The MeidasTouch Podcast - Democrat Bobby Cole Discusses Race for Texas Governor

Episode Date: December 7, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump getting a rude awakening in Texas as his approval is tanking to new lows and Meiselas interviews Democratic Governor Candidate Bobby Cole. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast⁠ Legal AF: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af⁠ MissTrial: ⁠https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial⁠ The PoliticsGirl Podcast: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast⁠ Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan⁠ Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen⁠ The Weekend Show: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show⁠ Burn the Boats: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats⁠ Majority 54: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54⁠ Political Beatdown: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown⁠ On Democracy with FP Wellman: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman⁠ Uncovered: ⁠https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canada's Wonderland is bringing the holiday magic this season with Winterfest on select nights now through January 3rd. Step into a winter wonderland filled with millions of dazzling lights, festive shows, rides, and holiday treats. Plus, Coca-Cola is back with Canada's kindest community, celebrating acts of kindness nationwide with a chance at 100,000 donation for the winning community and a 2026 holiday caravan stop. Learn more at canadaswunderland.com. Hey Ontario, come down to BetMGM Casino and see what our newest exclusive the Price is Right Fortune Pig has to offer. Don't miss out. Play exciting casino games based on the iconic game show, only at BetMGM. Check out how we've reimagined three of the show's iconic games like Plinko, Clifhanger, and the Big Wheel into fun casino game features.

Don't forget to download the BetMGM Casino app for exclusive access and excitement on the Price's Right Fortune Pick. Pull up a seat and experience the price is right fortune pick, only available at BetMGM Casino. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly, 19 plus to wager. Ontario only, please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact ConX Ontario at 1866-531-260 to speak to an advisor, free of charge. BetMGEM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. That right there was from one of the peaceful No King's protests in Texas, standing tall, Texas,

standing proud. And if you look at the latest polling data, Donald Trump is negative 20.5 in Texas of all of the states he won, where he is underwater, even more so than Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Iowa, Trump negative 20.5. I'll show this to you as well, the handmaid's protest that went down as well in Fort Worth. Let's play it. Now people in Texas are getting hit from all sides from this Trump regime, from the MAGA Republicans, from their MAGA Republican Governor Greg Abbott, whether it's their health insurance premiums going up,

whether it's the fact that Abbott did not even opt into Medicaid expansion, whether it's utility costs, insurance costs, the general cost of living people from Texas, again, are getting hit from all sides. Trump's tariffs against the world, hurting small businesses. I mean, you hear stories like this all across Texas, North Texas, shoe designer, hit hard. by those tariffs, has to pass the costs on to her customers.

And we've seen small businesses have been gutted and decimated by this Trump regime, 120,000 small business job losses last month. And just take a look at what's happening in North Texas. You see why? Let's play it. Tariff war continues. One local shoe designer tells NBC 5's Vince Sims that tariffs on her latest invoice are threatening the future of her beloved business.

this one as well with the creative mind behind these intricately carved shoes is lucky lu shoes owner lulu von houtred i'll get 20 years of my life and i i wouldn't do anything else there's there's nothing else i want to do she knows tariffs were impacting a lot of things but she wasn't expecting the tabs she got on this year's order at the most my my duties will come in at like two to three thousand dollars at the most depending on my order um this week last week i got an order a small order I got a $16,000 duty. I just started crying because I knew I knew that it was going to have such an impact

on everything I've done in my life. Von Hotrich says like everyone else, she's had to raise her prices. Hopefully the customers will pay. They'll understand and pay, but I'm finding the customers are sort of pushing back a little bit. Normally October, November are really good months for me coming into Christmas,

and I'm probably at about 40% less than I would be at this time. year last year. Let's talk about health care costs as well, as I mentioned. Abbott opts out of Medicaid expansion. Now the Affordable Care Act premiums skyrocketing as Trump and Maggie refused to extend the subsidies. Here, take a look at what's going on in Texas. Health care costs are ready to climb for millions of Americans and data shows costs for Texans will likely be well above the national average. So the enhanced premium tax credits that kept plans of are set to expire at the end of this year.

And if Congress does not extend them, then premiums are set to skyrocket next year. Fox Sports Casey Stiegel, live from the newsroom with all this, Casey. Hey, Steve Heather, good evening. Texas is one of 10 states that did not expand Medicaid back in 2012, which means millions here rely on buying private plans through the federal marketplace. And as people prepare to renew their coverage for 2026, analysts warn of true sticker shock. Open enrollment for health insurance begins this Saturday, but with the enhanced federal tax credits about to expire, next year's costs are expected to soar. When those tax credits go away, those Texans that were able to come into the market and get that affordable coverage, they're going to find that their coverage is now a lot more expensive in most cases about double.

According to the Texas Association of Health Plans, average premiums nationwide are projected to climb roughly 75. Here in Texas, it's expected to top 115%, which means the average monthly cost for a family is forecasted to jump from $1,600 to more than $3,400. Wow, wow, wow. And I do want to mention as well because everyone knows now that the Supreme Court allowed Texas to gerrymander those maps, Trump and Habit to try to pick up those five additional Republican seats, what they believe is going to happen. That was based on a view that Hispanic voters were moving towards Trump.

