Conservatives 'consider the unthinkable' as rural Texans turn on MAGA gov

Democrats haven't won a statewide race in GOP-dominated Texas since the 1990s. But a U.S. Senate race in the Lone Star State, according to polls, is highly competitive. Centrist Democrat James Talarico, polls say, has a good shot against the controversial Republican nominee, far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. And according to Politico, angst among rural voters could give Democrats long-awaited statewide victories in a state Republicans have dominated for decades.

Opposition to data centers, according to Politico's Shelby Webb, is a major problem for Abbott — as they are drawing stern opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. But it isn't the only problem.

"Rural voters may not stop the spread of data centers," Webb explains, "but they could stop Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The Republican is bleeding support from small towns as he seeks a fourth term because of two late-emerging issues: power-hungry tech campuses and a planned $33 billion electric transmission build-out. Pushback against Abbott points to larger fears about losing rural identities, but also to everyday concerns about construction, pollution and tight supplies of water and electricity."

According to Webb, "Some longtime conservatives are now considering the unthinkable — voting in November for a Democrat to be Texas' next governor. And Abbott's August directive to pause Texas data center grid approvals hasn’t convinced all of them to vote for him."

Shawn Nanny, a Republican county commissioner in West Texas, describes data centers and power lines as the "straws that broke the camel's back" with Abbott and rural GOP voters.

Nanny told Politico, "They understand the repercussions of that, but you know what I'm hearing is, 'Yeah, we'll have a Democrat in there and grit our teeth and bear it, but hopefully, we'll come out of it the following election.' They're so upset; they just want (Abbott) out."

According to Jim Henson, executive director of the Texas Politics Project, told Politico, "Rural people feel like they are the ones seeing the brunt of this, and they don't like it. These issues are starting to bond together a lot of the people against data centers."

Polling from the Texas Politics Project shows Abbott's approval down to 48 percent, which according to Webb, is a major warning sign for Lone Star Republicans.

Webb reports, "Rural Americans are among the most opposed to data center development, the Politico Poll shows. Fifty-one percent of rural U.S. adults surveyed in mid-July said they are opposed to data centers, compared with 32 percent of urban residents. Those numbers reflect higher rates of rural opposition to infrastructure projects in general, including power plants, warehouses and airports, according to the poll. But the disdain for data centers is higher than those other types of buildings."