Democrat Bobby Cole Discusses Race for Texas Governor

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2:23Ben Meiselas:that right there was from one of the peaceful no kings protests in texas stand and tall texas stand and proud and if you look at the latest polling data donald trump is negative 20.5 in Texas of all of the states he won where he is underwater even more so than Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Iowa, Trump negative 20.5. I'll show this to you as well. The handmaids protest that went down as well in Fort Worth. Let's play it.

3:09Ben Meiselas:Now, people in Texas are getting hit from all sides from this Trump regime, from the MAGA Republicans, from their MAGA Republican governor, Greg Abbott, whether it's their health insurance premiums going up, whether it's the fact that Abbott did not even opt into Medicaid expansion, whether it's utility costs, insurance costs, the general cost of living people from Texas, again are getting hit from all sides. Trump's tariffs against the world, hurting small businesses. I mean, you hear stories like this all across Texas, North Texas shoe designer hit hard by those tariffs, has to pass the costs on to our customers.

3:49Ben Meiselas:And we've seen small businesses have been gutted and decimated by this Trump regime. 120 ,000 small business job losses last month. And just take a look at what's happening in North Texas. You see why? Let's play it. Tariff war continues. One local shoe designer tells NBC5's Vince Sims that tariffs on her latest invoice are threatening the future of her beloved business. This one as well. The creative mind behind these intricately carved shoes is Lucky Lou Shoes owner Lulu Von Hotret. I'll get 20 years of my life and I wouldn't do anything else. There's nothing else I want to do. She knows tariffs were impacting a lot of things, but she wasn't expecting the tab she got on this year's order.

4:33Ben Meiselas:At the most, my duties will come in at like$2 ,000 to$3 ,000 at the most, depending on my order. This week, last week, I got an order, a small order. I got a$16 ,000 duty. I just started crying because I knew, I knew that it was going to have such an impact on everything I've done in my life. Von Hotrich says, like everyone else, she's had to raise her prices. Hopefully the customers will pay. They'll understand and pay, but I'm finding the customers are sort of pushing back a little bit. Normally, October, November are really good months for me coming into Christmas, and I'm probably at about 40 % less than I would be at this time of year last year.

5:14Ben Meiselas:Let's talk about health care costs as well, as I mentioned. Abbott opts out of Medicaid expansion. Now the Affordable Care Act premiums skyrocketing as Trump and MAGA refuse to extend the subsidies. Here, take a look at what's going on in Texas. Health care costs are ready to climb for millions of Americans, and data shows costs for Texans will likely be well above the national average. So the enhanced premium tax credits that kept plans affordable are set to expire at the end of this year. And if Congress does not extend them, then premiums are set to skyrocket next year. Fox Sports' Casey Stegall, live from the newsroom with all this, Casey.

5:54Ben Meiselas:Hey, Steve Heather, good evening. Texas is one of 10 states that did not expand Medicaid back in 2012, which means millions here rely on buying private plans through the federal marketplace. And as people prepare to renew their coverage for 2026, analysts warn of true sticker shock. Open enrollment for health insurance begins this Saturday, but with the enhanced federal tax credits about to expire, next year's costs are expected to soar. When those tax credits go away, those Texans that were able to come into the market and get that affordable coverage, they're going to find that their coverage is now a lot more expensive, in most cases about double.

6:36Ben Meiselas:According to the Texas Association of Health Plans, average premiums nationwide are projected to climb roughly 75 percent. Here in Texas, it's expected to top 115%, which means the average monthly cost for a family is forecasted to jump from$1 ,600 to more than$3 ,400. Wow, wow, wow. And I do want to mention as well, because everyone knows now that the Supreme Court allowed Texas to gerrymander those maps. Trump had to try to pick up those five additional Republican seats, what they believe is going to happen. But that was based on a view that Hispanic voters were moving towards Trump, but Trump's support with Hispanics in Texas and throughout the country has collapsed.

7:23Ben Meiselas:Negative 58 net approval among the Hispanic community. Let's bring in Bobby Cole, Democratic candidate for governor in Texas, cattle rancher, firefighter. Bobby, you're running for governor in Texas. Think you're going to be able to flip this thing man yeah i think so i mean um your your run-up tells the tale uh we're talking about doubling of uh health insurance premiums in this state and then and then you got your insurance premiums going up on your car your house utility costs are going up mortgages are going up interest rates uh i don't even understand what this republican party is wanting to do it's it's it's almost like they don't want anybody to vote for them.

