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Bobby Cole

  • Jan 5
  • 6 min read

Updated: Jan 24

Table of Contents



Disclaimer: The information below summarizes candidate-provided responses and publicly available information. “Considerations for voters” are intended to highlight relevant strengths, gaps, or strategic factors, not to advocate for or against any candidate.



Bobby Cole Texas Governor

Endorsed by Those Meddling Kids - Indivisible Waco


“I’ll veto any bill that prioritizes billionaires and big companies over the needs of the working people of this great state. If it hurts the ability of the folks who have built this state to care for their families, I’ll throw it in the trash and tell ’em to try again.”




Candidate Overview 

Background

  • Retired firefighter and lieutenant

  • Built a small operation into 1,000 acres that raises 300 head of cattle and over 1,000,000 chickens a year that feed American families.


Mission:

  • Stand up to Trump’s extremism and corporate greed, and make sure children grow up in a state that’s of the people, by the people.


Relevant Experience

  • His ideals come from his experience as a cattle farmer for over 30 years.

  • He knows what we need fixed because he’s been in our shoes.

  • His hallmark is a no-nonsense approach to solving problems–common sense and practical.

  • He's a pro-worker Democrat who won’t shy away from a policy fight, he’s ready to work as hard in Austin as he does on his farm.


Notable Positions & Focus Areas

  • Fund public schools

  • Winterize and modernize the power grid

  • Legalize marijuana

  • Raise the minimum wage

  • Protect workers' rights

  • Support veterans

  • Protect Medicare & rural healthcare

  • Practical & respectful immigration reform

  • Protect women's & LGBTQ+ rights

  • Safety-focused gun laws


Considerations for Voters

  • No experience in an elected office (may not be a bad thing)

  • He seems like your average everyday Texan, and maybe that’s what we need to run our state.





Positions


Democratic Values

Stance:

Cole frames democracy as restoring trust between government and everyday Texans, emphasizing accountability, accessibility, and people-powered leadership over elite control.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Reducing the influence of big donors and corporate interests

  • Supporting expanded access to voting and civic participation

  • Holding elected officials accountable for abuses of power

  • Supporting ranked-choice voting and expanded polling access


Approach to Increasing Participation:

  • Focuses on rural and disengaged voters often written off by Democrats

  • Prioritizes in-person engagement, town halls, and consistent presence

  • Uses plain-spoken, lived-experience messaging over partisan framing


Democratic Norms & Threats Identified:

  • Concentration of political power among elites and billionaires

  • Public disengagement caused by lack of responsiveness

  • Barriers to participation that discourage turnout


Notable Emphasis:

  • Rebuilding democracy through trust and service, not just structural reform




Healthcare

Stance:

Cole supports expanding access to affordable healthcare as a core responsibility of state government, with particular urgency for rural Texans.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Immediate Medicaid expansion

  • Protecting Medicare and strengthening rural healthcare systems

  • Expanding healthcare access for uninsured Texans


Reproductive Healthcare:

  • Protects bodily autonomy, including access to abortion care

  • Opposes government interference in personal healthcare decisions


Populations Centered:

  • Uninsured Texans

  • Rural communities facing hospital closures

  • Working families burdened by healthcare costs


Relevant Expertise & Preparation:

  • Firsthand experience with system failures through emergency response work

  • Lived exposure to healthcare gaps in rural communities


Notable Emphasis:

  • Treats healthcare as a life-and-death issue, not an ideological one




Equity & Representation

Stance:

Cole emphasizes inclusion through presence and listening rather than formal identity-based frameworks.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Centering working people, rural Texans, and those living paycheck to paycheck

  • Protecting LGBTQ+ rights and opposing discrimination

  • Supporting humane criminal justice reforms, including ending for-profit prisons


Approach:

  • Engaging communities directly rather than relying on institutional gatekeepers

  • Prioritizing voices without political access or lobbyists


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Longstanding work in labor-intensive, rural, and emergency service roles

  • Campaign built around grassroots conversations across the state


Notable Emphasis:

  • Equity framed through economic fairness and dignity rather than rhetoric




Economy & Cost of Living

Stance:

Cole’s economic vision centers on restoring affordability and dignity for working families through wages, labor rights, and cost relief.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Raising the minimum wage

