Texas
“Vibe shift”: Young Texas voters, motivated by Kamala Harris, lock into the presidential election
/static.texastribune.org/media/files/42ed697901b8c9cca49bf2919414e644/Young%20Voters%20Kaylee%20Caudle%20JB%20TT%2040.jpg?ssl=1 "“Vibe shift”: Young Texas voters, motivated by Kamala Harris, lock into the presidential election")
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For Kaylee Caudle, 19, the vibes around the election were off.
This Nov. 5 is the first time Caudle will be old enough to cast a ballot in a presidential election. She won’t vote for former President Donald Trump; his rhetoric and conservative policies don’t line up with her values, she said, especially on issues like reproductive rights and the environment. So for a lack of better options she expected to vote for President Joe Biden, even though she thought he was a little too old to run again.
“It was hard to get excited when everyone seemed so depressed about the election,” said Caudle, a sophomore at Rice University. “The vibe wasn’t there.”
Then came the memes.
In July, Caudle’s social media feeds were flooded with clips of Vice President Kamala Harris’ speeches overlaid with synth-pop beats and viral dance sequences. Pop star Charlie XCX declared “kamala is BRAT,” a key endorsement that rang out across her Generation Z fandom. In a nod to a now-viral speech where Harris quoted her mother saying “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree,” coconut emojis rained across TikTok. All of a sudden, the election was fun.
Caudle says Harris’ ascendancy to the top of the Democratic ticket jump-started her excitement to cast her first vote this November — and encourage friends and family to get registered, too.
“The memes are ridiculous, but they’re really catchy and a good way of reminding people that this is a great candidate who isn’t like 80 years old and also has good policies,” Caudle said.
The new matchup between Trump and Harris is helping Democrats close the enthusiasm gap, in part by capturing the attention and interest of young voters who historically vote at lower rates than older generations. But the historic nature of Harris’ candidacy as the party’s first Black woman and South Asian presidential nominee, coupled with the rapid shift in the campaign’s tone, has young voters of all political stripes taking a hard look — some for the first time — at the role they could play in November.
“I feel like with a female president, it’s a whole new perspective. You see it from a different angle,” said Daijha Davis, a sophomore at Texas Southern University. Davis, who will also cast her first ever ballot this November, said she hadn’t paid much attention to Trump or Biden’s records in office and had been a “little torn” on her vote. But the Harris campaign’s revitalized social media presence has won her over and she is now prepared to vote for Harris.
If motivated, Gen Z voters could have a major impact on elections. Texas’ population has the second youngest median age of any state, other than Utah. And in 2020, there were about 1.3 million Texans ages 18 to 24 who were registered to vote. Those voters have historically turned out to vote at rates lower than any other age range, with voter participation rates increasing steadily as age ranges increase.
About 43% of young Texans aged 18-29 voted in 2020 — an eleven point increase from 2016. 66% of all eligible voters and 76% of eligible voters age 64 and older voted that same year.
Jeremi Suri, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin, predicted that Harris’ rise would help Democrats “enormously” with young Texans, who are especially concentrated in urban areas and disproportionately non-white. They might not be able to swing a presidential election on their own, he said, but could influence down ballot races.
“Harris can speak to young people’s issues in a way that neither of the other two candidates can,” Suri said, citing gun violence and reproductive rights as top issues. “She’s in the cultural, social, educational world of young people, much more than the two old men.”
The social media presence whirlwind surrounding Harris has engaged young Democrats, said Olivia Julianna, a Houston-based Gen Z influencer.
“So many young people who have kind of been filled with dread or not knowing what was going to happen … now have so much energy and are so excited, not just to vote for Kamala but also volunteer and make videos,” Julianna said.
But Gen Z isn’t monolithically supporting Democrats. Nationally, polling shows that Gen Z men are more conservative than previous generations. The ideology gap between young men and women has widened as reproductive rights have become one of the top issues for women and younger men feel more welcomed in the Republican party. Polls earlier this year have shown Biden losing support among young voters to Trump.
Those young conservatives are likely to be as repelled by Harris’ candidacy as they were with Biden’s, regardless of their age, said Sam Somogye, executive director of the Texas Young Republicans.
Harris’ handling of immigration issues and her stance on gun rights would be particularly alienating to young Texans, Somogye predicted.
“Saying she wants to ban assault rifles and attack the Second Amendment is not going to play well,” said Somogye. “Whoever advised her to come to Texas, of all places and say that clearly shows that her campaign and the Biden administration is grossly out of touch with the American people and especially Texas voters.
Arshia Papari, a sophomore at UT-Austin, said he had been undecided between voting for Biden or a third-party candidate, citing the Biden Administration’s support for Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war despite the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
While Biden has repeatedly called for an end of the war, the U.S. has continued to support Israel through military aid and diplomatic backing. The war has become a flashpoint for many college campuses, with many young progressives leading protests to support a free Palestine and calling on universities to divest from companies tied to Israel and weapons manufacturing.
Despite his frustration at the Biden administration’s response, Papari has come around to supporting Harris. The vice president is not only younger, but seems more open to listening to young voters’ concerns, he said.
