politics

Democratic Candidates Make Their Case to Milam County Voters

Democratic candidates running in this year's elections met with local supporters on Wednesday, making their pitches for races from the Texas Senate down to the state's highest criminal court.

Cameron, TX - Democratic candidates running in this year's elections met with local supporters on Wednesday, making their pitches for races from the Texas Senate down to the state's highest criminal court.

Thomasson: Senate District 5 race "very winnable"

Paul Thomasson, the Democratic candidate for Texas Senate District 5, told the group his race is tighter than many expect. He said that at a fundraiser for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last week, Patrick told Thomasson's opponent, Dr. Charles Schwerner, that Schwerner leads Thomasson by a single point.

"If we held the election right now, I'd have about a 49 out of 100 chance," Thomasson said. "What we're trying to accomplish is very much within the realm of doable."

Thomasson, a retired pastor, laid out a platform that includes fighting ICE enforcement actions in Texas, legalizing THC, accepting federal Medicare dollars to preserve rural hospitals, removing politics from college campuses, fully funding public schools, and protecting women's rights. On THC, he argued that alcohol is the most abused drug in the state and that the alcohol lobby opposes legalization because THC use cuts into drinking.

He closed with a message he's been repeating across the district: "Don't stop at the top. Vote the slate and transform the state." His argument is that voters angry about property taxes will start on the Democratic side of the ballot — the campaign's job is keeping them voting all the way down.

Thomasson's campaign has about 1,000 to 1,200 postcards on the way and yard signs, bumper stickers, and door hangers available for supporters. His website is ThomassonForSenate.com.

Lenz: "There are Democrats here"

Local organizer Mary Elizabeth Lenz spoke about a year of Democratic organizing in rural communities, saying the old line — "I'm the only Democrat here" — simply isn't true.

Lenz described meeting a member of the bipartisan Common Ground Collective from Burleson County at a No Kings rally a year ago, and how one coffee-shop conversation with Boyd Taylor [name unverified] led to an invitation to speak at a steelworkers barbecue in Rockdale that drew about 100 people.

"It's the ripple effect," she said. "You affect three or four people, and that affects three or four people, and all of a sudden a hundred people are affected."

She encouraged supporters to keep their bumper stickers and signs visible, saying people notice — and talk to their friends, families, and communities. She also warned that Republican money is about to flood the races: "We don't have the money, but we have the motivation, the moral integrity."

Taylor: the court most voters have never heard of

Holly Taylor, running for Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9, spent much of her time explaining the court itself.

Texas is one of only two states with two high courts, she said. The Texas Supreme Court handles civil cases only; the Court of Criminal Appeals — nine judges — is the supreme court for criminal cases. Its rulings set precedent for every court in Texas and for what law enforcement is allowed to do.

The issues before the court, she said, touch everyday life: free speech and campus protest arrests, gun rights, digital privacy including cell-phone data and Flock surveillance cameras, who can enter your home, who can pull you over and for how long — and potentially cases involving ICE agents who commit crimes in Texas.

Taylor is visiting all 254 Texas counties. Wednesday's stop was her 21st county this year, with more than 71,000 miles on the campaign car and 33 counties to go before early voting begins.

Comparing 2026 to her 2024 run, she said voters are hurting more and angrier — rents doubled and tripled, rural hospitals closing, cattle hit by screwworm, tariffs squeezing farmers. "Texans are fed up," she said. "They don't want people who are going to ride the bench. They want fighters."

She said traveling the state has restored her hope: "Going out and talking to people across the state has totally given me hope. It sustains me."

Taylor's campaign site is hollyTforjudge.com. Her campaign is labor-endorsed.