November 1, 2018 500 AM
ALPINE – Thousands of new, young voters in Texas could change the political landscape in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994, the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner said here Tuesday. Kim Olson of Mineral Wells, who is running against Republican Sid Miller, told a small gathering at the newly-renovated Ritchey Hotel that she is going to win. “For one thing, we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore,” she said. “Texas has more women in politics and more combat veterans than any other state.” Olson is a retired US Air Force colonel who flew KC-135 refueling tankers, including a in tour in Iraq. “For years, no one paid much attention to Texas politics,” she said. “But now the eyes of the nation are on Beto.” Democrat Beto O’Roarke of El Paso is challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. “We are a non-voting state,” Olson said. “In the last election, 70 percent of Democratic women did not vote.” She said 18- to 25-year olds don’t vote but after Parkland, Santa Fe, the bathroom bill and many others, they have gotten mobilized to vote for Democrats like never before. “The young are coming out to vote,” she said. Asked why she adopted the Democrat philosophy, she said agriculture is not political. “It is not red or blue, it’s red, white and blue, she said.
