Texas has 'turned purple' after Democrats' blue wave, outgoing Lt. Gov. Patrick concedes

Outgoing Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has acknowledged that the US state of Texas has politically 'turned purple' after the Democrats' so-called 'blue wave'. He made the comment on Thursday after Democrats won every statewide race and flipped the governor's office, a US Senate seat and the Texas House.

In the latest episode of his 'Lt. Dan Podcast', Patrick said Texas's political makeup is shifting left. But while many others have described the state as now blue, he stopped short of saying that.

Patrick said: 'Right now, I'd say it's purple. We've been winning consistently, and people see it as a red state. But this time, the Democrats turned out more of their Democrat voters than Republicans turned out of their voters. But what really made the difference were the independent voters, the voters who don't vote in Republican or Democrat primaries. They only vote in general elections.'

He added that Republicans had been winning those voters in almost every election, but did not win them this time. Two years ago, he said, they almost all voted for the president; four years ago, almost all voted for Governor Greg Abbott, himself and the other Republicans. So he would not call Texas a blue state, but it has turned purple for this moment.

Patrick was himself among the Republicans hit by the blue wave. Running for re-election, he lost his race to Democrat Vikki Goodwin.

Governor Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term, also lost, to Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Texas Attorney General and US Senate candidate Ken Paxton was defeated by Democrat James Talarico.

Democrats won every statewide race in Texas, ending decades of Republican control in contests once considered sure bets for the GOP. Senator Ted Cruz is now the only Republican holding statewide elected office.

Patrick said Republicans lost voters in places and demographics they had gained in 2024, including the Rio Grande Valley and young voters.

Like President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other Republican leaders, Patrick attributed the party's disastrous showing last week primarily to voters' frustrations over affordability and the Iran war, which has caused soaring fuel prices.

According to AAA, gas prices are about 83 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average listed on Thursday was $3.91 per gallon, compared with $3.08 a year earlier.

Patrick said: 'We were in a tidal wave, a tsunami that washed across the country where people just said, I can't afford to feed my family; I can't afford to pay my bills; I can't even afford to fill up my car or truck. It was almost to the point where no matter what our message was, it didn't matter. People were unhappy, and I get it.'

He further acknowledged that the war in the Middle East has increased the cost of fuel, but refused to denounce Trump's decision to attack Iran. If intelligence showed Iran was going to get a nuclear weapon, he said, the world could have been in the middle of World War III had Trump not acted, or Israel could already have been wiped off the map.

Patrick said it remains to be seen whether these voters will stay with the Democrats in the future. Republicans, he said, will have to work hard to make sure Texas does not become a blue state in 2028, 2030 and 2032.