While most political watchers see Texas as a reliable and staunch source of Republican support, Texas Democrats are consistently finding ways to give GOP leaders headaches in the days leading up to pivotal midterm elections.
Notably, U.S. Rep. Al Green from the 9th District of Texas (Houston area) was once again removed from the State of the Union address. This time touting a banner which read “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!”
He was unapologetic for the interruption of decorum during the nationally televised speech.
“The consequences were of no consequence to me,” Green told PBS reporters immediately after being removed from the proceedings. “You have to take a stand.”
While Green differs from the administration on numerous grounds, the depiction of former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates on a public platform was an insult not to be left unanswered.
“I wanted the president to see it, and he saw it, and I told him, Black people are not apes, and for him to do what he did was racist, and he knows it. But sometimes we have to let him know in the public that we know it,” Green said to reporters from CNN following the address, adding “At some point you cannot let racism continue. If you tolerate it, you perpetuate it. I refuse to tolerate racism. The president needs to know that Black people aren’t apes, and he should have apologized for what he did.”
Aside from public admonitions by elected officials, Texas Democrats are raising eyebrows at the grassroots level as early voting gets underway in the Lone Star State. According to numerous metrics, Democratic voting in Texas is seeing a surge compared to previous election cycles.
As of Monday evening, more than 581,000 voters had cast ballots in the Democratic primary through in-person early voting or mail, compared with about 521,000 in the Republican primary, the data showed according to CBS Austin.
That marked a statewide turnout of roughly 6.75% of Texas’ 18.7 million registered voters after seven days of early voting, with Democrats accounting for about 53% of the ballots, according to reporting from KXAN in Austin.
This surge reverses trends from past primaries, where Republican early voting often dominated in the reliably red state. This comes after the Trump administration called on Texas officials to redraw district lines specifically to squeeze up to five more GOP House seats out of Texas moving forward into the second half of Trump’s second term. The president has openly stated that if Democrats gain enough seats in the midterms he expects to be impeached again.
Political analysts attributed the Democratic momentum to enthusiasm around the Senate contest, where U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are among the top contenders vying to challenge Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the general election.
Democratic early voting is up by more than 211,000 ballots compared with the same point in 2022, according to state data analyzed by public radio station KERA News in Dallas. In that midterm year, overall Democratic primary turnout lagged behind Republicans. This time, the gap has flipped, with Democrats on track to significantly break through their 2022 early voting total of 625,152.
Here in Dallas County, a similar scene played out. Democrats dominated with nearly 78,000 Democrats voting in the first six days — more than three times the number from comparable periods in 2022 and 2024. Republicans tallied about 15,000 ballots, according to FOX4 News.
In neighboring Tarrant County, seen as a Republican stronghold, Democrats cast nearly 56,000 votes, outpacing GOP turnout and marking a sharp increase from prior years.
Even in more conservative areas, turnout was up, though Republicans held advantages.
El Paso County, on the western border, saw Democratic votes rise 51% from the same point in 2022, while Republican ballots increased 35%, El Paso Matters reported. The boost came largely from voters who skipped the 2022 primaries altogether.
In East Texas’ Gregg County, more than 5,200 ballots were cast in the first week, roughly double the turnout from the past three primaries, the Longview News-Journal said. Daily figures exceeded 1,000 on several days, a rarity in prior cycles.
Lubbock County in West Texas reported 11,577 early votes by Feb. 21, with breakdowns showing steady increases day by day, per the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
