By Joel A Langton
The 830 Times
A 6 minute and 29 second video from Roliz Bakery with Bobby and Kim Cole can be seen here.
Bobby Cole, running against eight other Democratic candidates for Texas governor, visited Del Rio Wednesday.
Cole spent nearly three hours with supporters and curious voters who wanted to learn about him at Roliz Bakery and Coffee, located at 208
E 2nd St. from 2 to nearly 5 p.m. Wednesday. The event, sponsored by United Democrats of Val Verde County, was scheduled to last until 4 p.m. He was traveling with his wife Kim and an aide as they leapfrogged across the state of Texas. About 25 people turned out to listen to Cole and former Del Rio mayor Bruno Lozano share why people should vote for them. Lozano is running for Val Verde County Judge against Lewis Owens.
However, Cole, a retired firefighter and an east Texas rancher, implied that running for Texas Governor wasn’t really on his bucket list, but he felt the call to run.
“I’m a son, I’m a husband, I’m a father, I’m a farmer, retired firefighter. I don’t need another title,” Cole said. “The reason I’m running for governor is because Texans deserve somebody who will actually listen, who actually cares and will never forget where he comes from.”
Cole has worked hard to position himself from politicians, saying numerous times during his visit, “I”m not your typical politician.”
“We need people to step up and run,” Cole said. “If enough good people step and run, we can fix things,” Cole said.
While there are 9 running, including Cole, the dominant force in the race is State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who is sitting on 41 percent of the vote, while Cole has a little bit less than 5 percent, according to polling. This is according to the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University, a poll taken in December.
Abril Hernandez, president of Val Verde County Democrats, said bringing candidates like Cole to Val Verde County is part of her organization’s goal. “We want to bring every candidate here so people will be able to make informed decisions in the primary.”
Hernandez said during the meeting that Cole is the first candidate for governor to appear in Val Verde County in 15 years.
Here are the key upcoming Texas election dates:
• March 3, 2026 — Primary Election Day
Texas will hold its primary elections for statewide offices, U.S. House, U.S. Senate and state legislative seats, with early voting starting a few weeks before.
• May 26, 2026 — Primary Runoff Election
Runoff elections for primaries that didn’t produce a majority winner will take place.
• November 3, 2026 — General Election Day
The major midterm general election — including Texas governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and other statewide offices — will be held nationwide on this date.
The writer can be reached at JoelALangton@gmail.com .
