How Katherine Culbert Tried to Use My Platform Before Joining the GOP

Because apparently integrity is optional now.

While listening to this morning’s episode of Progress Texas, I was absolutely floored to learn that the former Democratic nominee for Texas Railroad Commission, Katherine Culbert, had switched parties, joined the MAGA cult, and is running for the Texas Railroad Commission as a Republican in 2026.

I thought, “That’s funny,” because I’ve been keeping these lists of EVERY DEMOCRAT who was running for office, and when I didn’t have her on my list, she emailed me. She wanted me to add her, her website, and all of her social media accounts. Which I gladly did, because I thought she was running as a Democrat, and I’m a team player.

What I haven’t been doing is adding websites and social media accounts of Republicans, because it’s a partisan newsletter, and I’m not on their team.

The email exchange:

So basically, she used my platform, a Democratic platform, to get her website and social media out in front of thousands of Texas Democrats, boost her visibility, and pad her follower counts a full month before the filing deadline, all while knowing she had no intention of running as a Democrat at all.

And let’s be clear. Switching from Democrat to Republican is not a decision you make on a whim. You don’t wake up one morning, pour your coffee, and say, “You know what? Forget everything I’ve ever said publicly, every donor I’ve taken money from, every volunteer who’s knocked doors for me. I think I’ll join the party of election deniers and book banners today.”

That’s not how campaigns work. That’s not how party switching works. And that’s definitely not how the Railroad Commission runs work. Come on, we’re talking about the most corrupt body with the most corrupt Republicans in Texas.

This was a plan. This was a rollout. This was a rebrand that began before she emailed me, and she used my work, my time, and my audience as a stepping stone on her way out the door.

It’s one thing to switch parties. People do it. Sometimes for genuine ideological reasons, sometimes for political survival, sometimes for ego, sometimes because they think voters won’t notice.

But it’s another thing entirely to ask a Democratic journalist to amplify your campaign under false pretenses so you can milk their audience and then turn around and run as a Republican.

I don’t know what Culbert’s internal justification was. Maybe she thinks Democrats didn’t support her enough. Perhaps she’s blaming the voters for her 2024 loss. Maybe she convinced herself that Republicans would be more welcoming to her “qualifications-first” messaging. Obviously, they’ve never met Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian.

Or maybe she decided that if you can’t beat Republicans, you might as well join them. Especially if you can leverage Democratic goodwill one last time on your way out.

🚨 Call to Action: Unfollow Her Everywhere

So let me be extremely clear about where I stand on this. If someone uses my platform under false pretenses, if they take advantage of Democratic goodwill to boost their profile and then run straight into the arms of the GOP, they don’t get to keep benefiting from Democratic attention.

I’m not sugarcoating it. I’m not being polite about it. I’m done.

I am unfollowing Katherine Culbert on every platform. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Threads, all of it, and I strongly encourage everyone who cares about transparency and integrity in Texas politics to do the same.

If someone chooses corruption, opportunism, and MAGA politics, that’s their call.
But we get to choose too, and we don’t have to give that behavior a single like, follow, share, or algorithm boost.

Unfollow her. Mute her. Tell your friends why. Tell your Democratic clubs. Tell your county party group chats. Tell your group texts.

Let people know exactly what happened and exactly how she played this. Because sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the only power these opportunists have is the power we give them.

She made her choice. Now, Texas Democrats get to make ours.

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