THE GREAT AMERICAN POLITICAL ROADTRIP: TEXAS

The 2020 Presidential Election in Texas

Recent political trends in Texas

They say everything is bigger in Texas—even the essays analyzing the state’s complicated and crazy political dynamics.

There will come a day, and it may be sooner than we’re prepared for, when Texas will be the mother of swing states. When that happens, this country’s politics will become extra insane.

Texas is the country’s second-biggest state, and there’s a decent shot in the next 10-20 years; it may surpass California and become the biggest. It has the space to grow, and people are flooding the state from all directions, even across the Mexican border. Unlike Florida, Texas is not just a destination for conservative refugees from northern and western blue states; it’s also attracting young and college-educated folks looking for good jobs, a cheaper cost of living, and favorable weather. The state’s science and tech sector is booming. That has made Texas sort of a ground zero for what I can only describe as a political “Bleeding Kansas,” where liberals and conservatives are flowing into the state hoping to turn Texas blue or keep it red.