Tom Boggioni
May 29, 2026
RAW STORY
Texas Republican Cheryl Shadden (MS NOW screenshot)
Texas Republicans have to deal with more than just being stuck with scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton as they hope to hang onto a US Senate seat sought by Democratic rising star James Talarico.
According to a report from MS NOW’s Josh Einiger, there is a massive groundswell of anger aimed at AI data centers and voters are blaming the Republican Party for turning a blind eye to their concerns.
As one Republican voter put it, she didn’t care if the Senate flipped to the Democrats because she feels betrayed.
After speaking with multiple Republican voters in Burlington, Texas, Einiger told host Chris Jansing, “They feel taken for granted and left behind by the very people they elected to represent them, whether it's at the local level, the state level, or in the White House. Of course, you know, this is an area where people are very conservative, Christian conservatives, and they blame the president, their governor, for creating a world where a lot of these AI data centers are able to come in there.”
“There's not a lot of regulation,” he elaborated. “These are unincorporated parts of central Texas. And, you know, these large tech companies come in there, they're able to negotiate tax incentives, tax abatements. They spend less in tax than they would perhaps otherwise. And in exchange, people are getting higher, you know, electricity rates because the point of these facilities is they just they just swallow up so much power because what they're doing is they have just millions of computers. They have to keep them cool. Cooling them takes power — it takes water. And so just the natural resources. And it's really, really upsetting a lot of the people who live nearby.”
Conservative voter Rena Schroeder told him, “Conservative Republicans feel like they're not being heard anymore. That was a big voice that I heard through the whole campaign. They're not being heard by Republican candidates and officials, elected officials. I'm very disappointed and I'm hurt, and I do not like to be lied to.”
Self-identified GOP voter Linda Polley agreed and added, “I'm just heartbroken. I mean, I am absolutely heartbroken. The public is now seeing through the illusion. They are now realizing that left and right has been nothing more than to keep us divided.”
GOP voter Cheryl Shadden was even more vehement when asked if she is going to vote for Democrat Talarico.
“Oh, absolutely. I will turncoat and vote for any Democrat that is championing the cause of the community,” she snapped.
Einiger told host Jansing, “Fascinating, right? And I asked that woman, I asked her in a different way. I said, so, you know, this is obviously the Senate race. It's a race [for a seat] been held by Republicans in 1993. You know, Ken Paxton just won the nomination. And and James Talarico is the Democrat in the race. And I said to her, I said, if you vote for Talarico and you want this Texas seat to flip to blue — that means you're willing to flip the Senate to the Democrats. And you have all these issues that you're conservative on that you believe in, you've been voting on for your whole life. You're willing to let them all, leave them all behind. She said ‘yes.’”
“And she knows a lot of people who feel the same way,” he added. “So look, Chris, this is anecdotal. This is a small number of people, it's not scientific, but there's something happening on the ground in this very ruby red area of a red state that is definitely worth watching.”
Texas Republican Cheryl Shadden (MS NOW screenshot)
Texas Republicans have to deal with more than just being stuck with scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton as they hope to hang onto a US Senate seat sought by Democratic rising star James Talarico.
According to a report from MS NOW’s Josh Einiger, there is a massive groundswell of anger aimed at AI data centers and voters are blaming the Republican Party for turning a blind eye to their concerns.
As one Republican voter put it, she didn’t care if the Senate flipped to the Democrats because she feels betrayed.
After speaking with multiple Republican voters in Burlington, Texas, Einiger told host Chris Jansing, “They feel taken for granted and left behind by the very people they elected to represent them, whether it's at the local level, the state level, or in the White House. Of course, you know, this is an area where people are very conservative, Christian conservatives, and they blame the president, their governor, for creating a world where a lot of these AI data centers are able to come in there.”
“There's not a lot of regulation,” he elaborated. “These are unincorporated parts of central Texas. And, you know, these large tech companies come in there, they're able to negotiate tax incentives, tax abatements. They spend less in tax than they would perhaps otherwise. And in exchange, people are getting higher, you know, electricity rates because the point of these facilities is they just they just swallow up so much power because what they're doing is they have just millions of computers. They have to keep them cool. Cooling them takes power — it takes water. And so just the natural resources. And it's really, really upsetting a lot of the people who live nearby.”
Conservative voter Rena Schroeder told him, “Conservative Republicans feel like they're not being heard anymore. That was a big voice that I heard through the whole campaign. They're not being heard by Republican candidates and officials, elected officials. I'm very disappointed and I'm hurt, and I do not like to be lied to.”
Self-identified GOP voter Linda Polley agreed and added, “I'm just heartbroken. I mean, I am absolutely heartbroken. The public is now seeing through the illusion. They are now realizing that left and right has been nothing more than to keep us divided.”
GOP voter Cheryl Shadden was even more vehement when asked if she is going to vote for Democrat Talarico.
“Oh, absolutely. I will turncoat and vote for any Democrat that is championing the cause of the community,” she snapped.
Einiger told host Jansing, “Fascinating, right? And I asked that woman, I asked her in a different way. I said, so, you know, this is obviously the Senate race. It's a race [for a seat] been held by Republicans in 1993. You know, Ken Paxton just won the nomination. And and James Talarico is the Democrat in the race. And I said to her, I said, if you vote for Talarico and you want this Texas seat to flip to blue — that means you're willing to flip the Senate to the Democrats. And you have all these issues that you're conservative on that you believe in, you've been voting on for your whole life. You're willing to let them all, leave them all behind. She said ‘yes.’”
