Photo: Getty Images North America
Polling from the University of Texas appears to show that Governor Greg Abbott's approval numbers are just below 40 percent, compared to a 50 percent disapproval rating. Now Texas Democrats are using those numbers to fuel their own political campaigns.
So how did the Republican governor of a red state like Texas, which Trump managed to win by 14 points in 2024, manage to get so unpopular? Republican Representative Brian Harrison says there's a key simple reason. He said, "The liberal uniparty Austin swamp—we've been conceding too much power to the radical leftist progressive Democrats for many, many years now."
Harrison thinks that conceding of power has led to many Texas Republicans losing faith in their Republican leadership. But does that mean Texans want a liberal Democrat? Harrison says the opposite is true. He explained, "Texas should be the number one state for liberty, for low taxes, low regulations. That's what the people of Texas want, but for many years, the Texas government has been taxing them out of their homes."
He advised Abbott to look to Florida as an example. As recently as 2016, Florida was a purple swing state, but thanks to strong Republican leadership governing conservatively, they've become a Republican stronghold. Harrison thinks Texas could do the same thing.