Can relate.
I am constantly working, talking and interacting with Farmers and landowners from Deep Red rural Michigan.
They know exactly who I am, and they know we probably don’t agree on a number issues, but they have come to know that I keep showing up, I do what I say I’m going to do, and I’m there to help them get that wind turbine, or solar field on their land.
Talarico has a tall order, but he’s a talented guy, and has Texas Republicans running scared.
Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is leading both of his prospective Republican opponents in two new polls of Texas’ U.S. Senate race — though he falls short of the 50% mark in both surveys, suggesting the contest remains tight.
A poll conducted by Texas Public Opinion Research from April 17-20 and published Tuesday found Talarico leading Sen. John Cornyn by three percentage points, 44% to 41%. The Austin Democrat leads Attorney General Ken Paxton by a margin of five percentage points, 46% to 41%. Both results fell within the margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points. The survey included 1,865 likely general election voters. TPOR labels itself as a nonpartisan public opinion research group; it is directed by Democratic strategist Luke Warford.
In a separate poll, the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found Talarico ahead of Cornyn by seven points, 40% to 33%, and of Paxton by 8 points, 42% to 34%. The Texas Politics Project surveyed 1,200 registered voters from April 10 to 20 and produced a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.
No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and in recent cycles, polls have routinely offered rosy projections for the minority party that are not borne out in November.
I wish Talarico the best of luck but as you point out, not holding my breath for the outcome since it is, after all, Texas we’re talking about. I see natural gas as a fit to provide power as we continually replace fossil generation with storage, renewables and efficiency, but the trick for both oil and gas is the end has to happen. Electing Democrats where Republicans are avoiding that “has to happen” future is necessary and Texas consumers save billions a year now because the 21st century energy systems are cutting into gas peaker use and that high-priced luxury.
Wishing you continued success with the farmers and your work to help them. The article I’ll link is another aspect of how the tough business of farming presents risks – not simply related to the possibility of cancer from Roundup, but as the article notes, the resistance to that herbicide increasing, leading to ore herbicides being added to the mix.
“Illinois farmers hope Supreme Court protects state safeguards in Roundup cancer case”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/29/roundup-cancer-supreme-court-illinois-farmers/?share=rb2euticctitreershd6
One thing that I saw was the mention that farmers with marginal land and weeds could make a living if they used glyphosphate and tried to eke out a crop – I’m thinking some of those same farmers could make a living if they put turbines and/or solar and gained a steady income from that, with the additional beneficial opportunities to turn the land underneath solar into pollinator-friendly plants and made it accessible to grazers who could bring in sheep.