“And she knows a lot of people who feel the same way,” he added. “So look, Chris, this is anecdotal. This is a small number of people, it's not scientific, but there's something happening on the ground in this very ruby red area of a red state that is definitely worth watching.”
Trump slip-up reveals he's willing to drag GOP down in latest 'delusion': columnist
Nicole Charky-Chami
May 28, 2026
"Meanwhile, three different indicators in the polling contain terrible news for Trump and the GOP. And new reports say that Republicans are growing more alarmed about the midterms. Some of them are plainly afraid to say so. So how much longer can they stand by while Trump drags them down?"
Sargent described what Trump might actually think, despite fears among GOP leaders.
"I think this is quite literally true," Sargent said. "He doesn’t care what happens to Republicans, really. He really doesn’t give a s---. And it’s also true that Trump’s war is absolutely tanking their chances."
Sargent's guest on the podcast, The New Republic contributing editor Felipe De La Hoz, viewed Trump's comments as equivalent to throwing his allies under the bus.
"I think it could be interpreted as him saying that this is an indication of the strength of his brand, which I think is mistaken," De La Hoz said.
"We saw something similar play out in 2018 and 2022 with his MAGA candidates winning primaries and then getting slaughtered in the general," De La Hoz added.
Trump's endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to challenge longtime Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn might have left him feeling more confident after Paxton's victory in the runoff in Texas on Tuesday. But it also gives Democrats a path to potentially flip the deep red state's Senate seat blue with candidate Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), which De La Hoz argued could be possible.
"I think in my lifetime — presuming that we maintain the same sort of electoral political system — I think that it’s entirely conceivable, and I would say even likely, that at some stage a Democrat will win a statewide race in Texas, just given the demographics, given what we’ve seen," De La Hoz said. "I don’t know if it’ll be Talarico, but it could be. I don’t think that this is a crazy pie-in-the-sky idea."
But it won't be easy for Democrats, Sargent argued.
"It’s going to be a big lift for Talarico to get there," Sargent said.
"It’s not impossible though. And even if he loses, he’s probably going to end up forcing Republicans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to save Texas, which could impact the rest of the map. Just want to clarify though — Talarico could win. It’s possible, just very hard," Sargent added.
Nicole Charky-Chami
May 28, 2026
RAW STORY
President Donald Trump points his finger during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump blurted out an "extraordinary quote" this week that was a stunning admission, a political columnist said on Thursday.
In a new episode of "The Daily Blast" podcast from The New Republic, Greg Sargent described why Trump's statement during the Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday — "I don't care about the midterms" — was so revealing, especially as the Republican Party has started to signal panic about the fall elections.
"In discussing what just happened in Texas, where the MAGA extremist will now be the GOP nominee in the Senate race, Trump accidentally revealed that he’s still under the delusion that he and MAGA are popular," Sargent said.
President Donald Trump points his finger during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House, in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump blurted out an "extraordinary quote" this week that was a stunning admission, a political columnist said on Thursday.
In a new episode of "The Daily Blast" podcast from The New Republic, Greg Sargent described why Trump's statement during the Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday — "I don't care about the midterms" — was so revealing, especially as the Republican Party has started to signal panic about the fall elections.
"In discussing what just happened in Texas, where the MAGA extremist will now be the GOP nominee in the Senate race, Trump accidentally revealed that he’s still under the delusion that he and MAGA are popular," Sargent said.
"Meanwhile, three different indicators in the polling contain terrible news for Trump and the GOP. And new reports say that Republicans are growing more alarmed about the midterms. Some of them are plainly afraid to say so. So how much longer can they stand by while Trump drags them down?"
Sargent described what Trump might actually think, despite fears among GOP leaders.
"I think this is quite literally true," Sargent said. "He doesn’t care what happens to Republicans, really. He really doesn’t give a s---. And it’s also true that Trump’s war is absolutely tanking their chances."
Sargent's guest on the podcast, The New Republic contributing editor Felipe De La Hoz, viewed Trump's comments as equivalent to throwing his allies under the bus.
"I think it could be interpreted as him saying that this is an indication of the strength of his brand, which I think is mistaken," De La Hoz said.
"We saw something similar play out in 2018 and 2022 with his MAGA candidates winning primaries and then getting slaughtered in the general," De La Hoz added.
Trump's endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to challenge longtime Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn might have left him feeling more confident after Paxton's victory in the runoff in Texas on Tuesday. But it also gives Democrats a path to potentially flip the deep red state's Senate seat blue with candidate Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), which De La Hoz argued could be possible.
"I think in my lifetime — presuming that we maintain the same sort of electoral political system — I think that it’s entirely conceivable, and I would say even likely, that at some stage a Democrat will win a statewide race in Texas, just given the demographics, given what we’ve seen," De La Hoz said. "I don’t know if it’ll be Talarico, but it could be. I don’t think that this is a crazy pie-in-the-sky idea."
But it won't be easy for Democrats, Sargent argued.
"It’s going to be a big lift for Talarico to get there," Sargent said.
"It’s not impossible though. And even if he loses, he’s probably going to end up forcing Republicans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to save Texas, which could impact the rest of the map. Just want to clarify though — Talarico could win. It’s possible, just very hard," Sargent added.
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