I should have been a bit more precise, because I agree with you. There are reasons to visit Amarillo and Lubbock. What I meant by "Panhandle" was basically a shorthand for the parts of North and West Texas where nobody lives, and even fewer progressives live. Beto was definitely onto something with the approach his campaign took, but in retrospect I think he wishes he would have spent less time in places like Muleshoe and Dumas and more time in the 40 most populous counties (which should include basically every "hub" of anticonservative voters), where I figure well over 80 percent of the voters live. If you have the time, money, and inclination, sure hit up all 254 counties, but make sure to maximize the ROI of those limited resources.
The other thing to know is that 2026 and 2018 are completely different political moments. Nobody could have anticipated a global pandemic, and while Trump 1 was horrible it was not until 2020 that normal people realized how much of an existential threat to daily life that his incompetent leadership posed and not until 2024 that intelligent people realized how gullible, forgetful, short-sighted, and selfish that normal voters could be. What might have made sense to do and say back in 2018 could be an unmitigated disaster in the age of ChatGPT, mass surveillance, and concentration camps. Look to Zohran Mamdani for guidance.
Zohran did not hire overpaid consultants to find out what voters wanted. He literally just walked up to them and asked.
On local issues, the people spoke with a common voice: Things need to be more affordable.
I can't stress this enough: Zohran talked to these people in Winter 2024-2025, right after Trump's win, before anyone knew his name or could recognize his face. At the time he was considered more than a longshot and barely on the radar of any pollsters. The lesson here is that if you want to know what voters want, talk to them directly. They will tell you.
Zohran's campaign was, and is, positive and authentic. Reminiscent of Beto 2018. He toured every precinct in every borough. His love for NYC is totally infectious, as Beto's love of Texas was in 2018. No matter how many times someone tried to bait him into abandoning his values, especially as they apply to Israel's Genocide in Gaza, Zohran stayed true to himself and never apologized for what he believes in. Zohran's authenticity resonates with voters much more than any focus-tested, consultant-approved "messaging" could ever even hope to do. The lesson here is that voters will reward candidates who take principled stances when those stances reflect the candidate's sincere beliefs.
Talarico may be able to adapt some of the lessons from Zohran's campaign to a statewide race in Texas against Ken Paxton (or John Cornyn), but my initial read on the guy is that he's a bit too cozy with the donors and consultants. He's a bit too safe, and a bit too "nice" for this fight. He's still much more capable of learning from Mamdani's success than Allred is, so maybe he'll show us something.