Red state Republicans find 'boogeyman' to attack to terrify their own voters

Muslim Americans have emerged as the go-to target for Republican candidates in a red state's 2026 primary elections, with one GOP consultant openly admitting that Muslims had become the “boogeyman for this cycle,” Politico reported Monday.

“One hundred percent this message works – there’s no question about it,” said Texas Republican consultant Vinny Minchillo, speaking with Politico. “This has been polled up one side and down the other, and with Texas Republican primary voters, it works. It is a thing they are legitimately scared of.”

Scheduled to kick off on March 3, Texas’ GOP primary elections have seen several prominent Republicans take shots at each other, and often by accusing their opponents of being soft on “radical Islam.” For instance, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s challenging Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for his seat, attacked the incumbent for their past support for an Afghan refugee resettlement program.

Cornyn himself has declared “radical Islam” to be a “bloodthirsty ideology” in his own campaign ads, Texas attorney general GOP candidate Aaron Reitz vowed in an ad that he would “stop the invasion" of Muslims into Texas, and Texas GOP congressional candidate Valentina Gomez has infamously burned a copy of the Quran – the central religious text of Islam – and urged all American Muslims to “f--- off” to Muslim-majority nations.

Muslim Americans make up just over 1% of Texas’ population, and Republicans’ attacks on the community, according to Democratic strategist Joel Montfort, were nothing more than a cynical ploy to achieve electoral victories.

“The Texas GOP has declared war on Islam in Texas, claiming that Islamic leaders in the state are implementing Sharia law and using it in court,” Montfort told Politico. “None of it is true, it is just fearmongering and racism to stir up the GOP base and get them to vote.”