This week on Mission: Texas, we sit down with Luke Warford, founder of the Agave Fund and former Democratic nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, whose 2022 run turned heads nationally.  Luke breaks down why 2026 may be the perfect storm for Texas Democrats, what down-ballot candidates can learn from the Senate primary, and how the Agave Fund is building the infrastructure that actually wins elections.

In this episode:

• Luke's origin story: from the Obama campaign to Texas Railroad Commissioner to the Agave Fund

• The four conditions that make 2026 a potential perfect storm for Texas Democrats

• What down-ballot candidates are doing right in 2026 compared to 2018

• The attention economy, viral campaigning, and what Zohran Mamdani's rise tells us about modern politics

• What the Agave Fund is doing to solve the campaign manager shortage

• The SD-9 special election as a blueprint for statewide contrast messaging

Follow Luke and the Agave Fund:

agavefund.org | @LukeWarfordTX on X | Texas Public Opinion Research on Substack

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