The Three Texas Republicans Who Voted To Bulldoze Big Bend
Three names, three districts, three chances to fix this in November.
Note: This week’s Meet the Candidates has been postponed due to scheduling hiccups. Will resume shortly.
Videos are circulating of bulldozers near Santa Elena Canyon. That’s happening at Big Bend National Park right now. 80 days out from the election, so let’s talk about which Texas Republicans sit on the House Appropriations Committee, and why it matters.
On June 10, the House Appropriations Committee considered an amendment from Henry Cuellar that would have told the Department of Homeland Security not to build walls in Big Bend National Park or Big Bend State Park. Cuellar wanted to ban federal wall money from touching those two parks, plus a handful of spots in his own district, including the World Trade Bridge, a couple of city parks in Laredo, a municipal golf course, and Falcon Lake.
Republicans killed the amendment. 26 to 34. Every Republican in the room voted no. Every Democrat voted yes. That’s the whole story of how this got greenlit.
Cuellar urged the committee to use cameras, sensors, or anything other than bulldozing a national park. Republicans killed it anyway.
Texas has three Republicans on House Appropriations:
TX06: Jake Ellzey
TX27: Michael Cloud
TX31: John Carter
Every single Texas Republican on this committee voted for what’s happening in Big Bend right now. And every single one of them is up for election in 80 days. Here’s who’s running against them, and how you can help get them out of office:
TX06: Jake Ellzey.
Jake Ellzey is a rank-and-file Republican who names libraries in other people’s towns after dead Congressmen who participated in Trump’s attempted coup in 2021. Because he’s never been known to go against the grain, except when making promises to constituents that he never keeps, it really isn’t shocking that he participated in the regular groupthink that happens among the GOP ranks in Congress.
The Democrat running against Ellzey is Danny Minton.
I had the chance to ask Minton directly, “Should the US demilitarize the southern border and repeal harmful immigration policies?”
Here is what he said:
“Yes. I would go further: ICE should be abolished or significantly reduced, and its budget redirected to local and state law enforcement and, where appropriate, to Border Patrol. Our immigration system must be humane, constitutional, and reflective of our values as a nation of immigrants.”
TX06 was 37.2% Dem and 60.6% Rep in 2024. But 175,870 voters that cycle didn’t vote. We have to look at the 2024 numbers, since Republicans redrew this map last year and based it purely on the 2024 numbers. 🤣 This was pretty dumb, especially for this district, because before the gerrymandering, it was my district (which is also how I know Ellzey doesn’t keep promises to constituents), and last year was just a bad year for Team Blue.
It’s about 50.7% white and 49.3% non-white by voting-age population. It’s not overwhelmingly Republican demographically. It’s not a safe Democratic seat either. It’s right on the edge. The GOP will rely on low voter turnout to win in this district. And they won’t get it.
Because I have several school-aged children, I don’t get out to too many events, but when I do, Danny Minton is always there. I swear, I’ve seen him at every Democratic event I’ve been to over the last year. So I know he’s showing up in the most important parts of the district. Flipping this district will take targeted turnout in Dallas and Tarrant County, and then running up the margins in the rest of the counties.
You can learn more about Danny Minton on his website, Facebook, and Instagram.
TX27: Michael Cloud.
Cloud signed onto the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit trying to overturn the 2020 election. He also objected to certifying the Electoral College results, voted against a Jan. 6 commission, and kept pushing unproven fraud claims after the election. Obviously, he cares about Big Bend as much as he cares about America.
The Democrat running against Cloud is Tanya Lloyd.
I had the chance to ask Lloyd directly, “Should the US demilitarize the southern border and repeal harmful immigration policies?”
Here is what she said:
“We need a border that is both secure and humane, moving away from reactive chaos toward an orderly, rule-based system. I support investing in modern technology and increased personnel to stop illegal trafficking while streamlining legal pathways for the workers our Texas economy desperately needs. If elected, I will fight to ensure immigration enforcement does not trample over basic constitutional rights. We must hold DHS and ICE leadership accountable for abuses of power with congressional hearings and prosecutions. No more secret police.”
The district is 44% Anglo and 56% non-Anglo overall, with Hispanic residents making up 44.6% of the total population. But the voting-age population gets whiter. 48.2% Anglo, 51.8% non-Anglo, and 40.5% Hispanic. We’re going to see the Hispanic vote swing back left in November. The question is, how far left? And will it vary by district?
There is a lot of enthusiasm behind Tanya Lloyd’s race. But this district has historically struggled with low turnout. Her biggest challenge this time around is drastically increasing voter turnout margins. It can be done, though. And this district will be challenging, but not impossible.
You can learn more about Tanya Lloyd on her website, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
TX31: John Carter.
John Carter is 85 years old. He is the exact stereotype of the 1980s Republican, but he never left the 1980s. He graduated from college before desegregation, and he acts like it.
The Democrat running against Early is Justin Early.
I had the chance to ask Early directly, “Should the US demilitarize the southern border and repeal harmful immigration policies?”
Here is what he said:
“Yes. Border security should rely on smart technology, lawful processing, and accountability, not heavy military equipment or troops.”
This district is going to be more complicated. It also has historically had low voter turnout. And the demographics are majority white by VAP (about 57%), but 43% of the voting-age population is non-white, including a significant Black population (~15.5%), a Hispanic population of just over 20%, and a growing Asian population near 5%.
To win in this district, Early will have to drastically increase turnout among Black, Hispanic, and young suburban voters. There’s also a Green Party candidate running here, who has some celebrity. In fact, I have a lot of respect for the Green Party candidate and their policy positions.
We (you and I) talked about independent candidates at the beginning of the primary and ultimately decided that the Texas Progressive Caucus (which I am a long-time member of) has done way too much work to push the Texas Democratic Party left over the last several years. Justin Early is an incredibly progressive Democrat. Most Lone Star Left readers will agree with him on policy. He supports the Green New Deal, Universal Healthcare, ending qualified immunity, major tax reform, and tuition-free public college.
In fact, at a recent forum, with Early and the other candidate, you could see how many policy positions they actually shared.
My concern in this race is that the Green Party candidate’s celebrity status will affect the tight numbers needed to beat Carter. Which is why I’m reaffirming my support for Justin Early right now. 😁
You can find out more about Justin Early on his website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Bluesky.
Ellzey, Cloud, and Carter all had a chance to keep bulldozers out of a national park. All three said no.
Now they’re on the ballot in 80 days, right when the Hispanic vote is expected to swing back, right when three different districts have three different paths to flip if turnout shows up.
Just math. And the math says these seats are winnable if the people who stayed home in 2024 don’t stay home again.
80 days until the November election!
Did you know you can find links to all the previous Meet the Candidate articles on these lists?:
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
Thank you, Michelle!!! Just shared to bsky. Let's get these bums!!!