8:14And the only way I can explain that is they don't want your vote. They're going to, they're going to gerrymander their way in or they're simply not going to have a vote anymore. So, you know, when you got the Supreme court in your back pocket, other than that, I can't explain why they want to attack the working men and women of Texas like they do.

8:35Ben Meiselas:Well, look, you know, partisanship is so deeply entrenched and people are growing up in texas thinking you know if you're a republican you can never vote democrat you know they'd almost rather have putin based on what trump and abbott are saying i mean you probably you know so i've heard that you know and you have there all of this uh disinformation that's being spread but like the government you know abbott i I mean, whether it's with all of the costs, utilities, insurance, heck, the floods in the Guadalupe River that, you know, I mean, it's now something that's not even being discussed nationally.

9:19Ben Meiselas:But at a state and local level, the refusal to accept certain federal funds to have emergency responses and then it just moves on. And let's focus on gerrymandering versus giving emergency relief there. I mean, it's just how do you get over, though, the fact that it is such the deeply entrenched partisanship in that state where people keep voting for a guy in Abbott who, you know, seems to keep giving the middle finger to the people? Well, I mean, before this state was Republican, it was Democrat. And so there's still hope that that Democrats can wrestle this state back. I don't understand why you want to be a head of a state government where you essentially want to tear it down to the point that it doesn't function for the people, which is what the government's for.

10:14And so the only way that makes sense is that you're really just cutting it up and dicing it up so that you and your cronies and billionaires can can profit from other people's lack of services. And so I'm running because I believe in government, because government is the people and people are the government. So I would run. I am running for governor because I want to make government actually work for the people and actually meet their needs. You know, where they where they live at their kitchen table, in their jobs, in their education and in their health care and in affordability.

11:03Ben Meiselas:Talk to us about your background. I spoke a little bit about it. cattle rancher, firefighter. What made you want to step into this area and even run for office? And you're getting a lot of attention out there in your race, I might add, but without really a political background other than maybe you and I share a student government president or running for student government back in high school. Yeah, it's been a while since I've had to run a campaign. But with that being said, even though I haven't participated in running for office, I'm absolutely invested in where this state goes and what it becomes.

11:49And to put it on a more granular level when I decided to run was when Trump got elected again. And, you know, I know an authoritarian when I hear and sing. And so I've been struggling my whole life to build a legacy to leave my kids. And I feel that that legacy is at risk, their future is at risk. And then the overarching legacy that we've all been given by generations before us, our democracy, is also at risk. And so, you know, I hearken back to when, you know, my grandparents raised me, you know, a lot of time when I when I was young, because my parents were young and starting out. So I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and my granddads, you know, they sacrificed and served in World War Two.

12:42And when war broke out, the government didn't come to them and say, hey, would it be convenient? Do you have the time to go fight for your country? They didn't ask. They just said, you know, your service is demanded. Here's a gun. They slapped them on the back and said, go fight for your country. And so that's the attitude I took. You know, I really don't have the time to do this, but I'm going to make the time. and I don't have the money to do this, but I'm going to find a way to make it work. Because when I tell you I am concerned about the future of this state, the future, the futures are youth, are children.

13:25If you're not going to fight for that, I don't know what you'll fight for. And that's the reason I decided to run. And I'll touch on the thing I started it off with. there's this MAGA movement afoot and it's an authoritarian movement. And what I believed was if you, if you could find the right kind of candidate Abbott is, is, is vulnerable in rural Texas. If you run a candidate that is from rural Texas, that has lived in rural Texas, has worked in rural Texas, and has, and has been raised with the values that rural Texans are, raised with, that his message could resonate. And if that candidate could break through and become the Democratic governor of Texas, it would be a big red roadblock to this MAGA movement nationally.

14:18And that's what I'm prepared to do. And that's what I'm going to do.

14:23Ben Meiselas:Bobby, where can people find out more about your campaign and learn more about you as a candidate? They can go to coalforgovernor.com. You can read about my positions. You can also access all my social media feeds. And like I said, if you want to help, support and donate, donations are gladly accepted. I am grassroots. boots. This campaign is about the people and I need the people's help. And I'm prepared. I am the candidate that can do in Texas what a generation, it's been a generation since. I, as a Democrat, I can win this state. I am change. I am the agent of change and I am for working families.

15:09And I'm for fair wages and economic justice. And I'm for protecting the legacy of democracy that's been left to all of us. And I want to make sure it's given to the next generation. Bobby Cole, thanks for joining us.

15:24Ben Meiselas:Okay. Thank you, Ben. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our sub stack at MidasPlus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad-free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at MidasPlus.com.

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