In Texas, Democrats court a new constituency: normal people.
Texas Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido speaks to the crowd at his campaign rally in Goliad, Texas, on Saturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening.
Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall.
You’re reading Wanderland, Kevin D. Williamson’s weekly newsletter on America’s rapidly changing political, economic, and social norms.
McALLEN, Texas—Poor feckless Mike Johnson looks like a melting vanilla ice-cream cone in the practically Congolese mid-October heat in McAllen, Texas, the political heart of the Rio Grande Valley, with just under 1 million people in the greater metro and more than 460,000 registered voters.
Want to see more of The Dispatch in Google search?
Add Us as a Preferred SourceKevin D. Williamson is national correspondent at The Dispatch and is based in Virginia. Prior to joining the company in 2022, he spent 15 years as a writer and editor at National Review, worked as the theater critic at the New Criterion, and had a long career in local newspapers. He is also a writer in residence at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. When Kevin is not reporting on the world outside Washington for his Wanderland newsletter, you can find him at the rifle range or reading a book about literally almost anything other than politics.