Arshia Papari stands below the UT Tower in Austin on Aug. 6, 2024 Papari, a rising sophomore is majoring in government.
Credit:
Olivia Anderson/The Texas Tribune
Harris said last month that she would “not be silent” about the humanitarian toll of more than 39,000 people killed during the campaign in Gaza.
“I would like her to take further action and decisive action to pull US support for Israel’s atrocities and bring us back to the right side of history,” Papari said of Harris, adding that she seems “more empathetic on the Gaza issue” than Biden or Trump.
Fatima Qasem, a senior at the University of Houston, disagreed. “Based on Kamala’s actions, or inaction, we have not seen evidence of her policy being different from Biden’s.”
Qasem, 19, said that many students who consider the Israel-Hamas war a central issue are unlikely to be swayed by Harris’ candidacy. Only a call for a permanent ceasefire and withholding of all aid from Israel would persuade such voters to support Harris, said Qasem, a member of her campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Many SJP chapters are politically neutral and do not advocate on behalf of or against candidates, Qasem said. Still, her chapter has encouraged young people to consider a range of options outside of voting, including supporting third party candidates, or not voting at all.
Sneha Kesevan, 21, is one of those young voters who are undecided between voting for Harris or a third-party candidate.
The pre-med student at UT-Austin, said she too noticed a “vibe shift” upon Biden’s withdrawal but wanted to see more evidence that a Harris administration would actually put an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“What are you going to do to stop it? Instead of just saying, like, we need to end this war,” Kesavan said. “Even if she is saying something and still doesn’t lead to the action, then what does [Harris] believe?”
She would have a better understanding of Harris’ positions, Kesavan said, if there had been any debates or primary process. Before the Democratic Party anointed Harris as the nominee – there were talks between party leaders of the idea of having a mini-primary if Biden decided to drop out.
“I really wanted to see how that pan[ned] out,” Kesavan said. “The idea of a mini party convention sounds more democratic.”
Disclosure: Rice University, Texas Southern University – Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin and University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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Texas is planning its grid around an unprecedented wave of AI-driven power demand that the state’s energy regulator says may not fully materialize on projected timelines.
In a recent filing to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) projected statewide power demand could surge to nearly 368 GW by 2032 – more than four times the state’s current peak demand record of 85.5 GW. But the filing also contains an unusual warning from the grid operator itself.
“ERCOT has concerns with using the preliminary load forecast values for the Reliability Assessment and any other transmission and resource adequacy analysis,” the organization wrote in its April 2026 long-term load forecast filing.
The organization added that it may seek adjustments to the forecast based on “actual historical realization rates or other objective, credible, independent information.”
ERCOT has already begun adjusting for realization risk internally. In its 2025 long-term load forecast report, the grid operator said the “average peak consumption per site was 49.8% of the requested MW” and applied that factor to projected non-crypto data center load additions in some planning models.
ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said the forecast reflects “higher-than-expected future load growth” tied to changing large-load planning dynamics.
Texas has emerged as a hotspot for data center growth, with numerous new projects reshaping the energy market and challenging grid capacity. (Image: Alamy)
Texas Developers Race Ahead of Grid Capacity
Texas has emerged as a key data center market, driven by its abundant land, competitive energy prices, and favorable regulatory environment. This combination has positioned the state as a magnet for hyperscale operators and AI infrastructure investments. The state is estimated to account for around 15% of all data center connectivity in the US.
Recent and proposed AI data center campuses tied to OpenAI, Oracle, Meta, Crusoe, CoreWeave, Soluna, and other hyperscale operators are reshaping Texas grid planning. Developers have proposed large campuses across North Texas, Abilene, West Texas, and the Houston corridor, many requiring hundreds of megawatts of capacity and, in some cases, dedicated onsite generation to bypass interconnection delays. That buildout pushed ERCOT’s non-crypto data center forecast above 228 GW by 2032.
Developers are continuing to pursue Texas aggressively because ERCOT still offers faster timelines and more flexible market structures than many competing regions. Several proposed campuses pair AI infrastructure with onsite gas generation, colocated power assets, or flexible-load arrangements to navigate mounting transmission constraints.
Utilities across the US are grappling with AI-driven electricity growth, but ERCOT’s projections stand apart for both scale and uncertainty. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, expects summer peak demand to climb above 241 GW over the next 15 years as data centers and electrification expand. ERCOT, by contrast, projects demand potentially reaching nearly 368 GW by 2032, driven largely by proposed non-crypto data center loads. At the same time, the grid operator openly questions how much of that demand will materialize on schedule.
Bigger Than Texas
Similar pressures are emerging elsewhere. In California, CAISO’s latest transmission plan cited “data center load growth” as a driver of major grid upgrades and described interconnection volumes as “unmanageable” before recent queue reforms.
A recent Grid Strategies report reached a similar conclusion nationally, warning that the “data center portion of utility load forecasts is likely overstated by roughly 25 GW” compared with market-based deployment estimates.
Ihab Osman, an independent strategist specializing in data center and other mission-critical infrastructure, said the distinction is less about “real” versus “fake” AI demand and more about “announced versus deliverable demand.”