  • Protecting workers’ right to organize

  • Legalizing marijuana and expunging low-level offenses

  • Using cannabis tax revenue to lower property taxes


Cost-of-Living Focus Areas:

  • Wages and job security

  • Housing affordability via tax relief

  • Healthcare and utility costs


Populations Centered:

  • Working-class Texans

  • Rural families

  • Texans living paycheck to paycheck


Approach to Economic Policy:

  • Practical, revenue-backed proposals

  • Opposition to culture-war distractions

  • Focus on policies with broad public support


Notable Emphasis:

  • Economic justice as the foundation for democratic participation




Texas Issues

Stance:

Cole prioritizes infrastructure, public safety, and climate resilience as essential governance responsibilities.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Winterizing and modernizing the power grid

  • Supporting a balanced energy portfolio

  • Protecting water, land, and air for future Texans


Approach to Climate Resilience:

  • Acknowledges climate change as real

  • Emphasizes preparedness and system reliability

  • Rejects false choices between renewables and oil & gas


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Emergency response background during system failures

  • Agricultural experience dependent on stable infrastructure


Notable Emphasis:

  • Frames infrastructure failure as preventable and unacceptable




Education

Stance

Cole views public education as a public good critical to Texas’s future workforce and economy.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Fully funding public schools

  • Raising teacher pay

  • Ending voucher schemes that divert public funds


Approach:

  • Focus on accountability and equity in public education

  • Opposes privatization through vouchers


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Direct exposure to rural education challenges

  • Advocacy grounded in community stability and opportunity


Notable Emphasis:

  • Education as an investment, not an expense




Accountability, Ethics, & Leadership

Stance:

Cole emphasizes honesty, correction of mistakes, and transparency as non-negotiable leadership traits.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Rejecting undue donor influence

  • Public correction of errors when made

  • Transparent campaign reporting


Approach:

  • Views criticism as feedback, not threat

  • Prioritizes trust over political optics


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Firefighter leadership under pressure

  • Crisis decision-making with real consequences


Notable Emphasis:

  • Moral clarity over political convenience




Immigration

Stance:

Cole treats immigration as a federal issue requiring humane, practical solutions rather than political theater.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Humane immigration reform with due process

  • Reducing the role of ICE in civil enforcement

  • Ending performative border policies

  • Provide a pathway to citizenship


Approach:

  • Rejects dehumanization and scapegoating

  • Centers economic and community stability


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Engagement with working families affected by immigration policy

  • Grounded in economic realism, not fear-based narratives


Notable Emphasis:

  • Human dignity over political posturing





Candidate Qualifications

Stance:

Cole presents himself as a non-career politician rooted in service, responsibility, and lived experience.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Pro-worker, anti-corporate governance

  • Commitment to accessibility before and after election


Approach:

  • Hands-on, community-first leadership

  • Relies on experts when appropriate


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Retired firefighter and lieutenant

  • Farmer, cattleman, and poultry producer

  • Crisis leadership and system accountability


Notable Emphasis:

  • Governing as service, not ambition




Scorecard Summary


Our Score: 34/34

Strong alignment with TMK-Indivisible Waco’s endorsement criteria.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Expanding voting access and protecting democratic participation

  • Raising wages, protecting workers’ rights, and legalizing marijuana

  • Medicaid expansion, rural hospital support, and reproductive freedom

  • Fully funding public education and raising teacher pay

  • Winterizing the power grid and preparing for extreme weather

  • Humane immigration reform and reducing ICE’s role in civil enforcement


Approach:

  • Grounds policy in lived experience rather than ideology

  • Focuses on rural, working-class, and disengaged voters

  • Prioritizes transparency, correction of mistakes, and public accountability

  • Rejects political theater in favor of practical governance


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Retired firefighter and lieutenant with crisis leadership experience

  • Longtime farmer, cattleman, and poultry producer

  • Firsthand experience with infrastructure failures and emergency response

  • Deep familiarity with rural economic and healthcare challenges


Notable Emphasis:

  • Strong alignment with pro-worker, pro-democracy values

  • Clear support for bodily autonomy and LGBTQ+ rights

  • Frames equity primarily through economic dignity and access rather than formal DEI structures







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