{"id":2682614,"date":"2026-10-13T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigna-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T08:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T12:25:41","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigna-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigna-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lazy Election Trope Gets A Boring Replay In Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigna-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2682614&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the cyclical nature of political campaigns and media narratives, illustrating this with the Texas Senate race between Ken Paxton and Beto O\u2019Rourke. It highlights how lawn signs and campaign symbols are repeatedly used to gauge political support, often creating misleading impressions. In 2018, O\u2019Rourke&#8217;s yard signs and media coverage portrayed him as a rising star, embracing Texas culture and making blue Texas feel more attainable. Despite signs favoring O\u2019Rourke, he ultimately lost the election to Cruz. The piece underscores that election outcomes are what truly matter, and all the repeated stories and symbolism are just distractions until the votes are counted.The author emphasizes the futility of relying on superficial campaign signals to predict results, highlighting the importance of ballot counts over media narratives.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UOdxprxZHKs\">KHOU 11 \/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/13\/a-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=A Lazy Election Trope Gets A Boring Replay In Texas&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/13\/a-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=A Lazy Election Trope Gets A Boring Replay In Texas&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/13\/a-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/13\/a-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=A Lazy Election Trope Gets A Boring Replay In Texas&#038;body=&#039;It was a mass front-lawn revolt.&#039;%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/13\/a-lazy-election-trope-gets-a-boring-replay-in-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;A Lazy Election Trope Gets A Boring Replay In Texas&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Few things are ever new in politics. It\u2019s like a television show that keeps producing the same season every year, but with different faces. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week, a Dallas Morning News columnist took a walk around town and announced that Ken Paxton is <em>finished<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2248936005\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am counting political signs to see who is winning in the Texas Senate race,\u201d Dallas Cothrum <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/Wqev6#selection-1587.78-1587.90\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cThe news is not good for Ken Paxton. On most days he loses, sometimes by a wide margin. Recently I went by three particularly expensive homes in a row flying the James Talarico brand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brace yourself, because you\u2019ll be shocked by what comes next.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"LF0ZEnTiGOB6Ug75RVpJNuCDk18X4ohywdYxc3bzlea2sPjSMqHrfImAWQv\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In some conservative neighbourhoods in Dallas, lawn signs supporting Beto O&#39;Rourke outnumber those for Ted Cruz <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8D8IjOlwmh\">https:\/\/t.co\/8D8IjOlwmh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Economist (@TheEconomist) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheEconomist\/status\/1050043245303091200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 10, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2018, this story <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2018\/08\/29\/beto-orourke-ted-cruz-yard-signs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">showed up in every lazy media outlet<\/a>. \u201cBeto O\u2019Rourke yard signs are everywhere. Where are Ted Cruz\u2019s?\u201d The Houston Chronicle <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chron.com\/politics\/texas\/article\/Why-you-see-so-many-Beto-O-Rourke-yard-signs-13196589.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> that the Cruz campaign didn\u2019t really care about lawn signs all that much, but the newspaper added that Beto thought the signs were helping him to make an argument beyond the limits of his political base: \u201cO\u2019Rourke told the paper that his signs have especially helped his campaign\u2019s reach in more traditionally conservative neighborhoods.\u201d It\u2019s easy to wonder how a name posted on a lawn extends an <em>argument<\/em> to people who don\u2019t agree with you, but let us not question Beto O\u2019Rourke, the famous expert on the path to political victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Television news also got in on the act, counting lawn signs on camera.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"0p3qehs51HaPLyCjI6DGdxO7TFin\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Where&apos;s Ted?: Beto O&apos;Rourke signs outnumber Cruz&apos;s campaign\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UOdxprxZHKs?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Cruz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2018\/results\/texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">won the election<\/a>, the New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.removepaywall.com\/search?url=https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/11\/07\/us\/texas-election-takeaways-cruz-orourke.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">offered up<\/a> these extraordinarily awkward paragraphs about how cool Beto had been, and how thoroughly Texas had been awash in his rock star lawn signs:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans have long claimed the pop culture of Texas as their own \u2014 the barbecue joints and country music stars and pickup trucks. Mr. O\u2019Rourke embraced those Texas symbols and reclaimed them for Democrats, jamming with Willie Nelson, steering his San Antonio-built Toyota pickup truck through rural Texas and air-drumming post-debate in the drive-through lane at Whataburger. It used to be an awkward counterculture stretch to be a Texas Democrat. He made it cool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even before Mr. O\u2019Rourke\u2019s narrow defeat, his yard signs had become one of the biggest visible displays of blue Texas in a generation. His signs easily outnumbered Cruz signs and helped convince the public, the news media and Republicans, long before the polls showed a tight race, that change was coming. It was a mass front-lawn revolt. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine \u201cair-drumming post-debate in the drive-through lane at Whataburger\u201d and still not winning an election. He drives a pick-up truck, so victory seemed so certain. And did you say <em>Willie Nelson<\/em>?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"aKNMxqvi\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Happy Fourth of July from Willie and me! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LhTSiF51Nx\">pic.twitter.com\/LhTSiF51Nx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James Talarico (@jamestalarico) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jamestalarico\/status\/2073617459781738538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ll know who\u2019s winning the election when the ballots have been counted, and the rest of the generic replay can just be ignored.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Chris Bray<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/chrisbray\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/air-drumming\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">air-drumming<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/beto-2-0\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Beto 2.0<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/beto-orourke\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Beto O&#8217;Rourke<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dallas-morning-news\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Dallas Morning News<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-tropes\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election tropes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/houston-chronicle\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Houston Chronicle<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-talarico\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Talarico<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ken Paxton<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawn-signs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lawn signs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lazy-election-stories\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lazy election stories<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/new-york-times\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">New York Times<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ted-cruz\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ted Cruz<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/the-economist\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">The Economist<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/willie-nelson\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Willie Nelson<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Politics rarely change; it\u2019s like a rerun with new actors each year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2682615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/beto-signs-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[87124,3728,87125,33930,3694],"class_list":["post-2682614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-boredom-2","tag-election","tag-election-trope","tag-political-satire","tag-texas"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/beto-signs-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2682614"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2682619,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682614\/revisions\/2682619"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2682615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2682614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2682614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2682614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}