Axios Dallas

May 11, 2026
Happy Monday! Do not burn what you don't understand.
🌥️ Today's weather: High in the upper 70s.
🎵 Sounds like: "Life Is A Highway"
Today's newsletter is 1,053 driven words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Democrats hope local wins are a good omen
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa says recent school board and city council election results across the state signal hope for Democrats running in statewide races — but politics watchers tell Axios the suggestion is tenuous.
Why it matters: No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994, but Democratic candidates are eager to show this year is different.
Driving the news: Hinojosa, a state lawmaker who faces Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, declared in a news release that this month's election results have illustrated "the coalition that's going to send Greg Abbott packing in November."
State of play: Hinojosa cited local election results across the state.
- In Arlington, for example, Democratic-aligned Brittney Garcia-Dumas flipped a City Council seat in the 5th District.
- In Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Matthew White, Lindsey Sheguit, and Darrell Brown ousted GOP-aligned incumbents on the district's Board of Trustees.
- And, in Denton, Democratic-aligned Jordan Villarreal won a City Council seat in the 1st District, while Democratic-aligned Anita Martinez-Strickland won a seat on the Denton ISD Board of Trustees.
Yes, but: GOP-aligned candidates still have clout in some suburban areas. In North Richland Hills, three conservative-backed candidates won seats on the City Council.
- Mayor Jack McCarty, also endorsed by Republicans, was reelected to a second term.
The big picture: Special elections across the country have reflected Democratic voters' enthusiasm — or, put another way, desperation — in the Trump era.
- In January, Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a Texas Senate district in Tarrant County, beating President Trump-backed Republican and Patriot Mobile Executive Leigh Wambsganss.
The other side: "Every election, Democrats claim Texas is turning blue. Every election, Texans reject their radical agenda of open borders, boys in girls' sports, higher taxes, and soft-on-crime policies," Eduardo Leal, spokesperson for the Abbott campaign, tells Axios.
- "This November will be no different."
The intrigue: Democrats are "taking a page out of the Republican playbook in the Obama years," Austin McCarty, a government affairs adviser who previously worked for the Texas Association of Counties, tells Axios.
- "Republicans became hyperfocused on municipal, county and school district races. That led to results farther up the ballot. ... Wins have a way of creating momentum for a party."
2. 👀 Reality check: Why experts say local results mean little for November
While local elections wins indicate grassroots enthusiasm, they're also of limited value for predicting statewide races in November, experts tell Axios.
Reality check: The elections Hinojosa cites (👆) are nonpartisan. The candidates are not running on the ballot as Republican or Democratic, one of the reasons the results could have limited implications for November, Mark Jones, a Rice University political science professor, tells Axios.
- "At the end of the day, these races are about local issues," he says. In a state that has voted for Republicans the last 30 years, elections could be different when an R or D is by the candidates' names, he said.
- Also, turnout is dramatically lower in May elections — typically in the single-digits — compared to 45.9% of registered voters in the 2022 midterm election.
Follow the money: A lot more money will be at play, too. Republican statewide candidates in Texas typically have more money available than Democrats.
- As of late February, per the latest campaign finance reports, Texans for Greg Abbott had $95 million on hand. Hinojosa's campaign had $617,635.
Between the lines: For Hinojosa "to have any hope, she has to create some level of belief among Democratic donors that she has some potential for victory," Jones tells Axios.
The bottom line: Abbott leads Hinojosa by 6 percentage points among registered voters in the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll.
- Yes, but: That's a narrower margin than in the group's February poll, which showed Abbott leading by 10 points.
3. 🎥 Tourism as reality TV
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his wife of 27 years, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, are returning to their reality-TV roots with a stop at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
- They loaded up their kids for "The Great American Road Trip," an online series tied to civic engagement for America's 250th.
The intrigue: The nine Duffy kids range from age 6 to 26. Different assortments joined various cross-country stops over the past seven months, including a kickoff with President Trump in the Oval Office and in Texas.
- The production was funded by a business-backed nonprofit that partnered with the Transportation Department.
Flashback: The secretary starred in MTV's "The Real World" in his 20s, and met Campos-Duffy while filming "Road Rules: All Stars."
What they're saying: "To love America is to see America. It's more than a roadtrip; it's a civic experience," he says in the roadtrip series' trailer.
- The five episodes begin dropping in early June.
4. 🗞 Burnt ends: Bite-sized news bits
💰 A Dallas County committee will discuss a proposed tax to fund housing and outreach efforts for residents facing homelessness. (KERA)
🏀 The Dallas Mavericks earned the ninth pick for the 2026 NBA draft in Sunday's lottery. (DMN)
🚨 DART police officers were involved in a shooting Sunday evening near the Victory Park station. (CBS11)
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5. 🧽 One amusing Google Maps page to go
Universal Kids Resort hasn't even opened yet but its Google Maps page is bumping.
- As of Friday, 90 people had left Google reviews that have nothing to do with the experience of going but more about their feelings about the 94-acre project in Frisco.
Driving the news: Universal hasn't yet announced an opening date for the park, saying that it will open sometime this year. Many North Texans aren't happy with the obscurity.
What they're saying: "Can y'all put the date when it opens? Otherwise I'm leaving a 1 star review until I can finally go here!" one person writes.
- Another person claimed to have broken into the unopened park. "Tripped on rebar. Almost died fear future lazy river. Staff nonexistent. Do not recommend," they wrote.
- One person left a "positive review thanking Universal for thinking of Frisco & our little ones."
The other side: "We truly appreciate your enthusiasm and patience, and we can't wait to share more details as they're announced," a park spokesperson tells Axios.
This newsletter was edited by Bob Gee.
Our picks:
Tasha is envious of this Euless school's class on forestry and woodworking.
🤩 Naheed is envious of Tasha's welding skills.
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