“A large share of the current AI/data center planned load should be treated as paper megawatts until it is validated through physical gates,” Osman said, citing factors including site control, transmission deliverability, generation availability, turbine and transformer supply, permitting, financing, and credible energization schedules.
Osman said ERCOT’s forecast is best understood as “a stress-test map, not as a fait accompli build map.”
Separating ’Paper Megawatts’ From Real Demand
The filing shows Texas regulators and grid planners struggling to distinguish operating AI infrastructure from a rapidly expanding pipeline of proposed projects.
“The vast majority” of ERCOT’s projected load growth comes from submissions provided by transmission and distribution utilities, according to the filing. Those requests include hyperscale AI campuses, GPU clusters, and other large industrial loads seeking future grid capacity reservations.
Alison Silverstein, a former senior adviser to the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said “a large proportion” of projects in ERCOT’s large-load interconnection queue have already been canceled, particularly among smaller developers facing long interconnection delays and high turbine and transformer costs.
Forecasts Collide With Physical Infrastructure Limits
ERCOT has also signaled that many projects may not materialize on the timelines shaping transmission planning.
The grid operator said summer 2026 peak demand is likely to land between roughly 90.5 GW and 98 GW – far below the preliminary 112 GW figure embedded in the long-term forecast. ERCOT said it appears “unlikely” that new large-load projects and existing site expansions will ramp quickly enough to push demand that high this year.
The filing suggests uncertainty around AI-related load growth is beginning to influence broader infrastructure planning assumptions. By 2032, ERCOT projects non-crypto data centers reaching 228 GW of demand, compared with just 9 GW from cryptocurrency mining and roughly 3 GW each from hydrogen/e-fuels and oil-and-gas-related industrial growth.
The move also suggests the regulator is no longer simply forecasting AI-driven growth, but also working to determine how much of the proposed boom can actually be financed, supplied, interconnected, and energized before utilities commit billions to long-lived infrastructure.
AUSTIN, Texas — Bravo is developing a new reality series set in the Texas Hill Country, the network announced on Instagram Monday.
“Secrets, Lies, Texas Wives” would follow a group of women in Boerne.
According to the network’s description, the series centers on “a tight-knit circle of glamorous women” navigating family life, ranching, and social obligations in a community rooted in rodeo and tradition. They promise drama with “forbidden romances” and relationship angst.
No premiere date or cast have been announced.
If picked up, the series would join Bravo’s long-running portfolio of region-specific reality franchises, which includes the “Real Housewives” lineup.
AUSTIN, Texas — With the average price of a gallon of gas in Texas topping $4, some leaders from Austin to Washington, D.C., are backing a temporary pause on gas taxes as a way to deliver relief.
Veronica Valdez Rodriguez was pumping gas at a southeast Austin station on Tuesday. She said the rising costs are becoming unmanageable.
“They’re sky high,” Rodriguez said. “I can barely get by, you know? It’s too expensive.”
She said she is spending $40 more every week on gas.
According to AAA Texas, the average cost of a regular gallon of fuel stood at over $4.01 in the Austin area on Tuesday, $1.24 higher than the average one year ago.
President Donald Trump said he is working to pause the federal gas tax, which is 18 cents per gallon.
A reporter asked the president on Monday how long the tax would be suspended.
“Until it’s appropriate. It’s a small percentage, but it’s, you know, it’s still money,” Trump said.
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In Texas, an 18-cent-per-gallon pause could add up to savings of about $2 to $3 on an average tank of gas.
Support for a federal pause is coming from both parties. State Rep. and U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico (D-Austin) backed the idea last month.
“Lowering prices at the pump should be a bipartisan commitment,” Talarico said in a statement Monday.
Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he didn’t know the details of the president’s plan.
“There’s a difference between a temporary suspension and a permanent suspension,” Cornyn said Monday. “I don’t know exactly what the President has in mind. I think a temporary suspension getting through this sort of bumpy time because of uncertainty about energy prices, I can live with that.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa is calling for a state gas tax pause as well. The state tax currently sits at 20 cents per gallon, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
The state pause is also being urged by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who has called on Governor Greg Abbott to act.
“Governors in Indiana, Georgia, and Utah have already stepped up to provide relief for their citizens, and I once again renew my call for Governor Abbott to follow the lead of President Trump and act decisively for Texas families,” Miller wrote on Monday.
The governor’s office, however, said a state gas tax pause is not an option under his executive authority.
In a statement, the governor’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, wrote in response to Miller:
There’s a reason Sid Miller lost his election, it’s because he doesn’t shoot straight with Texans. Any suggestion that the Texas governor is authorized by law to suspend a gas tax is entirely uninformed or purposefully misleading. If the Texas governor could suspend taxes, he would have suspended the property tax years ago.
At the federal level, the Bipartisan Policy Center said a gas tax holiday would require an act of Congress. The group also estimated that a five-month pause could cost as much as $17 billion.
Some drivers, like Rodriguez, said any break would help.
“Pause the taxes!” she said.
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