Bobby Cole

But with that being said, even though I haven't participated in running for office, I'm absolutely invested in where this state goes and what it becomes.

And to put it on a more granular level, when I decided to run was when Trump got elected again.

And I know an authoritarian when I hear and seen.

And so I've been struggling my whole life to build a legacy to leave my kids.

And I feel that that legacy's at risk, their future's at risk.

And then the overarching legacy that we've all been given by generations before us, our democracy, is also at risk.

And so, you know, I hearken back to when, you know, my grandparents raised me, you know, a lot of time when I was young, because my parents were young and starting out, so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents.

And my granddads, you know, they sacrificed and served in World War II.

And when war broke out, the government didn't come to them and say, hey, would it be convenient?

Do you have the time to go fight for your country?

They didn't ask.

They just said, you know, your service is demanded.

Here's a gun and slapped him on the back and said, go fight for your country.

And so that's the attitude I took, you know.

i really don't have the time to do this but i'm going to make the time and i don't have the money to do this but i'm going to find a way to make it work because when i tell you i am concerned about the future of this state uh the future the futures are youth our children uh if you're if you're not gonna fight for that i don't know what you'll fight for and and that's the reason i decided to run

And I'll touch on the thing I started it off with.

There's this MAGA movement afoot, and it's an authoritarian movement.

And what I believed was if you could find the right kind of candidate, Abbott is vulnerable in rural Texas.

If you run a candidate that is from rural Texas,

that has lived in rural Texas, has worked in rural Texas, and has been raised with the values that rural Texans are raised with, that his message could resonate.