Abbott Campaign Targets Texas Democrats With 35-Quote Site and Convention Stunts

3 articles · Updated · The Texas Tribune · Jun 26

Greg Abbott’s campaign ringed the Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi with a “RadicalTexas” website, attack van, longhorn display and taco truck aimed chiefly at U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico.
35 quotes on the new site sought to brand Democrats as radical, with Talarico accounting for seven; Republicans highlighted his “welcome mat” border line, while Democrats said the quote was clipped before his call for a locked door.
Abbott’s team focused more on Talarico than on gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa, underscoring a strategy to define the better-known Senate candidate early as Democrats eye their strongest statewide opening since 2018.
Three straight GOP-dominant cycles have not eased Republican concern: Democrats cite Donald Trump’s weak approval, while Abbott is reviving his 2022 playbook of early ideological attacks that helped him beat Beto O’Rourke.
1994 remains the last year Democrats won statewide in Texas, and 1988 the last time they won a U.S. Senate race there, giving the convention skirmish broader stakes for November.