CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas Democrats concluded their three-day 2026 state convention at the Hilliard Center Arena in Corpus Christi on Saturday, sending thousands of energized delegates and volunteers back to their communities with a unified message: end the Republican Party’s 30-year hold on every statewide office in November.
Sherman, the Grayson County seat with roughly 45,000 residents, is located about 65 miles north of Dallas and is home to major employers including Texas Instruments and Tyson Foods.
The convention drew a roster of national speakers. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered the closing keynote, calling on Democrats to stand together against what he described as billionaire control of the political system. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey addressed a crowd of nearly 4,000 during his keynote, urging delegates to frame the election in moral terms. “This is not about left or right anymore,” Booker said. “It’s about right or wrong.”
We know that when we stand together as one people, the oligarchs and all of their money will never defeat it. Let’s go out and do it.
— **Sen. Bernie Sanders**, closing keynote, Texas Democratic Convention
Gina Hinojosa, the party’s gubernatorial nominee from Austin, framed the election as a choice between the people and billionaires, criticizing Governor Greg Abbott’s school voucher program and what she termed a “Greg Abbott corruption tax” on everyday Texans. James Talarico, the U.S. Senate nominee, closed Friday night to one of the loudest ovations of the convention, emphasizing a politics of “love” that can heal divisions.
