mayor. Another flip in a suburb the GOP thought they had on lock.

Add it all up, and a clear picture emerges: this is happening everywhere. From suburbs to small towns, voters reject extremism and elect candidates who want to govern. Texas is shifting, and not in the direction the far-right expected.

The rise of local progressivism?

There were a lot of races on the ballot yesterday, and while I can’t cover every single one, a quick scroll through social media today tells you everything you need to know. Democrats are celebrating wins in every corner of the state. From small-town city councils to suburban school boards, folks fighting for years finally saw their work pay off.

This wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a lucky night. What we saw was the result of long-term organizing, coalition-building, and communities getting fed up with extremist candidates using local seats to launch national culture wars. Voters said: not here, not anymore. And they meant it.

Texas politics is shifting because progressives and moderates are stepping up in places where Democrats haven’t run in years and are winning. That’s how change starts.

These local races might not get the same headlines as a Senate seat or a governor’s race, but they matter. They shape the school curriculum. They set budgets. They decide how safe and inclusive your city is. And they build the bench for the next generation of statewide leaders.

The Texas Tribune was slightly less hyperbolic in it’s coverage: “School board races across Texas deal losses for many conservatives”… marking a clear setback for the Republican-aligned movement to shape how grade school curriculums and library books confront issues of race, sex and gender. The sweeping losses for conservative school board hopefuls also served as an early sign of potential backlash to the nascent administration of President Donald Trump, ahead of a 2026 midterm in which a number of statewide offices will be on the ballot.” And that includes Senator John Cornyn... who has a very hard primary race against a lunatic fringe candidate who could well beat him. And then one of them will face a well-financed, big name Democrat.