Editor’s Note: The Texas Voice’s coverage of the first day of the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas can be viewed here.
Several Texas politicians and a prominent Dallas pastor took the stage on the second day of the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas on Thursday. The Texans featured on the convention’s final day included border-area congressional candidates Eric Flores and Tano Tijerina, First Baptist Church Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress, Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Senator Ted Cruz, and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. Here is a rundown of their remarks:
Flores and Tijerina Emphasize Border Security in Bids to Oust Democrat Incumbents
Two Republicans seeking to unseat longtime Democrat incumbent Congressman representing districts along the Texas-Mexico border received some of the most enthusiastic applause from convention attendees on Thursday. The topic of border security featured heavily in their speeches.
Eric Flores, who is running against incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in Congressional District 34, touted his firsthand experience helping secure the border as a member of the Texas Army National Guard and as a former federal prosecutor. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Flores successfully prosecuted a case that took down a massive human smuggling and money laundering operation.
“Border security isn’t a campaign talking point for me. Constituents of South Texas have lived it, and I have lived border security. But while our border was under siege and our community was suffering, my opponent looked at the disaster under Sleepy Joe Biden and said they were on the right track. My opponent was wrong on the border then, and let me tell you, he is wrong for South Texas now,” said Flores.
Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, running against Congressman Henry Cuellar in Congressional District 28, discussed how the Democratic Party no longer represented the values embodied by South Texans.
“I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me. It left my faith. It left my family. It left the working people of South Texas, who get up every morning with callous hands and build this country,” said Tijerina, who left the Democratic Party to become a Republican in 2024.
Tijerina also stressed his accomplishments as Webb County Judge, including cutting property tax rates six times and balancing the County’s budget.
Pastor Robert Jeffress Condemns Talarico’s Blasphemy
The Senior Pastor of First Baptist Dallas, Robert Jeffress, opened the second day of the convention by describing current political battles – in particular the United States Senate contest between Ken Paxton and James Talarico – as part of a larger spiritual war between good and evil.
“There’s a difference between falling into sin and being an advocate for sin, an advocate for evil. And, ladies and gentlemen, the Democrat Party are advocates for evil. They are advocates for sin, and we need to call it that way,” Pastor Jeffress remarked.
Jeffress cited scripture as he described several instances where the beliefs of Democrat Senate nominee James Talarico, who has made his personal experience as a Presbyterian seminarian a key point of his campaign, directly conflict with Biblical teaching.
“The beliefs of James Talarico are certainly wrong, but they’re more than wrong. The beliefs of James Talarico are blasphemous. They are evil, and they are not beliefs that any true Christian could support ever. We must condemn the beliefs of James Talarico,” he said.
Patrick Boasts of Texas’ Prosperity Versus Failures of Democrats
Opening his speech with a nod to Texas heroes such as Davy Crockett, William B. Travis, and James Bowie, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick drew a clear contrast between Texas’ prosperity and the values represented by the left.
“In the last two decades, 12 million people have moved to Texas, mostly fleeing blue states and their failed and deadly policies. Our conservative values have made Texas the strongest economy on the planet, while American patriots were fleeing blue state failures. Our pro-business, pro-tax policies in Texas are attracting billions of dollars in investment. Low taxes and no income tax will always do that. It’s reassured manufacturing. It’s achieved record job creation in the country. Meanwhile, the Democrats want us to look like California, or Russia, or China,” he said.
Patrick also painted the upcoming election in spiritual terms, describing it as a choice between darkness and light.
“Make no mistake, this election coming up is not about politics. It’s about darkness, and it’s about light. It’s about those of us who love God, and those who want to kick God out of our country. Because that’s what the Democrats want to do,” the Lt. Governor told the audience.
Cruz Warns of “Red-Green Alliance”
In his address to the convention, Senator Ted Cruz delivered a stark warning about a “Red-Green Alliance” between communists and Islamists that has taken over the Democratic Party.
“We are witnessing a new and dangerous red-green alliance: communists and Islamists coming together and sweeping over the Democrat Party. They are united because they share the same enemies. They hate Christians. They hate Jews. They hate capitalism. They hate the Constitution, and they hate America,” observed Cruz, who cited his family’s personal experience having been “imprisoned and tortured by communists in Cuba.”
Cruz also called out by name several prominent Democrats for espousing radical views.
“When Hassan Piker says America deserved 9/11, believe him. When Mamdani says he wants to seize the means of production, he means it. When Abdul El-Sayed says he has an “obligation” to comply with Sharia law, he means it. And when James Talarico says he wants to dismantle capitalism, he means it,” he said.
Abbott Touts Myriad of Conservative Policy Victories
Texas Governor Greg Abbott used his convention speech to tout a laundry list of conservative policy victories achieved in Texas over the last several years, painting the State as a safe haven from views held by national Democrats.
Abbott’s speech touched on Texas’ achievements on a number of issues ranging from border security, public safety, protecting Texas from foreign adversaries, banning Sharia law, tax cuts, supporting the oil and gas industry, election integrity, protecting parental rights, and school choice.
In his current campaign for re-election, Abbott has unveiled several proposals relating to affordability – a subject he also discussed in his convention speech.
“The Democrats running on the ticket in Texas – they’re gaslighting the public about affordability. These Democrats, they voted for an income tax in Texas. They voted to raise your property taxes, and they support green New Deal policies that would send hundreds of thousands of our oil and gas workers to the unemployment line. But none of that’s going to happen because I signed laws that made it unconstitutional to have an income tax in the State of Texas. Laws that cut your property taxes and laws that support our oil and gas workers, keeping Texas number one in America for oil and gas production,” the Governor told the crowd.
Johnson Wants Dallas to be “America’s Safest and Most Business-Friendly City”
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was the last Texan to address the convention, discussing his decision to leave the Democratic Party several years ago and his vision to make Dallas “America’s safest and most business-friendly city.”
Johnson, who served as a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives before being elected Mayor of Dallas in 2019, switched parties to become a Republican in 2023. In leaving the Democratic Party, Johnson said, “I chose to leave a political party that was determined to defund the police. A party that puts criminals’ interests ahead of the law-abiding families that they terrorize. A party that shakes down taxpayers and job creators. A party that embraces tent cities and chaos. And a party that treats hardworking families with shame and disdain.”
He contrasted his record as Mayor of Dallas with the leadership of liberal mayors in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Seattle.
“Every time these extreme Democrat socialists grab power, all we get is a raw deal. But there is a different course, a better course. Here in Dallas, we’re growing our police department. We’re reducing crime and homelessness. We’re cutting our property tax rates every single year. And here, our actual political goal is to become America’s safest and most business-friendly city. And while socialist mayors and governors drive away businesses here in Dallas, we’re choosing to build America’s next financial capital, which we proudly call Y’all Street,” Johnson remarked.
