We Just Flipped One. Can We Do It Again?
Early voting is already underway in SD04. The window is small.
Only yesterday, we were talking about the situation in Abilene, where billionaire mega corporations were given an 85% tax abatement, while the people of Abilene have been left holding the bag. That’s why it was so refreshing when I asked Ron Angeletti, Democratic candidate for Texas Senate District 04, “Should Texas end tax subsidies and abatements for large corporations?” His response:
“Yes... I’m not against economic development, but I am against giving away taxpayer dollars without a clear return for the people of Texas. For too long, large corporations have received generous tax abatements and subsidies with promises of jobs and growth, yet many communities don’t see the long-term benefits they were promised.”
You don’t have to read my latest or live in Abilene to know that this scenario has been happening across Texas for many years. And if you live in parts of SD04, especially somewhere like Jefferson or Gaveston County, you know this really well.
And that’s only one reason why this race is so important.
Democrats just flipped a State Senate seat they were not supposed to win. In Tarrant County. In a special election. In a district that had been written off as safely Republican. And it didn’t happen because of vibes, luck, or some sudden shift in ideology. It happened because people showed up, organized, knocked doors, and treated it like it mattered.
And now there’s another one. Right now. Early voting is already underway. Another district, another special election, another test of whether that win was a one-off… or a sign of what’s possible.
That win in SD09 didn’t come easy.
Taylor Rehmet had a real operation behind him, one that most people never see unless they’re in it. We’re talking about a full-scale ground game, including local elected officials, candidates, and grassroots organizations, all in, coordinating, showing up, and putting in the hours. They knocked on more than 20,000 doors. They treated a special election like it actually mattered.
That’s the part people miss when they call it surprising. That win was infrastructure.
SD04 is harder. There’s no point pretending otherwise. This is a district where Trump pulled about 66.6% of the vote, and Cruz cleared roughly 63.8%. That’s the baseline. That’s what Democrats are walking into.
But that’s not the whole story either. Because when you actually look at the district, it’s not some uniform block of red voters moving in lockstep. It’s about 51.6% Anglo and 48.4% non-Anglo, with a combined Black and Hispanic population around 41%. That’s a lot of different communities, a lot of different interests, and a lot of voters who don’t always get engaged in low-turnout elections like this. So yes, this is a Republican-leaning district. But it’s not a monolith. And it’s not unwinnable under the right conditions.
Right now, I would expect to see the County Democratic Parties of Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, and Montgomery all participating in their respective slices to help elect Ron Angeletti. I would expect to see the Young Dems in each county and the Democratic clubs each participating in block walks, phone banking, and busting their humps. The same way we saw the local groups in Tarrant County do.
Here’s the part I’m not going to pretend about. I know exactly what SD09 looked like on the ground because I was close enough to see it. Because I live in Tarrant County, I know the people who were organizing, knocking, coordinating, pushing that thing forward every single day. I know how much work went into that win.
SD04? I don’t have that same visibility. It’s hundreds of miles away, and I’m not plugged into the day-to-day operation the way I was with SD09. I don’t know if there are teams out there knocking on doors at that scale, if local officials and orgs are all in, or if there’s a coordinated push behind this. And that matters. Because the difference between a long-shot loss and a surprise win in a district like this isn’t theory, it’s whether that work is actually happening.
Ron Angeletti is not running some theory-heavy campaign.
He’s running on the kind of material issues people actually bring up at their doors. He hasn’t thrown himself into ideological branding. It’s a pragmatic Democrat running on what actually affects people’s day-to-day lives.
Here are some Q&A’s in his own words.
Q: Do you oppose school vouchers and efforts to privatize public education?
Yes, I oppose school vouchers and efforts that undermine public education.
Public schools are the foundation of our communities. They are required to serve all students, regardless of ability, background, or circumstance. When we divert public dollars into voucher programs that fund private institutions, we weaken that foundation and leave our most vulnerable students with fewer resources.
I’ve seen firsthand how this plays out. Many private schools that accept voucher funds are not held to the same standards. They can limit services, especially for students with disabilities, and are not subject to the same accountability measures as public schools.
Q: Should higher education in Texas be free or debt-free at public institutions?
Yes... I believe every student who is willing to work for it should have a real opportunity to pursue college, trade school, or certification without being buried in debt before they even get started in life.
At the end of the day, this is about investing in people. When we remove financial barriers to education, we don’t just change individual lives, we strengthen our workforce, grow our economy, and build a more prosperous future for Texas.
