Texas GOP leaders are doubling down on conservative messaging despite recent electoral setbacks, with current chairman Abraham George expressing confidence that Republican voters will show up in November.
George, who took over the state’s Republican party leadership after Allen West’s tenure, believes voters in key districts are growing tired of Democratic policies and personalities. “People are looking at it and saying, we’re kind of tired of this, a lot of the policies,” George told Fox 4’s Steven Dial in a recent interview. He specifically targeted Democratic State Senator James Talarico, adding, “Who thinks Jesus is not really God, and quotes the Bible every three minutes he gets to do it. So they just can’t come together on those, get behind these people anymore.”
Immigration Concerns vs. Economic Priorities
Recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) controversies in Minnesota might seem like potential trouble for Republicans, but George insists South Texas voters have different priorities. During a town hall meeting in the region, he found property taxes — not immigration — dominated the conversation.
“The biggest thing I heard was not about ICE. It was all about property tax,” George explained. “Because we asked, and I even kind of preempted in my speech saying, I know some of you may be looking at, and your neighbors are saying something bad about Republicans. And they said, no, we support legal immigration. We support deportation of illegal immigrants.”
What’s driving Republican strategy in Texas these days? The answer might be found in the party’s recent history under former chairman Allen West, who introduced the controversial slogan “We are the storm” during his leadership.
The Controversial ‘Storm’ Legacy
West, a former Florida congressman who led the Texas GOP from 2020-2021, adopted the slogan based on an unattributed quote: “The devil whispers to the warrior slyly can it withstand the coming storm. The warrior responds, ‘I am the storm.'” The phrase raised eyebrows for its potential connection to QAnon conspiracy theories, though West firmly denied any such link.
“I don’t know about anybody else and I’m not into internet conspiracy theories,” West insisted when questioned about the slogan’s origins, according to reporting from The Texas Tribune.
West’s tenure was marked by fiery rhetoric about American exceptionalism and criticism of Democratic leadership. “When I look at the fact that today is 1,000 days that we have not had a budget for the United States of America, you know, the House, one of the things we did, we passed a budget last year. But that is still sitting over there at the Senate,” he once remarked, highlighting fiscal concerns that continue to resonate with the Texas GOP base.
The former chairman consistently emphasized passing conservative values to younger generations. “The message for the American youth is that this is a great country and we need to make sure that we pass on a heritage, a lineage and a legacy of American exceptionalism to each and everyone of you,” West stated during his time leading the party.
That messaging strategy — emphasizing traditional values while targeting Democratic policies — appears to have carried forward under George’s leadership, though with less controversial sloganeering.
As November approaches, the Texas GOP faces the challenge of translating this messaging into voter turnout. George’s confidence notwithstanding, recent Democratic victories in traditionally Republican districts suggest the party may need more than rhetoric about property taxes and immigration to reverse the tide.
