SHERMAN—Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, members of Congress, and nearly every major Republican statewide candidate descended on Sherman Monday evening for what was likely one of the largest political rallies ever held for a sitting Texas state representative.
The event, hosted by State Rep. Shelley Luther, packed an auditorium of more than 1,000 attendees in Grayson County and brought together a lineup more commonly associated with a statewide convention than a campaign rally for a first-term legislator.
Patrick told the crowd that, to his knowledge, no Texas legislator had ever organized an event in their district that drew so many people.
The lineup included Abbott, Patrick, Paxton, Burrows, U.S. Reps. Pat Fallon and Brandon Gill, State Sen. Brent Hagenbuch, incoming Comptroller Don Huffines via video, Agriculture Commissioner candidate Nate Sheets, Attorney General candidate Mayes Middleton, and Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French.
The event also marked a striking evolution for Luther, a former salon owner who first gained national attention in 2020 after being jailed for reopening her Dallas business in defiance of COVID-19 shutdown orders.
Six years later, the first-term state representative brought together virtually every major Republican leader in Texas—including Abbott, with whom she had publicly clashed during the pandemic.
Speaking before the event, Luther said she intentionally sought to bring Republican leaders together.
“Governor Abbott being willing to come here is huge,” Luther told Texas Scorecard. “If we’re talking about unity, we need to be in the same place at the same time.”
That message was evident from the opening moments of the rally.
Luther acknowledged that she and Abbott “were not the best friends” in 2020.
“I was mad that I went to jail, and I didn’t understand politics,” Luther told the crowd. “Now we’re working together because we have to and we need to because it’s what’s best for you.”
Abbott embraced the message, praising Luther’s work in the Legislature and calling her one of the Capitol’s most passionate advocates for her constituents.
“There is no one in the Capitol who has as much passion for her constituents as Shelley Luther,” Abbott said.
Throughout his remarks, Abbott highlighted legislation Luther supported dealing with foreign land ownership, election integrity, border security, women’s privacy, and Sharia law before urging attendees to re-elect Republicans across the ballot.
The governor also addressed one of Grayson County’s most prominent local issues: opposition to large data center projects in rural communities.
“I care what rural Texans think about data centers,” Abbott said.
He outlined what he described as guardrails for future projects, including requiring developers to pay their own way, bring additional power to the electric grid, and reuse their own water.
“You cannot build in rural Texas neighborhoods. Period,” Abbott said.
Abbott also reiterated his property tax priorities, including lowering the annual appraisal cap, requiring a two-thirds vote for property tax increases, reducing the frequency of appraisals, and eventually eliminating school property taxes on homesteads.
Burrows’ appearance was also notable, given Luther’s opposition to his election as House speaker last year.
Asked before the event why Burrows was campaigning alongside members who had opposed him in the speaker race, a campaign spokesman said the speaker is focused on strengthening Republicans ahead of the next legislative session.
“Speaker Burrows worked hard to re-elect Republicans in the primaries and is doing even more for the General Election,” the spokesman said. “He knows that the stronger and more unified the Republican majority is, the more it can accomplish for Texans in the 90th Legislative Session.”
Luther offered a more pointed assessment before the rally.
“I think that Speaker Burrows, especially, has a little bit of something to prove to the voters that he is a conservative, and he wants conservative things to happen in the House,” she said. “He’s not going to, like in the past, rely on Democrats to vote him into speaker, and he’s doing the work.”
On stage, however, there was no indication of the previous division.
Burrows praised Luther as “a fantastic rep” who had “been at the forefront of fighting for liberty.”
“We must stand as one party fiercely dedicated to a singular mission—winning in November,” Burrows told attendees.
Alongside the calls for unity, the U.S. Senate race between Paxton and Democrat State Rep. James Talarico dominated the evening.
Nearly every major official or statewide candidate who took the stage mentioned the contest, portraying it as the defining race of the 2026 election.
Speakers criticized Talarico’s positions and past statements on abortion, transgender policies, border security, taxation, energy, and religion while warning that Democrats and aligned groups planned to spend heavily in Texas.
Abbott opened his remarks by attacking Talarico and predicting Republicans would again sweep the statewide ballot.
Patrick characterized Talarico as dangerous and accused him of misrepresenting Christianity, while Paxton devoted much of his speech to contrasting his record with that of his opponent. Middleton, Hagenbuch, Gill, and others also repeatedly returned to the Senate race during their remarks.
The repeated focus on Talarico was paired with warnings that Republicans could not take Texas for granted in a midterm election.
Speaker after speaker stated that strong Republican turnout—particularly in Republican counties such as Grayson County—would determine whether the party retained its statewide offices and legislative majorities.
Patrick warned that Texas would be in danger if Republican voters failed to turn out, while Paxton urged attendees to spend “five minutes every day” encouraging a friend or relative to support the Republican ticket.
Burrows, French, Hagenbuch, and others encouraged attendees to vote on the first day of early voting so Republican campaigns could redirect resources toward less reliable voters.
Beyond the speeches, the event underscored Luther’s growing stature within Republican politics.
Once viewed as an outsider following her highly publicized confrontation with Abbott during the pandemic, Luther is now a first-term lawmaker capable of bringing nearly every major Republican leader in Texas to a single rally in her district.
Before the event, Luther acknowledged that many supporters were surprised Abbott had agreed to participate.
“When I first sent out the invitation and said Governor Abbott was coming, anyone that knew about mine and Governor Abbott’s relationship in 2020 was shocked,” she told Texas Scorecard. “A lot of the candidates I ran against up here said I would never be able to get anything done because of my feud with Governor Abbott, and that’s just not how I operate.”
Instead, Luther said she has focused on working with fellow Republicans to advance conservative legislation.
“I do whatever it takes—legally, of course—to make sure that conservative legislation is passed, and I don’t bring emotion into this game.”