Q: Should Texas guarantee free school meals to all K–12 students, regardless of income?
Yes... No child should be expected to learn on an empty stomach. If we’re serious about education, then we have to make sure every student has their basic needs met first.
Providing free school meals to all K–12 students removes stigma, simplifies the process for families, and ensures that no child falls through the cracks because of paperwork or income thresholds. It also supports working parents who are already stretching every dollar to provide for their families.
Q: Should Texas end tax breaks and regulatory loopholes for oil and gas companies, including exemptions from emissions reporting and waste disposal standards?
Yes... Energy is a major part of Texas’ identity and economy, and we should respect the role that oil and gas workers play in keeping our state running. But supporting the industry should never come at the expense of public health, environmental responsibility, or fairness to taxpayers.
Right now, there are loopholes and exemptions that allow some companies to avoid full transparency, especially when it comes to emissions and waste. That’s not right. If everyday Texans and small businesses are expected to follow the rules, large corporations should be held to that same standard.
Q: Do you support closing or downsizing state prisons and redirecting that funding to community-based alternatives like mental health care, housing, and youth programs?
Yes... I support shifting our focus from over-incarceration to prevention and rehabilitation, but it has to be done responsibly, with public safety at the center.
For too long, we’ve relied on incarceration as the default response, even in cases where mental health care, substance abuse treatment, or community-based programs would be more effective. That approach is costly, and too often it fails to reduce repeat offenses.
Q: Do you support publicly financed elections to reduce corporate and PAC influence?
Yes... I support public financing options because our elections should be driven by people—not dominated by corporate or PAC money. Right now, too many voices get drowned out because they don’t have access to big-dollar donors. That creates an uneven playing field and erodes trust in the process.
This is about where resources go, who gets heard, and how thin the margins are when real decisions get made in Austin.
Every seat shifts the math. Every seat changes what’s possible, what gets blocked, and what actually reaches the floor. And right now, coming off SD09, this is also about momentum, whether that win was a one-time spark or the beginning of something Democrats can build on.
Republicans are still running the same corporate-state model, tax breaks for the top, subsidies with no accountability, and austerity everywhere else. What Angeletti is running on is the opposite of that. Investment in people, schools, healthcare, wages, and infrastructure. The basics that actually make a community function. That’s the choice in front of voters, whether they frame it that way or not.
So it comes down to the same thing it always comes down to, and the same thing SD09 proved in real time. The question is not whether this district can move. It’s whether anyone is doing the work to move it. Because we already saw what it looks like when that work happens. Tens of thousands of doors were knocked on. Local officials, candidates, and organizations pulling in the same direction. A coordinated effort that actually reaches voters who don’t usually show up in elections like this. That’s how you bend a district, even one that isn’t supposed to bend.
Early voting is happening right now.
Election Day is May 2, and in a special election, turnout is everything. If you live in SD04, make a plan and go vote. Don’t assume anyone else is going to carry that for you. If you’re nearby, plug into a campaign or local group and help knock doors, make calls, or do something that actually moves the needle. And if you’re not in the district, this is still a moment you can impact. Donate if you can, share information, amplify the race, and make sure people in the district know it’s happening. These elections don’t turn on broad attention. They turn on when enough people decide, in a short window, to act.
Democrats just proved these seats can flip. Not in theory, not in some long-term realignment model, but right now, in a special election that wasn’t supposed to go our way. But that only happens when people show up and do the work, when a campaign is actually built to reach voters instead of hoping they appear on their own. That’s the part that matters, and we don’t fully see it in SD04 yet. Now we find out if anyone did.
You can find out more about Ron Angeletti on his website or Facebook.
Or you can sign up to volunteer. Hurry up, time is running out.
Or give him money (if you have it).
Let’s stick it to Republicans one more time!
April 27, 2026: Last day to register to vote (Democratic primary runoff elections)
April 28, 2026: Last day of early voting (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
May 2, 2026: Last day to receive ballot by mail (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
May 2, 2026: Election day! (City elections/SD04 Special Election)
May 15, 2026: Last day to apply to vote by mail (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 18, 2026: First day of early voting (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 22, 2026: Last day of early voting (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 26, 2026: Last day to receive ballot by mail (Democratic primary runoff elections)
May 26, 2026: Election day! (Democratic primary runoff elections)
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
LoneStarLeft is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thanks for this report! It is just soul crushing to think there is no way to change the dynamics and direction of TX politics, particularly in the oil region!
Donated