East Texas rancher running for governor as a Democrat, says he’ll fight for the working man
Published 5:45 am Friday, July 18, 2025
He’s a rancher and retired firefighter from East Texas, and he’s hoping to be the next governor of Texas.
Quitman resident Bobby Cole is one of the first Democrats to announce that he’s running for governor in 2026, and if elected, he says he’ll fight for the working man and defend people’s personal freedoms.
“I’m a husband, and I’m a father and a grandfather. That’s where I come from, and I’m a working man, and so I’m worried about how working people are going to make ends meet nowadays,” Cole said during a rally Thursday in Longview. “I feel they’re not the priority they once were, especially with the Democratic Party and with the Republican Party. I’m here to try to change that.”
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A longtime farmer and rancher, Cole has a herd of about 300 cattle on roughly 800 or 900 acres of land he owns or leases. His family moved from Houston to Quitman when he was in the second grade, and he has lived there since. He was a firefighter for 20 years and retired as a lieutenant from the Plano Fire Department in 2017.
Cole is the second farmer and rancher who has announced he’s running for governor as a Democrat. Benjamin Flores, a pig farmer and Bay City councilman, also says he’s a candidate, Texas Monthly reported.
As he keeps up his father’s farming tradition, Cole uses New Holland tractors, known for their dark blue paint. “If it’s blue, I drive it,” he said. And the same goes for his politics.
Cole spoke at Thursday’s “Good Trouble Lives On” rally near the Longview Mall, where he donned a well-worn baseball hat, blue jeans and a button-down shirt. He called himself a moderate and “old school” Democrat, patterned after presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson, and he has some political persuasions that cross party lines somewhat.
Democrats, he said, haven’t “hit any home runs for a while.”
“A lot of candidates at the top of the ticket – I figure a lot of people think they don’t speak to them, and they don’t speak to the working class enough and how the struggles of just getting by every day are,” Cole said. “So, I just figured with where I’m from, the way I was raised and understanding those struggles, I might resonate and actually be able to come at it from a little different perspective with a little different story. And maybe I can make hay.”
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His campaign platform includes promoting workers’ rights, lowering property taxes, expanding Medicaid, protecting abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and other issues, according to his website. He also says he’s a gun owner and “will not infringe on your Second Amendment rights,” though lawmakers should pass legislation that gun owners support to keep people safe.
During Thursday’s rally, Cole told the News-Journal that properly funding public schools is one of his top priorities. He would work to dismantle the state’s new school voucher program if elected.
Cole said national politics could threaten healthcare in the state, particularly by causing rural hospitals to lose funding and ultimately close. He said Texas should expand Medicaid, which would allow more low-income people to have health insurance.
LGBTQ+ people feel “under attack and feel that Texas isn’t as friendly a place as it used to be,” Cole said. “I think there’s room that we can be more inviting and accepting of alternative lifestyles.”
The state could spend more to expand broadband internet access, improve public education, help “elderly people live with dignity,” improve roads and help people get jobs, Cole said.
“In the end, that pays benefits over whatever you spend. It’s gonna return two, three, five times fold,” he said.
Cole said working people trying to provide for themselves and raise a family should be interested in his campaign.
“If we get back to helping working men and people in this state, we’ll build broad shoulders that can lift the entire state even further and higher than it is now,” he said. “If it’s not helping the working men and women of this state, and helping billionaires and giant companies instead of them, that’s the wrong priority. We need to reverse that. And those big wigs and big companies will still do alright.”
As a total political newcomer, Cole has set his sights high. Gov. Greg Abbott, who has held the office since 2014, raised $20 million in June for his 2026 reelection campaign and has beaten Democrats by wide margins at the ballot box.
“I’ve always paid attention to politics, but this is my first go ’round,” he said. “So, we might as well go big.”
About Jordan Green
Howdy! I'm Jordan Green, a Report for America corps member covering underserved communities in East Texas for the Longview News-Journal. I'm a native Okie and have been a newsman since 2017. Email me at jordan.green@news-journal.com or call me at 903-237-7743.
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