But Trump's support with Hispanics in Texas and throughout the country has collapsed. Negative 58 net approval among the Hispanic community. Let's bring in Bobby Cole, Democratic candidate for governor in Texas. Cattle Rancher, firefighter. Bobby, you're running for governor in Texas. You think you're going to be able to, you think you're going to be able to flip this thing man? Yeah, I think so. I mean, your run-up tells the tail. We're talking about doubling of health insurance premiums in this state. And then you got your insurance premiums

going up on your car, your house, utility costs are going up, mortgages are going up, interest rates. I don't even understand what this Republican Party is wanting to do. It's almost like they don't want anybody to vote for them. And the only way I can explain that is they don't want your vote. They're going to, they're going to gerrymander their way in, or they're simply not going to have a vote anymore. So, you know, when you got the Supreme Court in your back pocket, other than that, I can't explain why they want to attack the working men and women of Texas like they do. Well, look, you know, partisanship is so deeply entrenched and people are growing up in Texas thinking, you know, if you're a Republican, can never vote Democrat. You know, they'd almost

rather have Putin based on what Trump and Abbott are saying. I mean, you probably, you know, so. I've heard that. You know, and you have there all of this disinformation that's being spread. But like the government, you know, Abbott, I mean, whether it's with all of the costs, utilities, insurance, Heck, the floods in the Guadalupe River that, you know, I mean, it's now something that's not even being discussed nationally, but at a state and local level, the refusal to accept certain federal funds to have emergency responses, and then it just moves on and let's focus on gerrymandering versus giving emergency relief there. I mean, it's just, how do you get over, though, the fact that it is such the deep

entrenched partisanship in that state where people keep voting for a guy and Abbott who, you know, seems to keep giving the middle finger to the people. Well, I mean, before this state was Republican, it was Democrat. And so there's still hope that Democrats can wrestle this state back. I don't understand why you want to be a head of a state government where you essentially want to tear it down to the point. that doesn't function for the people, which is what the government's for. And so the only way that makes sense is that you're really just cutting it up and dicing it up

so that you and your cronies and billionaires can profit from other people's lack of services. And so I'm running because I believe in government, because government is the people. the people are the government. So I would run, I am running for governor because I want to make government actually work for the people and actually meet their needs, you know, where they, where they live at their kitchen table, in their jobs, in their education, and in their health care, and in affordability. Talk to us about your background. I spoke a little bit about it, cattle rancher, firefighter, what made you want to step into this area and even run for office? And you're getting a lot of attention out there in your race, I might add. But without really

a political background other than maybe you and I share a student government president or running for student government back in high school. Yeah, it's been, it's been a while since I've had to run a campaign. But with that being said, um, Even though I haven't participated in running for office, I'm absolutely invested in where this state goes and what it becomes. And to put it on a more granular level when I decided to run was when Trump got elected again. And, you know, I know an authoritarian when I hear and seem. And so I've been struggling my whole life to build a legacy,

to leave my kids. And I feel that legacy is at risk, their futures at risk. And then the overarching legacy that we've all been given by generations before us, our democracy is also at risk. And so, you know, I harken back to when, you know, my grandparents raised me a lot of time when I was young

because my parents were young and starting out. So I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. And my granddad's, you know, they sacrificed and served in World War II. And when war broke out, the government didn't come to them and say, hey, would it be convenient? Do you have the time to go fight for your country? They didn't ask.

They just said, you know, your service is demanded. Here's a gun and slapped them on the back and said, go fight for your country. And so that's the attitude I took. you know, I really don't have the time to do this, but I'm going to make the time, and I don't have the money to do this, but I'm going to find a way to make it work because when I tell you, I am concerned about the future of this day. The futures are youth, our children. If you're not going to fight for that, I don't know what you'll fight for.

And that's the reason I decide to run, and I'll touch. on the thing i started it off with there's this maga movement afoot and it's an authoritarian movement and uh what i believed was if you if you could find the right kind of candidate uh abbott is is is vulnerable in rural texas if you run a candidate that is from rural texas that has lived in rural texas has worked in rural texas and has been raised with the value the values that rural Texans are raised with, that his message could resonate. And if that candidate could break through and become the Democratic governor of Texas, it would be a big red roadblock to this MAGA movement nationally.

And that's what I'm prepared to do and that's what I'm going to do. Bobby, where can people find out more about your campaign and learn more about you as a candidate? They can go to cold for governor.com. You can read about my positions. You can also access all my social media feeds. And like I said, if you want to help support and donate, donations are gladly accepted. I am grassroots. This campaign is about the people, and I need the people's help.

And I'm prepared. I am the candidate that can do in Texas what is. generation it's been a generation since i as a democrat i can win this state i am change i am the agent of change and i am for working families and uh i'm for fair wages and economic justice and i'm for protecting the legacy of democracy that's been left to all of us and i want to make sure it's given to the next generation bobby cole thanks for joining us okay thank you ben everybody hit subscribe let's get to six million subscribers want to stay plugged in become a subscriber to our substack at midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from ron philipkowski

add free episodes of our podcasts and more exclusive content only available at midasplus com.