Overview
- Texas farmers report steep increases in fuel and fertilizer costs that they and observers link to the war with Iran, squeezing farm budgets and livelihoods.
- Polling shows rural economic satisfaction has plunged to 27% from 42% a year earlier while Ken Paxton still leads rural voters about 66% to 30%.
- The Texas Farm Bureau PAC's endorsement of Paxton drew a public rebuke from former president Bob Stallman, exposing splits inside a key rural institution.
- Democrats are actively courting farmers, arguing Republican policies have hurt rural Texas and aiming to peel away votes or suppress turnout that Republican candidates rely on.
- If rural margins shrink or turnout falls, the roughly 400,000 farmers in Texas could influence close statewide contests by reducing the GOP cushion that offsets Democratic urban gains.