Growing tide of voters are dumping Republicans in a major red state

Republican voters are growing increasingly fed up with the party in one of its most reliable red states, with a new report from the Washington Post detailing why more and more of them are deciding to vote Democrat.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is running for reelection in Texas during this current midterm cycle, and the race is looking too close for comfort. A recent poll from Fox News unexpectedly put his Democratic opponent, state legislator Gina Hinojosa, just one point behind, which the Post called "a sign of weakness in a state where the GOP usually boasts a nine- to 12-point advantage."

While hopes for major Democratic wins have been dashed over the past few decades in Texas, the environment appears much different this year, with the GOP's own voters growing increasingly fed up with its handling of several key issues and encouraging each other to "Break Rank" in the coming midterms.

"Texas last elected a Democratic governor in 1990 (Ann Richards) and a Democratic senator in 1988 (Lloyd Bentsen)," the Post explained. "But now some conservatives and right-leaning independents say they plan to vote Democrat in protest, dissatisfied with how the GOP is handling issues such as data centers, water, electricity, schools and the economy. Even more unusual is how vocal some of these conservatives are about their dissatisfaction. They’ve adopted a slogan 'Break Rank,' an indication that they are not content simply to sit out the election but want to punish their party with a vote for the opposition."

Tom Weeks, a lifelong GOP voter who runs a paper supply business in North Texas, told the Post that he is refusing to support any Republicans who have failed to push back against data centers, as he deals with the growing noise they cause in his own backyard.

“My party has failed,” Weeks said. “Nothing has been done by our party to help. Any Republican who has been in office since we started this fight, I’m not going to vote for them.... We’re going to vote for whoever we think understands our plight and [Hinojosa] does.”

Twyla Lowry, a retired social worker and special education teacher from Temple, Texas, told the outlet that Hinojosa's support for a data center moratorium — something that Abbott has opposed — is driving her decision to vote Democrat this year, after previously supporting Abbott three times.

"He’s pushing for them," she said. "Everything’s so shady"

“The question is: Will there be this rising tide, this blue wave? If it takes out Paxton, who will be next?” Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, told the Post. “For Hinojosa to win, she needs to do three things: Win an overwhelming majority of the Democrat vote, which she seems on track to do. Second: Win the support of independent voters by a 2-1 margin, which she seems to be doing. And three: Win at least 10 to 15 percent of the Republican vote.”

He also added: “Abbott going down would be an earthquake."