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Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders Headline Texas Democrats’ 2026 Convention

Texas Democrats concluded their 2026 state convention in Corpus Christi, rallying behind gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa and Senate nominee James Talarico with a unified push to end 30 years of GOP control in November.

Opal Fields

June 30, 20262 min read

Texas Democratic Convention 2026 — illustration, Jake Team LLC
Texas Democratic Convention 2026 — illustration, Jake Team LLC

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas Democrats concluded their three-day 2026 state convention at the Hilliard Center Arena in Corpus Christi on Saturday, sending thousands of energized delegates and volunteers back to their communities with a unified message: end the Republican Party’s 30-year hold on every statewide office in November.

Prosper, a fast-growing town of roughly 42,000 residents in Collin County, is located about 40 miles north of Dallas.

The convention drew a roster of national speakers. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered the closing keynote, calling on Democrats to stand together against what he described as billionaire control of the political system. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey addressed a crowd of nearly 4,000 during his keynote, urging delegates to frame the election in moral terms. “This is not about left or right anymore,” Booker said. “It’s about right or wrong.”
We know that when we stand together as one people, the oligarchs and all of their money will never defeat it. Let’s go out and do it.
— **Sen. Bernie Sanders**, closing keynote, Texas Democratic Convention

Gina Hinojosa, the party’s gubernatorial nominee from Austin, framed the election as a choice between the people and billionaires, criticizing Governor Greg Abbott’s school voucher program and what she termed a “Greg Abbott corruption tax” on everyday Texans. James Talarico, the U.S. Senate nominee, closed Friday night to one of the loudest ovations of the convention, emphasizing a politics of “love” that can heal divisions.

Is this the Texas that is by and for the people? Or is this great state the billionaire’s world, and we just live here?
— **Gina Hinojosa**, Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas

Republican operatives mounted counter-programming outside the arena, including mobile LED billboards, free breakfast tacos wrapped in anti-Democrat messaging, and two longhorns with a banner reading “Don’t Buy the Bull.” Governor Abbott posted about the stunts on social media. Three South Texas Republican officials, including State Representative Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi, held a nearby press conference promoting the GOP’s economic record.

Party leaders stressed that convention rhetoric alone will not end three decades of Republican control. Volunteers were dispatched statewide for voter registration, door-to-door canvassing, and field organizing that will continue through November. “Organizing over speeches” was the prevailing message as delegates left Corpus Christi.

Source: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2026/06/29/555770/texas-democrats-convention-2026/

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